Your questions and what things mean

We provide friendly and approachable NHS services for children, young people and adults in Gateshead, South Tyneside, and Sunderland. We support people who are experiencing challenges like depression, stress, anxiety, or phobias. We work with partner and NHS organisations to look after your mental health care. This can include referrals to other services if it is needed.

Our team is for children and young people up to the age of 18. If you are aged between 16-18 you may be seen by the Lifecycle adult team depending on your needs and wishes. 

Our children's, young people's and adult services are free-to-access NHS services. We don’t charge for consultations, therapy, or workshops. All our services are free. 

We accept self-referrals and referrals from professionals.  You or your parent/carer can self-refer by making an appointment with a member of our duty team, or you can ask for a referral form to be emailed or posted out to you.  You just need to call us on (0191) 283 2937 to ask for which you would prefer. Professionals can make a referral on your behalf also.

Yes, our opening times are usually between Monday to Thursday 8:00am - 8:30pm, and Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm. If you have any special requests which will help you access treatment, please let us know and we will see what we can do.

If you can't come to your appointment, let us know as soon as you can. We would prefer if you could let us know at least two days before if possible. We are a very busy service and so we have a cancellation policy to make sure all of our appointments are filled.

If an appointment is not attended for any reason, you will be sent a letter asking you to rearrange within 7 days. If we do not hear from you, we will assume you no longer need our service and you will be discharged. If during your treatment there are multiple missed or cancelled appointments, your therapist may discharge you. They will make attempts to discuss this with you.

You can bring a family member/carer with you to your appointment. Once at the appointment, if you prefer, you can be seen alone for all or part of the session. Feel free to speak to your therapist regarding your preferences.

A treatment for low mood which focuses on engaging in positive and enjoyable activities.

A therapy to help you manage your difficulties by understanding your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. This therapy is used to help with a range of difficulties such as low mood, anxiety, phobias, OCD and self-esteem.

A treatment which allows for the exploration of difficulties you may have faced or are facing which have impacted on your wellbeing.

Counselling treatment focused on coping when you have experienced a significant loss

A group for children and young people which helps them learn to manage big emotions

Within our Early Years pathway, we work with children under the age of 6 and their families. We offer 1-1 support and an Early Years Parenting group. We offer support around helping parent/carers understand their child's development and emotional regulation needs.

A psychotherapy treatment that helps with emotional distress associated with traumatic memories. It involves focusing on something external and making specific eye movement while working through distressing memories. This helps the brain to create new associations, which can help ease the emotional distress these memories can cause.

A collaborative process between a mental health professional and the individual. The purpose of a formulation is so that everyone involved can understand the individual’s main difficulties, so they can plan on how to deal with or manage them.

Goals in therapy are about what the individual attending therapy wants to achieve. Goals should be discussed and agreed.
Goal-Based Outcomes (GBO’s) are scales, usually 0-10 that helps you and the mental health professional know where you are currently at and to help see any improvements made throughout therapy.

Online self-help treatment for anxiety and low mood for children and young people.

An online PLCBT treatment for child anxiety suitable for parents and carers of children aged 5-12.

Systemic and family therapy focuses on each family member’s individual needs and their relationship with other family members. This helps families to understand and support one another and develop new ways to talk to each other. This can help create an environment in which everyone supports each other promoting health and well-being.

PLCBT aims to empower parents and carers and teach them strategies to use with their child to help them overcome difficulties with anxiety. This is suitable for parents of children aged 5-12.

An assessment is a collaborative process to understand the difficulties someone may be experiencing.

Capacity or mental capacity is the ability to make decisions for yourself, including being able to make decisions about your care. Sometimes people may ‘lack capacity’ because of certain illnesses, injuries, learning disabilities or mental health problems.

A care plan or treatment plan is a map of actions that identifies your needs and strengths as an individual. This plan can help both you and your mental health professional identify what things may be difficult for you, so you can plan goals and treatments together that maybe helpful.

Meaning that any information you provide to mental health services must be kept private unless you consent to it being shared with other people. If there are concerns about your safety or the safety of someone else, confidentiality may be broken. Staff will always try to tell you if they need to share your information with anyone else.

Saying ‘yes’ to something that affects you. You may also hear ‘informed consent’ which means that you are fully informed and understand what you are saying yes to. If you are unable to consent because of your age or you do not fully understand, we may ask your family/carers to consent on your behalf.

Early intervention is when a mental health condition is identified and treated at an early stage, which can reduce the long-term impact of the condition.

Another word for support or treatment to help you get better.

This means when a certain treatment or approach (such as therapy) has been tested or studied and found to work well for certain conditions/difficulties.

Safeguarding refers to protecting your rights to live safely and to be free from abuse or neglect. Local authorities have a legal duty to protect people who are experiencing or at risk of experiencing abuse or neglect.

Sign-posting is when you are given information regarding a service or services which may be helpful for you.

Services provided by local councils to protect and support the needs and welfare of children.

Trauma can happen when a person has gone through a very stressful, frightening, or distressing event. Traumatic events can happen at any age and have a lasting impact. Sometimes people are impacted quickly following a traumatic event, whereas others aren’t affected for a long time.

An assessment to identify highlight if there are any risks that may impact you or others, which is regularly updated through your time within treatment.

The process of helping you feel better or mentally well after a period of illness or experienced difficulties. However, in mental health recovery means different things to different people, and recovery is personal. What’s important is building a life that is meaningful to you as an individual.

A state of being happy, healthy, and comfortable. This involves both physical and mental well-being, as they are equally as important.