Young Adults (16 – 25s) Mental Health and Wellbeing Space

Want to talk with a trained counsellor or perhaps create a space just for you to build your own mental health and wellbeing toolkit? 

In North West London, you can access free, safe and anonymous support through an online mental health community provided by qualified practitioners. There are no waiting lists and you can access this service from any internet connected device - no downloads necessary; qualified practitioners are available weekdays from 12 noon to 10pm and from 6pm to 10pm on weekends. The service is:

• Kooth.com for children young people 10-25 years. The content of this site is specifically aimed at children and young people

Create a free account, talk to a qualified professional online, connect with other young adults, or discover self-help tips and tricks.

The Kooth Chat and Messaging functions can get you in touch with a qualified practitioner who can talk through anything that’s bothering you and offer support and advice. 

Kooth also includes discussion boards where you can start or join a conversation with other members on all sorts of things, from anxiety to relationship advice or tips for relaxing after a stressful day. The Goals tab allows you to set your own personal goals and track progress.

No waiting lists. No problem too big or too small. Speak with a counsellor today. 

This service is provided by Kooth and supported by the NHS for anyone who resides in North West London.

Want to find out about local support and NHS approved mental health Apps?

Best For You website provides a library of NHS approved mental health Apps, educational content and a directory of local support services for young people and families in North West London. Click image below to access:

Good Thinking: A range of resources to help young adults in London to help with their wellbeing.

Good Thinking is an online service that helps young adults in London look after their mental health and wellbeing in a way that works for them. 

Good Thinking provides a range of resources to help Londoners improve their mental wellbeing, including:

• Free NHS-approved apps
• Advice articles
• Blogs and personal stories
• Podcasts, videos and webinars
• Clinically validated self-assessments

The Young Adult Community Navigation service provides emotional and practical support to improve the mental health and wellbeing of young adults.

Community Navigators work with young adults to offer an individually tailored service to meet their needs. They take support young adults with their goals, including offering help with wellbeing, benefits, housing, employment, education and access to local services.

This service is provided by local voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations in partnership with Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust.

How do I refer myself (as a young adult) or someone else (as a professional)?

Refer yourself or someone else here

CNWL's Recovery and Wellbeing College 

All their courses and workshops are co-developed and co-delivered by people with lived experience of recovery alongside people who have clinical or health professional experience . They cover a range of subjects relating to mental health, physical health and wellbeing.

They will help you to explore your wellbeing goals and access learning and support. 

There is a range of online and face to face leanring available for example, 'Understanding Anxiety - an online or in-person workshop.'

Click here for more information 

Talking Therapies: Get help with stress, anxiety or depression

The NHS Talking Therapies service provides a range of talking therapies for people who feel anxious and worried or down and depressed. We also have support for those who think they might have an eating disorder, this service is called STRIDES, for this service please click here.

Talking Therapies is offered in different ways, including:

• using a self-help workbook with the support of a therapist
• as an online course
• one-to-one in person, over the phone or through video consultation
• in a group

To refer yourself to Talking Therapies, complete a self-referral form

We offer a range of talking therapies for a number of problems which are all supported by evidence and delivered by Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners or Psychological Therapists.

Problems we can help with

Getting support as soon as you start having difficulties can help to reduce their impact.

You do not need a referral from a GP, you can refer yourself directly through: https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/mental-health/find-a-psychological-therapies-service/

This NHS service is provided by Central and North West London NHS Trust.

Age criteria:

• Kensington and Chelsea, Harrow and Westminster is 16 years and over
• Hillingdon, Brent is 18 years and over

What is Peer Support?

Peer support allows you to speak with someone who has lived experience of using mental health services in the past. This creates a non-judgemental space for you to share, learn, and genuinely connect with someone who truly understands. 

What to expect?

• We can provide regular sessions of up to 90 minutes either in person or online, or over the phone. 
• You will have the chance to look through peer support worker profiles and choose a peer support worker who you feel is the best fit for you. 

What we can offer

• Support if you are moving to adult services 
• Support if you're struggling to engage with treatment 
• Emotional and practical support 
• A connection through lived experience

Who to speak to for more information

Your lead health professional or email: cnwl.youngadults@nhs.net

CNWL has services for all kinds of eating disorders, from mild to severe. We believe everyone deserves support.

STRIDES: Support to Recovery in Disordered Eating Service

STRIDES is a new talking therapies service that is there especially for 18-25’s to offer help early before things get worse. This service aims to help young adults understand their problems and provide practical skills to regulate eating and exercise, manage difficult emotions, and improve body image and self-esteem in the long-term. Talk to your GP and they can refer you to access the support. Click here for more information.

Specialist eating disorder service 

This service is for people suffering from anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and other eating disorders.

• For young people aged 17 years and under click this link: https://www.cnwl.nhs.uk/services/mental-health-services/eating-disorders/community-eating-disorder-service-children-and-young-people 
• For young people aged 18 years and over click this link: https://www.cnwl.nhs.uk/services/mental-health-services/eating-disorders/vincent-square-eating-disorder-service 

The Coves are a community drop-in service provided by Hestia in partnership with the NHS to offer friendly support to those experiencing crisis or mental health distress, including 16-25 year olds.

The Coves provide a safe, and inclusive space for individuals who are struggling to cope with their mental health and daily life. Young people are welcome to bring friends, family or carers along to support them. The service aims to help people reduce their immediate anxiety, create individual plans to support their mental health and reduce the likelihood of recurring mental health crisis.

This includes:

• Advice, information and signposting
• One-to-one support
• Peer support
• Chill out space
• Hot drink and snack
• Groups

The Coves are open 2pm to 10pm Monday-Sunday, 365 days of the year.  Weekly activities available include wellbeing groups, workshops and food collection.

For Hillingdon Cove Café: Apple Blossom Cottage, Rear of Apple Blossom Lodge, 64 Ickenham Rd, Ruislip HA4 7DQ

For Brent: Brent Hub Community Enterprise Centre, 6 Hillside, London, NW10 8BN

For Harrow: Carramea Centre, 27 Northolt Road, South Harrow, London, HA2 0LH

For Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster: The Lighthouse, Dunbell Building, St Mary's Hospital, Praed Street, W2 1RL

Age criteria:

• Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster is 18 years and over
• Harrow, Brent and Hillingdon is 16 years and over

Community Mental Health Hubs provide an intervention-based service focused on your recovery.  By interventions, we mean working with you in ways we know can help young adults improve things, such as social support, medication or talking therapy.

The interventions we offer are:

• Assessment
• Social inclusion and employment
• Accommodation and daily living
• Statutory and legal
• Psychological interventions
• Family and carer support
• Medication and medical advice
• Physical health care
• Support after the hub

You'll need to talk to your GP to use some mental health services. This is known as a GP referral. Your GP can also talk to you about your mental health and help introduce you to the right mental health service for your needs including access to the Community Mental Health Hubs. You can also speak to your social worker or other health professional about your needs and referral to mental health services.

Some of our services you can refer yourself to directly such as NHS Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression or you can access support anytime from a free, safe anonymous online mental health community.

Need help urgently? Call our 24 hour mental health line (Single Point of Access)  

Once you've been referred to the Community Mental Health Hub, you will be assigned a named worker in the team before your first appointment takes place – this person will be most involved in your care and you can ask to speak to them if you ever need support.

At your first appointment your named worker will work with you to develop a personalised care plan.

If you have a friend, carer or family member who you would like support from, they can be included in the plans.

You and your named worker will agree on the kind of care you would like to receive from us and how long it is likely to last.  Within four weeks we will make a start with you on the treatment agree in your care plan.

If you were accessing Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and have now been referred to Adult Mental Health Services or moved back under the care of your GP.

This leaflet is a guide for transitioning out of CAMHS, and what this can look like. 

It’s really important that you know what support is available and how to support your mental health and wellbeing as you leave care and journey into adulthood.

It’s natural with a big change to feel anxious, lonely or isolated.

If you live, work or study or have a personal advisor in the boroughs of Brent, Harrow, Hillingdon, Westminster or Kensington and Chelsea, you can access a range of support to help with your mental health and wellbeing.

This leaflet is a guide for transitioning out of care and the support available for your mental health and wellbeing.