Crisis Support
If you are in Crisis, please know that you are not alone, and help is available.
If you are seeking urgent support and live in Dorset, you can call Connection on 0800 652 0190.
If you live outside of Dorset and need to talk to someone, you can call The Samaritans on 116 123 or email: [email protected]
When we are struggling, it takes a great deal of courage to ask for help and here at the Forum many of us have been in that place. We know that in times of crisis, it is really important to be listened to and that your experiences matter.
Crisis Support
Access Mental Health is delivered in partnership with Dorset HealthCare, Bournemouth Churches Housing Association (BCHA), Hope and Harmony and is a different type of crisis service, one that acknowledges a crisis should be defined by the person who is experiencing it and not defined by diagnosis of symptoms.
There are a range of options for support available:
- Connections 24hr telephone service for all ages – call 0800 652 0190
- Retreat Crisis face to face drop ins in Bournemouth and Dorchester (over 18s) The Retreat | A Place to Pause (the-retreat.org.uk)
- Virtual drop ins Video call setup – Attend Anywhere
- Community Front Rooms (CFR) in Wareham, Shaftesbury, Bridport and Weymouth Community Front Rooms (bcha.org.uk)
All services are staffed by Mental Health Practitioners and Peer Specialists. The team are there to provide a safe space where they will listen to you in a respectful and non-judgemental way. Rather than taking the traditional approach of focusing on diagnosing illness, they focus on what is important to you.
They will ask you what is happening for you, talk to you about your strengths, what resources and sources of support you can call on, and encourage you to share anything you have found helpful in the past.
How to get in touch
If you would like to talk to us about Access Mental Health or share your experiences of crisis support, please contact us: [email protected]