Please note: this article is general information, not a diagnosis or medical advice. If you are struggling, speak to your GP or NHS 111. If you are in crisis or at risk, call 999, or contact Samaritans free on 116 123.
Short answer: An NHS Talking Therapies self-referral lets most adults in England ask for help without seeing a GP first. The service is free and covers common problems such as anxiety, low mood, panic, OCD and post-traumatic stress. You contact your local team, answer some questions and attend an assessment. It is not an emergency service. If you might act on thoughts of suicide, or you cannot keep yourself safe, call 999 or go to A&E.
In this guide
- What NHS Talking Therapies is
- Who it is for, and who it is not for
- How to self-refer step by step
- What the first assessment is like
- Support you may be offered
- Waiting times and what to do meanwhile
- If you live outside England
- Urgent help
- FAQ
What NHS Talking Therapies is
NHS Talking Therapies is the free NHS service in England for adults with common mental health problems. You may still see the older name IAPT, short for Improving Access to Psychological Therapies. The name used in public information now is NHS Talking Therapies.
The NHS explains that you can refer yourself, and that a GP or another clinician can refer you if you prefer. Sessions are often by phone or video. Some clinics also see people in person. You do not have to be signed off work to refer, and the service does not contact your employer.
This is psychological support, not a prescription service and not a crisis team. For generalised anxiety disorder and panic disorder, NICE guideline CG113 describes a stepped approach for adults: simpler help such as self-help or groups where that fits, and cognitive behavioural therapy when the problem needs more time. Local teams use a similar stepped idea for depression, phobias, OCD, social anxiety, health anxiety and post-traumatic stress, within what they are set up to offer. CG113 itself is about anxiety and panic, not every problem the service sees.
A referral is not a diagnosis, and it does not lock you into a set number of sessions. The assessment is there to decide whether this service is suitable and, if it is, what to offer you.
Who it is for, and who it is not for
The NHS describes this service for people aged 18 and over. Some local teams also accept 16 and 17 year olds, so check if that applies to you. Under 18s are usually seen by children and young people’s mental health services, which you reach through a GP, school or local NHS route rather than this adult form.
You do not need a diagnosis before you refer. People commonly ask for help with low mood, constant worry, panic, social anxiety, health anxiety, phobias, OCD and post-traumatic stress. Some services also see body image problems such as body dysmorphic disorder. A long-term physical illness does not bar you. If anxiety or low mood sits alongside that illness, say so, because some teams have a pathway for this and some do not.
If you are pregnant or have recently had a baby, you can still ask this service about anxiety or low mood. Tell your midwife or GP as well, so they can mention any specialist perinatal team in your area.
Do not rely on this service alone if you are in immediate danger, if you have signs of psychosis, if bipolar disorder is currently unstable, if an eating disorder needs specialist care, or if alcohol or drug use is the main problem. A dementia assessment belongs with other NHS services. If a psychiatrist or specialist team already sees you, ask them whether a self-referral fits alongside that care. People in more complex situations are sometimes offered talking support for a separate anxiety or mood problem, but that should be agreed with the clinician who knows them.
If you are unsure whether you are struggling “enough”, refer and let the assessment decide. The service is meant for problems that shrink ordinary life, not only for nights when you cannot stay safe.
How to self-refer step by step
Set aside time somewhere private. You will need your contact details and a short description of the problem. Use the NHS page or the local service your GP names. Do not send personal details through an advert or a private message.
- Find your local service from the NHS Talking Therapies information and its postcode search. The team should match the GP practice you are registered with. A nearby website can look official and still cover a different patch.
- Use the online form or phone the service. Both are proper referrals. Phone if language, disability, pain or distress makes the form unrealistic. Ask for an interpreter before any appointment if you need one.
- Give your name, date of birth, address, phone, email and GP surgery. Add your NHS number if you have it. You can still send the form without that number.
- If you are not registered with a GP, register with a local practice, or phone a service and ask what they can do while you register. Referrals usually follow the practice you are registered with.
- Describe the problem in ordinary words. Note when it started, what makes it worse, and the effect on sleep, work, study or relationships. “I am late for work because I check the door so many times” is more useful than a clinical label.
- Complete the questionnaires for the past two weeks as things have really been. There is no score you must reach to deserve help.
- Answer the questions on suicide, self-harm and whether you are safe today. A yes does not by itself remove you from the list. If you are not safe today, stop the form and use the urgent help section below.
- Say how they may contact you, including if a voicemail would be unsafe or you cannot talk at work. Add access needs, such as step-free rooms, a hearing loop, written follow-up, or a carer who should be included.
- Save the reference number and the date you applied. If nobody contacts you, phone that service and ask them to check. A second form to the same team can muddle the queue, so ask first.
A GP referral is still a valid route. Use it if you want the GP to mention a physical illness, if a specialist team is already involved, or if you do not want to complete the form yourself. A routine appointment is enough. You do not need to be at your worst on the day.
What the first assessment is like
The first appointment is a conversation, usually by phone or video, sometimes in a clinic. A practitioner will ask what you want help with, how long it has gone on, and what a normal week looks like. Expect questions on sleep, eating, concentration, work or money, caring, alcohol and other drugs, previous help, and safety.
You may repeat the form questionnaires. Services use them to see whether things change later. Ask what the scores are for. They are a snapshot of the last two weeks, not a judgement of your character.
Before you finish, you should hear one of three outcomes. The service can offer you support, and the practitioner explains what that would involve. Or this service is not the right route, and they should say where to go next. Or they need more information before they decide.
Ask what is being offered and why, how many appointments to expect, whether they are by phone, video or in person, what happens if you miss one, what to do if you get worse while waiting, and whether your GP will be written to. You can ask who you will see and whether they are used to this particular problem.
If the offer does not match the problem, say so. Trauma memories, nightmares and avoidance after a frightening event need a different plan from everyday worry. Ask what the team can provide for trauma, and where to go on the NHS if they cannot.
Write three lines before the call if you tend to go blank: the problem, the effect on your life, and what you want to be different. If you want someone with you, ask the service first. It is common to feel tired afterwards.
Support you may be offered
What you are offered depends on the problem, how much it is affecting you, what you have already tried, and what the local team actually provides. No service can promise a named therapist or a particular time slot.
Guided self-help means a practitioner supports you through a workbook or online programme based on cognitive behavioural ideas. Contacts are often shorter than a full hour, and there are fewer of them. This is a common starting point for mild to moderate anxiety or low mood.
Groups and classes follow a plan, often on worry, low mood or sleep. They are structured sessions, not an open drop-in. Ask whether you will be expected to speak, and how many people usually attend.
One-to-one cognitive behavioural therapy looks at the loop between thoughts, feelings and what you do. For panic, that may mean making sense of body sensations and slowly facing situations you avoid. For low mood, it often includes rebuilding ordinary activity. NICE includes CBT among the recommended approaches for generalised anxiety and panic in adults.
Some teams also offer counselling, interpersonal therapy, and behavioural couples work where depression is tied up with relationship strain. For PTSD, some teams offer trauma-focused CBT or EMDR. None of these is available in every area. If you need a trauma-focused approach, ask at the assessment what exists locally rather than assuming it is on the list.
If the names are new, read this plain-English guide to types of therapy explained and use it to prepare questions. It is not a menu you have to choose from before anyone has assessed you.
You can turn an offer down and ask what the alternative is. If a previous approach did not help, say what you tried and what stayed the same. “I worked through a worry pack and I still cannot use the train” is easier to act on than “therapy does not work”. If practice between sessions feels impossible, say so in the room rather than dropping out without a word.
Waiting times and what to do meanwhile
Waits vary by area. Ask two questions: how long to the assessment, and how long after that until sessions start. The second wait is the one that surprises people. One town can move faster than the next for the same kind of support.
NHS Talking Therapies has a long-standing national standard that 75% of people should have a first appointment within six weeks of referral, and 95% within 18 weeks. That is a standard, not a description of every waiting list today, and not a promise that you personally will be seen inside those times. Ask your service where it stands now. Also ask about the wait for the type of support you are likely to need after assessment, because a first conversation and the start of sessions are not the same thing.
While you wait, tell your GP if you are sleeping very little, eating very little, or having thoughts of harm. Use NHS 111 when you need urgent advice and cannot reach the GP or the talking therapies service. Samaritans, on 116 123, will listen at any hour.
Keep what routine you can still influence: a regular waking time, food, daylight, and less alcohol if alcohol has become the way you get through the evening. None of that replaces a proper course of support. A short practice of breathing exercises for stress can take the edge off a spike of anxiety. It will not remove the problem you were referred for.
Ask whether the service keeps a short-notice list, if you can attend with little warning. Tell them if your phone number changes. A missed call is a common reason a referral stalls. If the date you were given passes with no contact, call and quote your reference number, and ask whether you are still on the list.
If you live outside England
This self-referral route belongs to England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland run adult mental health care through their own NHS bodies, with different names and different front doors. An English postcode search will not place you with a service where you actually live.
Contact your GP and ask how psychological therapy is arranged locally. In many places outside England the GP is still the main way in. If you have just moved, or you are a student away from home, register with a GP where you are living now.
For urgent help anywhere in the UK, call 999 if someone is in immediate danger, and 111 for urgent NHS advice. Samaritans is on 116 123 across the UK. Local crisis arrangements beyond that are not the same as England’s, so ask the GP or the local NHS how to reach them. Do not assume an option you have read about for England will appear on a Scottish, Welsh or Northern Ireland phone menu.
Urgent help
NHS Talking Therapies cannot keep you safe tonight. If you have harmed yourself, you are about to, or you do not believe you can stay safe, call 999 or go to A&E. If someone is with you, tell them plainly what is happening.
If the risk is urgent but you are not in immediate physical danger, call NHS 111 and ask for mental health support. The NHS page on where to get urgent help for mental health sets out these routes. In many parts of England a mental health option is available day and night, but phone menus differ, so follow the options you hear rather than guessing a button to press.
You can contact Samaritans free on 116 123 at any time. You do not have to be suicidal to call, and you do not have to give your name.
If your risk changes while you are waiting for an appointment, do not sit on the original date. Call 999, call 111, or contact your GP, depending on how urgent it is. Tell the talking therapies service when you can, so they know what has changed.
If you are worried about someone else, stay with them if it is safe to do so, and call 999 if they are at serious risk. Encourage them to contact 111 or Samaritans. Do not promise to keep a suicide plan secret.
FAQ
Can I self-refer to NHS Talking Therapies without a GP?
Yes, if you are an adult in England. The NHS says you can refer yourself directly to your local service. You can still ask a GP to refer you if you would rather not use the form, or if another clinician is already involved in your care.
Do I need a diagnosis first?
No. Describe what is happening in plain language. The assessment checks whether this service fits. It is not a full diagnostic work-up, and it does not replace a GP appointment for physical symptoms that nobody has checked.
Is NHS Talking Therapies free?
Yes. It is free for people using the NHS in England. If a website asks you to pay, you are not in this NHS service. Private therapy is a separate choice, with fees that vary, and it is outside the scope of this article.
How long will I wait?
It varies by area, sometimes by many weeks. Ask the service for both figures: the wait to assessment, and the wait to start sessions. The national standard is a benchmark, not a booking you can hold them to on the phone. If you get worse while you wait, contact your GP or NHS 111 rather than staying quiet until the original date.
Can I choose which approach I am offered?
You can say what you prefer and what has not helped before. The offer still has to fit the problem and what that team can provide. You can decline and ask what the other NHS options are, including being pointed towards a different service.
What if I am under 18, or I live outside England?
Adult NHS Talking Therapies is described for people aged 18 and over. Some teams also see 16 and 17 year olds, so ask rather than assuming you will be turned away or accepted. Under 18s usually need children and young people’s services, via a GP or local NHS route. This self-referral system does not cover Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
Sources
- NHS: NHS Talking Therapies
- NICE guideline CG113: generalised anxiety disorder and panic disorder in adults
- NHS: where to get urgent help for mental health
- Samaritans
This article is for general information and education only. It is not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, and it is not a substitute for professional care. Always talk to a qualified doctor or other healthcare professional about your own situation, especially before changing medication, supplements, diet or exercise. If you think you may have a medical emergency, contact your local emergency services.
