"Easy access to support"

Have accessed this service a few times now. Online referral is really helpful and efficient. Comparing this to services available for friends in other parts of the country, I think we get good access in Bury.

I think the service is good for low to middle-level mental wellbeing problems and I've found that I had good rapport with the staff members I've seen for grief and general counselling. The sessions were difficult but the whole point is that the counsellor can't do it for you, you have to be willing to want to change and want to explore why things aren't quite right for you. I think you have to be open-minded about getting help and I've learnt with support from the counsellor that group therapy doesn't work for me and that CBT doesn't work for me.

As with the rest of the country, although this service is very good for low to mid-level issues, I haven't found it to be as good for severe mental ill health (e.g. when supporting a family member through a suicide attempt). The staff managing appointments and referrals are very persistent in trying to make contact (a good thing - they are trying to get you in to the service) but as a carer, I found that the NHS privacy guidelines - which are a good thing - meant that there was a limit to what I could do to support my relative if they wouldn't co-operate. I really felt that there wasn't capacity in the NHS to access the right type of support for them when they were in crisis. Sectioning was discouraged (the right approach I think) but I felt hopeless to get them the support they needed without the means to pay for it. I guess that over time as people are more comfortable talking about their mental wellbeing there will be less crises, but for now, families are left without much support because the NHS services aren't there to provide it. That said, all the staff that we saw wanted to do their best for my relative, but I wished I had the money to pay for intensive, private therapy to help them.