Mental Wellbeing Support for Older Adults 65 and Over

Anxiety and depression can affect anyone at any age. In 2021, one in 10 adults over the age of 70 reported they were experiencing symptoms of low mood and anxiety. Whilst it’s normal to experience difficult emotions from time to time, it’s important to know that anxiety and depression isn’t just part of aging. We know it can be hard to admit to ourselves and to other people when we are struggling. We are here to show you that you are not the only one, and that help is available.

We know certain situations can affect our mental health and contribute to feeling low in mood or worried. For older adults, these situations could include:

  • Feelings of loneliness, maybe having little social contact with other people.
  • Difficulties adjusting to life changes, such as retirement.
  • Loss of loved ones.
  • Becoming a carer.
  • Having physical health concerns which may cause pain, discomfort or symptoms that are difficult to cope with.

What we do

We offer a range of free talking therapies to those over 16 years of age. We can provide therapies such as:

Counselling for Depression
A non-judgemental place to talk about difficult experiences you may have had and anything that might be confusing, painful or uncomfortable. The Counsellor will work alongside you to make sense of your emotions and find new meanings.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
A form of talking therapy that looks at how your thoughts and behaviours might be affecting how you feel. The Therapist will support you to find coping strategies to improve the symptoms you are experiencing.

We may also be able to provide other types of therapy, such as Couples Therapy for Depression (CTfD), Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy (DIT) and Eye Movement Desensitizing and Reprocessing (EMDR).

Sometimes, people have fears and concerns that might stop them from asking for help with their mental health.
You might have felt this way for a long time and think there’s nothing anyone can do to help. Actually, research has shown that adults over the age of 65 have better outcomes from engaging with therapy than adults under the age of 65. We have experienced therapists who have been able to help countless older adults to reduce their symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Maybe you feel your problems aren’t important enough or you don’t want to bother anyone. However, we believe everyone deserves support with their mental health. The Talking Therapies service has a range of options from brief, guided self-help for those with milder symptoms to one-to-one therapy for those with more severe symptoms.

Perhaps you worry about getting to appointments and being able to engage with the sessions. We can make adaptations to ensure you are able to attend therapy in a way which works for you and your needs. We offer face-to-face appointments at a range of accessible locations in addition to telephone and video sessions that you can do from the comfort of your own home. Our buildings are accessible to wheelchairs and for those with mobility issues. We can adapt our ways of working if you have hearing loss or difficulties with your vision, such as using large-print text for letters and worksheets or printing on coloured paper which you may find easier to read. We can also use interpreters and sign-language interpreters if required.

It may be you have been putting off seeking help as you don’t know what to expect. If so, then read on to see what your therapy journey would look like.

Your therapy journey

Referral
The therapy journey starts with a referral into our service. This can be done by your GP or any professional or you can self-refer. Don’t worry if you don’t have internet connection. You can self-refer by calling us on 02476 671 090 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 4:30pm). If you are online head to our self-referral page. 

Assessment
Once you have been referred, we arrange an initial assessment, which can be over the telephone or in-person. We will ask you to answer some questionnaires about symptoms you are currently experiencing. If you have any difficulties filling these questionnaires out, we can answer them together during your assessment.

During the appointment, we will ask you about what you are struggling with to try and understand what is happening and how we can help. We will also ask you questions about any concerns around risk to yourself or to other people.

Our assessments are kept confidential, and we won’t share the information discussed without your consent except in situations where we are concerned about your safety or the safety of other people; therefore, we may need to get some more urgent help.

At the end of the assessment, we will make a plan with you to decide what type of therapy might be most helpful or we will refer or signpost you to other organisations if we agree they might be more appropriate.
Treatment

After your assessment, you will be placed on a waiting list until we are able to offer you an appointment, and you will be advised how long this is likely to take. However, you will be given immediate self help support with our written guides or via SilverCloud, an online therapy platform. You will see the same therapist for each session. Depending on the type of therapy, you may have one-to-one sessions for 30 minutes or 50 minutes. They may be every week or every fortnight. Alternatively, you may attend one of the group courses that we offer. You and your therapist will agree how many sessions you need, depending on what your difficulty is.

At the end of your sessions, we will discharge you from the service, but you are welcome to re-refer in the future if you feel more therapy sessions would be helpful.

Other sources of support

Mental Health Access Hub (24-hour helpline): 111 (option 2)

Samaritans (24-hour confidential service providing emotional support): 116 123

What if I need immediate support?

Residents of Coventry and Warwickshire:

Coventry & Warwickshire Age UK (offers services, such as befriending, home support, advice): 02476 231 999

Coventry & Warwickshire Mental Health Helpline: 0800 616 171

Residents of Solihull:

Solihull Mental Health Helpline: 0121 262 3555 or 0800 915 9292