Freja shares her experience of using TALKWORKS' services
Are you experiencing anxiety or prolonged low mood? Are difficulties around employment impacting your day-to-day life? Read Freja's story to learn more about therapy and employment support through TALKWORKS , and how we can help:
I've used TALKWORKS services several times during my life for various mental health concerns (issues like anxiety, low self-esteem and depression) and every time has been extremely beneficial. I always felt like I was being listened to and never belittled, which I really appreciated. The first time I discovered TALKWORKS was through a GP visit, they recommended I contact the service for help with my mental health. It's really easy to self-refer through the TALKWORKS website and I found the process very simple.
They give you the option to have face to face, video call or telephone appointments. For me, I chose the telephone appointments, as I get very anxious meeting face to face with someone. I also think therapy over the phone would be useful for people who have a busy lifestyle and might not be able to make face to face meetings all the time.
Talking specifically about my most recent TALKWORKS referral - I was feeling incredibly low, lacking confidence, struggling to do day to day tasks or to get out of bed. My anxiety was making me panic because I wasn't doing the things I should be doing and my depression was kicking me whilst I was down and making me feel worse, like a downward spiral. I was also unemployed at the time and this just made matters worse.
After self-referring to TALKWORKS again I was supported by Ami, who was incredibly supportive and understanding - listening to me and addressing all my concerns during our appointments. She gave me lots of tools and techniques to use in my day-to-day life to help deal with my mental health. Although there were ups and downs, overall these resources were extremely helpful. Not only this, but she also referred me to the employment support side of TALKWORKS where I had extra appointments specifically for employment advice alongside my normal sessions. During these sessions I talked with Sue, who like Ami, was super supportive and helpful, giving me lots of resources every session I had. All these employment advice links have been very beneficial in giving me some direction in where I want to head in my career.
Overall, TALKWORKS has made such a big difference to my life. The multiple times I've gone to TALKWORKS for help, they've always responded positively and without judgement. It felt like the people I talked to during my sessions cared about me and wanted to help me with my problems. I'm really grateful to them all for all their support.
TALKWORKS is Devon's NHS talking therapies service, and is open to adults, age 18+, living in Devon (outside Plymouth which is covered by Plymouth talking therapies ). Our therapists and employment specialists can work with you if you are struggling to get you back to feeling more like yourself again. Our services are completely free to access and our current waits for appointments are very short. Self-refer without needing to see a GP by completing our online self-referral form or by calling the team on 0300 555 3344 (our phone lines are open Monday to Friday from 9:00am - 4:45pm)