We provide quick and easy access to our talking therapies.  Our trained and accredited staff will listen to you, allowing you to talk about your difficulties in a non-judgmental and supportive environment. We will help you to understand your issues and work with you to develop new ways of coping. 

We have put together some valuable booklets to help make your therapy journey easy to understand and provide you with some leaflets to help you choose the most appropriate therapy for you with your therapist. These are titled ‘Welcome to Mind Matters’ and ‘Mind Matters Treatment Planner’ in our leaflets section.

If you feel like you need support between your treatment sessions or feel at any time in a crisis, you can find additional support in our ‘Staying Safe in a Crisis’ booklet in our leaflets section.

Once we have received your referral:

  • We will contact you within three days to invite you to book your initial assessment with us. We may send you an automated ‘telephone assessment’ booking link or call you by phone. All our calls will show as ‘no caller id’, so please lookout for a missed call. You can call us back during office hours (8.30 am - 5.30 pm) on 0300 330 5450.
  • If you are sent an SMS with a link to our automated booking page, you can book your telephone assessment at a time convenient to you by choosing from our live availability schedule. 
  • Before your assessment with us, please look out for the questionnaires we will email you (known as NHS webforms) in your email inbox or junk folder and complete them at least one hour before your appointment.

We can now offer a straightforward, swift service to people who provide us with their mobile number and email address. Please be assured that your contact information is not shared with any outside parties. 

 

Before your assessment and the start of any treatment appointments, we will email you some questionnaires known as NHS webforms. Please ensure these are completed prior to your appointment.

  • Your assessment is usually completed by telephone. However, if you have accessibility needs, you can call us on 0300 330 5450 to ask for a face to face assessment. 
  • At your assessment, your therapist will go through your referral information with you and ask you about the issues you are experiencing and what type of treatment may be most suitable.  You can find out more about our treatments here.
  • If we are not the right service for you, we will discuss a more suitable service and, where possible complete the referral for you.
  • Your therapist will ask you about your availability for appointments. Please try to be as flexible as possible so that we can offer you treatment earlier than anticipated where possible.
  • At the end of your assessment, your therapist will send you some materials that we hope will be of help or they may prescribe you a self help Silver Cloud online digital cognitive behavioural package. For specific treatments, it will be necessary for you to attend an online webinar to introduce you to the treatment and prepare you for the course. 
  • For more information about Mind Matters, please check our Questions and Answers section and the 'Welcome to Mind Matters' booklets found in our resources section.


 

Most people start treatment within 28 days of their referral being received. If you register for SilverCloud, our online digital CBT-based courses, or one of our group courses, you can start treatment more quickly.

Throughout treatment, we will continue to review your progress and may recommend resources and signpost you to other services to help you with the next step in your recovery journey. 

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At your referral, we will ask for your mobile number and email address and your permission to contact you via these means. We do not share this information outside of Mind Matters, and consenting to all forms of communication will speed up your referral and treatment process. 

We recognise the importance of personal privacy and ensure that all information we store about you is held securely and confidentially on Mind Matters information database under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Your data may be used anonymously for monitoring, evaluation and research purposes. To ensure we provide you with the best service, anonymised data is also submitted to NHS England.

If you disclose information concerning current or potential harm or risk to yourself or another, we may need to tell another party, including your GP, the Police or Ambulance Service. If you disclose current information related to a serious offence, we are legally obliged to inform the Police and/or other safeguarding agencies. If we are informed about incidents of abuse that have occurred in the past, we may need to inform relevant authorities.

To ensure the quality of care, we are required to share information with your GP about your referral and treatment, which we may do both verbally and in writing.

If you have any questions regarding this information, please do not hesitate to contact us on 0300 330 5450 or discuss this further with your therapist.

We adhere to the Surrey and Borders Trust Information Governance and Records Management policies, which can be viewed here.

We recommend that each session takes place at the same time each week and that you attend the entire course of treatment offered. If you have an irregular/inflexible work pattern, we will do our best to work with your shifts so that you can still access the treatment you need. 

During your first appointment, your therapists will discuss your future appointment and book these in advance. However, we do understand that you may have to miss the occasional appointment due to unforeseen circumstances (e.g. if you are unwell, childcare difficulties). Please let your therapist know at least 24 hours before your agreed appointment if you are unable to attend. 

If you cancel two or more of your sessions, we will review whether we can continue with your treatment, and you may be referred back to your GP. 

If you do not attend your appointment, we will contact you and invite you to contact us within 24 hours. If we do not hear back from you, you may be discharged from our service and your care transferred back to your GP. 

Speakers of English as a second language

If English isn’t your first language, we can arrange for an interpreter to attend your appointment and for any written communications to be translated. Please let us know in advance of your assessment or treatment sessions.

ASD or Learning Disability

We can make reasonable adjustments to help people who have a mild learning disability access talking therapies such as providing longer appointments. 

Some of our staff have specialist training in working with people with ASD, so please let us know if this applies to you when you refer yourself.

Speech and hearing difficulties

We have an SMS text number 07786 202 565 to help people who have speech and hearing difficulties get in touch with us. You can also complete online guided learning with SilverCloud or call us using a text phone if you have one. If you are attending an appointment in person, please ask us about the availability of a hearing loop if you need one.

Disabled access

We have over 40 accessible NHS and community locations across Surrey. If you are going to be seen in person, please ask us about the accessibility of the venue where your appointment is being held.

Below are some regular questions that we receive and our answers to those questions. If you need to get in touch with us after reading this section, our contact details are here.

What if I can’t make my therapy appointment? 
Contact us as soon as possible to let us know you cannot attend.  Our admin team will inform your therapist.  

I have booked a telephone appointment using the automated booking system and would like to attend Microsoft Teams Video Appointment
Call us and we will notify your therapist who will send you a Teams video link. 

If I miss an appointment can I have an alternative one in the same week?
If you miss an appointment, it is not usually possible to have an alternative in the same week unless you have already agreed this with your therapist at your previous session.

When will my therapy sessions take place?
Therapy sessions are usually held at the same time each week.  Your therapist can arrange when the appointments will be during your first session. 

If you cancel your appointment you will then attend the next booked appointment you have with the therapist. If you do not have another appointment booked, your therapist will contact you to re-book your missed appointment. 

I would like to change therapist 
Please discuss this with your therapist, if you feel able to, and they will arrange an appointment with another therapist. If you do not feel comfortable discussing this with your therapist, please contact us.

I would like to make a complaint/ give feedback
We welcome all compliments and complaints. You can contact us directly to discuss your concerns/feedback or you can contact Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust's Patient Liaison Service (PALS) by following the link or emailing: rxx.palsandcomplaintssabp@nhs.net

I don’t think my therapy sessions are helping
Talk to your therapist about your progress, perhaps it is not the right time or the right type of therapy.  If you prefer to discuss this with someone other than your therapist, please contact us. 

I would like a friend/family member to attend appointments 
You can contact us to arrange this. As therapy progresses, your therapist may encourage you to attend alone but you can talk to your therapist about this. 

I would like to switch to a different type of talking therapy 
Discuss this with your therapist who can arrange this for you or, if you prefer, contact us and we will discuss this with you.