Self referral
Self-referral is one of the quickest and easiest ways to access treatment from Sunderland Talking Therapies. Please have a look at the what happens next section for information on what happens during and after self-referral. To access the service you can:
Self refer online
Our online referral form is accessible 24/7, allowing you to submit your referral at a time that suits you.
Self refer by phone
You can also refer by phone using our self referral telephone service. Lines are open Monday to Friday between 9:00am – 4:45pm
We also accept referrals made to the service from GP’s and other professionals. Please see our Information for professionals page for more info.
What Happens Next?
Once we receive your referral, we will review the information you have provided to ensure that Sunderland Talking Therapies is the most appropriate service for your needs.
If your referral is suitable for our service, a member of our administration team will contact you between 9:00am and 4:45pm, Monday to Friday, to arrange an initial telephone assessment with one of our therapists. We offer a variety of appointment days and times and have some limited after 5pm slots.
If you refer yourself by telephone, our administration team will collect some basic information and arrange your telephone assessment during the call.
In some cases, we may identify from the referral information that another service would be better placed to support you. If this happens, we will inform you and provide advice about alternative support where appropriate. This may mean that an assessment appointment is not required.
At Sunderland Talking Therapies, we use a matched care approach, meaning we aim to offer the most appropriate treatment while starting with the least intensive intervention likely to help. Many people find that effective support can be provided through a relatively short course of treatment.
Before Your Assessment
Before your assessment, we will send you a secure link via email to complete some short questionnaires about your symptoms. These questionnaires help your therapist understand your current difficulties and make the best use of your assessment appointment.
We strongly encourage you to complete these questionnaires before your assessment. The email is usually sent around 48 hours before your appointment. Please check your junk/spam folder, as these emails can occasionally be filtered there.
Completing the questionnaires in advance allows more of your assessment appointment to be spent discussing your experiences, symptoms and treatment needs with your therapist. As assessment appointments are not routinely extended to allow additional time for questionnaire completion, completing them beforehand helps ensure you get the most from your appointment.
If you are unable to complete the questionnaires before your appointment, your therapist can go through them with you during the assessment call. However, this will reduce the time available for discussion during the appointment.
What Happens During the Assessment Call?
Calls from our team will come from a private/withheld number. Your telephone assessment will last at least 45 minutes, so please ensure you have sufficient time available. It is important that you are in a quiet, private and confidential space where you can speak openly and without interruption. This helps us to carry out a full assessment and discuss sensitive information safely. Assessments cannot be undertaken whilst driving, including when using a hands-free device.
During the call, the therapist will:
· Confirm some demographic information that we ask all patients.
· Discuss your current symptoms and how they are affecting your day-to-day life.
· Explore your goals, expectations and what you would like to achieve from treatment.
· Complete a risk assessment to ensure your safety and identify any support needs.
Following the assessment, the therapist will discuss the most appropriate treatment options with you. In some cases, they may need additional time to consider the most suitable support and will contact you afterwards with their recommendations.
This assessment helps us determine whether Sunderland Talking Therapies is the right service for you and, if so, which treatment is likely to be most helpful. While we have accepted your referral, the assessment may identify that another service is better suited to meet your needs, and we will discuss this with you if appropriate.
Attending Your Appointment
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Demand for our service is high, and missed appointments can increase waiting times for everyone. If you are unable to attend your assessment or treatment appointment, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can offer the appointment to someone else.
We understand that unexpected situations can arise. However, repeated cancellations or non-attendance can indicate that this may not be the right time for therapy. For this reason, two cancellations and/or missed appointments may result in you being discharged from the service. If you are discharged and would like support at a later date, you can discuss re-referral options with us or your GP.
Patient Experiences
The best way to understand the impact of our care is by listening to those who have experienced it firsthand.