"A vital and valuable mental health support service"

I want to write this review as I had a very positive experience with the Croydon IAPT service.

This service may not provide a "quick fix", and indeed may not suit everyone, however for me I appreciated all the support that I received over a 15 month period, in various formats from different members of the IAPT team.

"One size doesn't fit all", so my therapy journey was tailored to my needs. I now have a personal toolkit to refer to, and on "difficult" days this helps me work with the challenges that life presents.

I would highly recommend this service.

If you want to learn more about my experience read on...

When facing several personal challenges, following a consultation with my GP relating to concerns about my mental health, and not wishing the only treatment available to be medication, my GP suggested I contact the IAPT service.

I self-referred to the service in Autumn 2017 and underwent the standard triage process which was completed via online questionnaire and followed up with a telephone consultation to identify the most appropriate treatment and support plan.

My surprise was that I was diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder and not just moderate depression, however I was advised that Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) can be effective in improving both conditions.

I had never considered myself to be an anxious person, but soon realised that I had developed behaviours to mask my anxiety.

My initial treatment plan involved an online CBT Programme including online therapy support from a dedicated therapist.

This was combined with 2 very useful face to face group workshops for Stress and Sleep issues. The memories I took away from these workshops was sharing experiences and realising that many people have similar issues.

At first, I didn't think that online therapy would help, however, it helped me to identify and understand behaviours that I had developed over many years, and I soon realised that putting effort into the online modules was very beneficial.

At the end of my online course, after a review with my therapist, I was then transferred on to 1-1 counselling sessions to continue my treatment, as well as weekly face to face CBT sessions.

Throughout my treatment journey I felt I was treated as an individual. The online course was a good foundation for the later stages of my face to face therapy with a senior CBT Therapist.

I always felt that my weekly sessions were truly dedicated to me, and although I completed my CBT, my therapist guided me towards continuing support routes available outside of the IAPT service.

I would like to extend a big thank you to the IAPT team, and for helping me to understand myself better.