Frequently Asked Questions

You will not be wasting our time. Our purpose is to support people with mild to moderate problems. There is lots of evidence that early detection and treatment are important to stop problems getting worse.

Sometimes people only need a little help to learn some new ways of coping with things. We’ll help you get the support that’s right for you.

You are under no obligation to continue with a treatment plan if it is not working for you, although all the evidence shows that people who stick at it get the best results. Most people have one session of between 30 and 60 minutes each week for somewhere between four and 12 weeks.

City and Hackney Talking Therapies is available to adults who are registered with a GP in City and Hackney. If you are under 18, talk to your GP to find the right service for you.

If you are registered with a GP outside the area, find your local talking therapies service: here

It is important that you keep to appointment times. However, if it is absolutely unavoidable for you to cancel an appointment, please telephone us on 020 7683 4278 or email huh-tr.talkingtherapy@nhs.net as soon as possible so that we can re-arrange it. If you miss or re-schedule more than one treatment appointment we will need to discharge you from the service in order for us to see other waiting patients. See Appointments Policy for full details.

Most people receive an initial telephone assessment within two weeks. It can sometimes take longer if we think it is worth waiting for an assessment with a particular specialist because they will then be able to get you started on the right treatment plan more quickly.

Your first appointment will be an initial assessment, usually carried out over the phone. We will talk with you to understand what things you want us to help you with and discuss the support we can offer. Following your initial assessment we’ll agree a treatment plan with you and book your next appointment. Sometimes we’ll know of other services that are better placed to give you the help you need and can you put you in touch with them instead.

Yes. We work with advocates and interpreters so we can support people who do not speak English. If you need language support, please let us know when you first make contact with us.

Our opening hours are Monday-Thursday 9am-7.30pm and Friday 9am-5pm. Owing to demand, we’re not able to offer early evening appointments to everyone who wants one. As well as face-to-face appointments we also provide support over the telephone and online. We’ll work with you to develop a treatment plan that gets you the right support in the most convenient way.

Yes, we keep all information confidential. We will usually tell your GP that you are receiving our services (not the detail of what we discuss), but you can tell us not to if you wish. The only exception to confidentiality would be if we thought you were at risk of harming yourself or somebody else.