Mental Health

Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.

Over the course of your life, if you experience mental health problems, your thinking, mood, and behaviour could be affected. Many factors contribute to mental health problems, including:

Biological factors, such as genes or brain chemistry
Life experiences, such as trauma or abuse
Family history of mental health problems

Mental health problems are common but help is available. People with mental health problems can get better and many recover completely.

You may want to consider what Social Prescribing can do for you. Social Prescribing supports people to make behavioural and lifestyle changes that can improve their mental health by empowering them to take control of their individual needs.

Specialist support is available to children and young people with a range of complex mental and emotional health issues, on the Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust website.

For more general information and advice, visit the national NHS website.

Kooth.com is a free, anonymous, confidential online counselling, advice and support service for young people aged 11-19 years living in Lincolnshire.

YoungMinds also provide information and support regarding on child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).

Shine is a Lincolnshire mental health support network.

Find services available to adults such as self-help and psychological therapies, crisis resolution, home treatment and acute inpatient care, on the Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust website.

For more general information and advice, visit the national NHS website.

The Night Light Cafes

The Night Light Cafes are an out of hours, non clinical support service for
people who are experiencing a crisis in their mental health. Hosted in church buildings in
various areas of Lincoln and staffed by teams of trained volunteers, the cafes provide a warm
welcome alongside a listening service and signposting advice.

Full information and a timetable for the Night Light Cafes is available here.

Older people can suffer from mental health problems, just like anyone else and specific services are available to elderly people.

The national NHS website can provide further advice about dementia or A lzheimer’s Disease.

You can also download the Lincolnshire Joint Strategy for Dementia 2018-21.

For information about local mental health services for older adults visit the Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust website.

Night Light Cafes over Christmas

The Night Light Cafes are an out of hours,
non clinical support service for people who are struggling with their mental health. Please see the Christmas 2021 Night Light café timetable.

Lincolnshire Talking Therapies

Lincolnshire Talking Therapies is a free NHS service. It is provided by Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. It’s a service for adults in Lincolnshire who are experiencing problems with anxiety, depression, stress and offers help with issues like bereavement or the impact of a traumatic event.

Please note that Lincolnshire Talking Therapies is for mild to moderate mental health problems and cannot provide an urgent/emergency service.

You can self-refer to Lincolnshire Talking Therapies by going to Lincolnshire Talking Therapies.

Recovery College

Recovery College uses an educational based approach to mental health to help people recognise and develop their personal resourcefulness and awareness in order to become experts in their self-care, make informed choices and do the things they want to in life.

All courses are co-designed and co-delivered by experts with lived experience of mental ill health, peer trainers and expert health professionals. To find out more about courses on offer in local areas, visit their website.

Community Mental Health Teams

Community Mental Health Teams (CMHTs) provide recovery-based interventions and support people to live with a mental health condition. This service is for people who have a severe or long-term mental illness. To access support of CMHTs you need to be referred by your GP. More information is available from Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust website.

Mental Health Hub

It is normal for people to feel over-whelmed or anxious, especially when they are facing life changing situations such as a relationship breakdown, unemployment, homelessness, addiction, or the death of a loved one.

Often people don't seek support early enough and find themselves reaching crisis point, resulting in involvement from the emergency services. Since 2017, local partners have been working together to develop an exciting new vision to support people long before they reach crisis point. It was from this that the concept for the Mental Health Hub was born.

Mental Health Helpline

Mental Health Matters provides a Mental Health Helpline with a 24/7 telephone response. The Helpline supports the people of Lincolnshire, offering signposting and advice and guidance related to their support needs.

The Helpline is for people with mental health problems and issues, for their carers, families and friends. The Team can offer emotional guidance and information and help people who may be feeling low, anxious or stressed or in extreme emotional distress and feel that there is nowhere else to turn. Support is also provided to people caring for another person and finding it difficult to cope. The service is confidential unless it is considered there is a risk to yourself or others.

The free number for Lincolnshire is 0800 0014331

SHINE

Shine Lincolnshire is a county wide charity which aims to support people with poor mental health to live well through accessing a range of support services. Go to their website to find the latest Connect newsletter.

If you are feeling suicidal, there are people you can talk to who want to help:

speak to a friend, family member or someone you trust as they may be able to help you calm down and find some breathing space
call the Samaritans 24-hour support service on 116 123
go to your nearest accident and emergency (A&E) department and tell the staff how you are feeling
contact NHS 111
make an urgent appointment to see your GP

For further advice and support, visit the national NHS website.

Help is at Hand offers support after someone may have died by suicide.

Annually 22,000 armed forces personnel make the transition to civilian life. Most do it without difficulty, however some find it more difficult and may need some help from mental health and social care provision.

For support and advice visit

Mental Health

The Night Light Cafes

Useful Links