Mental Health Resources
Image by Leonard Cotte
If you are struggling with the impact of trauma, or any other mental health problem, it’s important to have a wide range of resources that you can turn to when you need them – here is a list of resources that might be helpful. There is also a great deal of information on my website, available for free, as well as my blog, which contains a huge amount of free information about the impact of trauma, schema therapy, mental health, mindfulness, self-compassion and much more.
Mental health support
If you are feeling suicidal, please contact your GP straight away, call 999 or go to your local A&E department. You can also get in touch with the Samaritans, who are there, 24/7, to listen and help: call 116 123 or visit samaritans.org
If you are struggling with psychological problems such as anxiety or depression, contact Mind, who have a range of resources to help: mind.org.uk
If you or someone you love has OCD, you can get a wide range of support from OCD Action: ocdaction.org.uk
If you are looking for help with an eating disorder, contact BEAT: b-eat.co.uk
If you or someone you know is self-harming, contact selfharmUK: selfharm.co.uk
If you would like help in tracking your mood (very useful if you have problems with depression, or have a bipolar disorder diagnosis) try Moodscope: moodscope.com
If you have been diagnosed with a personality disorder, you can find out more about what that means and which treatment options are available through Mind (www.mind.org.uk) or the Royal College of Psychiatrists: rcpsych.ac.uk
If you are interested in compassion-focused therapy (CFT), which is a powerful new form of cognitive therapy designed to treat a wide range of psychological problems, try the Compassionate Mind Foundation: compassionatemind.co.uk
If you would like to find out more about schema therapy or find a therapist near you, try the International Society of Schema Therapy (ISST): schematherapysociety.org
If you are looking for a CBT therapist try the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP): babcp.com
AddictiON AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE
If you think you might have a problem with alcohol, talk to Alcoholics Anonymous: alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk
If you think you might be addicted to drugs, talk to Narcotics Anonymous: ukna.org
If you are using recreational drugs, or would just like more information about drugs, contact FRANK: call 0300 123 6600 or visit talktofrank.com
If you are gambling to excess, or think you may have a problem with gambling, contact Gamblers Anonymous: gamblersanonymous.org.uk
SELF-HELP books
If you would like to know more about schema therapy, read Reinventing Your Life: The Breakthough Program to End Negative Behavior... and Feel Great Again, by Jeffrey Young (the founder of schema therapy) and Janet Klosko. This is the best schema therapy self-help book available – and is a great place to start your journey of discovery into this groundbreaking approach
A more recent self-help book, Breaking Negative Thinking Patterns: A Schema Therapy Self-Help and Support Book, by Gitta Jacob, Hannie van Genderen and Laura Seebauer, is also useful – this focuses more on recent developments in schema therapy, especially the mode model
If your partner, parent, sibling, friend, boss or colleague is narcissistic, they may well make your life very difficult. Disarming the Narcissist: Surviving & Thriving With the Self-Absorbed, by Wendy Behary, is written for those dealing with narcissistic people in their lives, by a leading expert on narcissism. If you would like to know more about Wendy and her work, visit disarmingthenarcissist.com
Mindfulness and self-compassion MEDITATION
A good place to start with mindfulness and self-compassion meditation is using an app. Three of the most popular apps are Headspace, Calm and Insight Timer, which are all excellent. If you have experienced trauma, it’s often easier to start with guided meditations using an app, as sitting in silence can be challenging at first. Please be aware that meditation can be triggering for trauma survivors (focusing on the breath, for example, can be tricky for some people). If you find meditation overwhelming, please take a break and speak to an expert about how to modify your practice to make it more comfortable and effective for you.
If you would like to know more about mindfulness meditation, or developing helpful mental states such as metta (loving-kindness) or compassion, you can study at a Buddhist Centre – try the London Buddhist Centre (lbc.org.uk) or North London Buddhist Centre (northlondonbuddhistcentre.com)
Many places now offer the mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) courses, for example the Mindfulness Project (londonmindful.com) or British Mindfulness Institute (www.britishmindfulnessinstitute.co.uk)
Wildmind is a fantastic website founded by Bodhipaksa, a Buddhist and highly experienced meditation teacher. It offers a vast amount of free resources, as well as a range of meditation programmes: wildmind.org
Kristin Neff is the world’s leading academic expert on self-compassion. She and Christopher Germer have developed an eight week course, Mindful Self-Compassion, which is an excellent way for trauma survivors to learn how to be kinder and more compassionate to themselves: self-compassion.org