ANXIETY UK - support line and cheaper therapy services

[NoPoet]

Hi all,

I mention this organisation a lot, and no I am not on their payroll. It's about time they got a thread. I talked to them about getting them more members which they need if the organisation is going to stay around in the long term. So this thread is here to make you aware of their services and to ask you to join them if you can.

Anxiety UK have helped me greatly since I found out about them in 2010. They are a team of anxiety survivors who provide first-hand advice, guidance and support. If you are suffering from clinical anxiety then you will almost certainly find this service more useful than the Samaritans, although I would not ever recommend people to stop using the Samaritans service!

Anxiety UK takes a proactive stance, helping you to make sense of what you're going through. On nearly every occasion I have spoken to them I have find them polite, friendly, sympathetic and most of all understanding. They have been through what you're going through. I cannot think of anyone - no doctor, no specialist - more qualified to act as a guide than someone who has already blazed their own trail through the hell of anxiety.

Reduced-price therapy

You can also get cheaper therapy from Anxiety UK's qualified specialists. This can be done over the phone, which is cheaper and much more convenient for those who cannot travel, although the range of telephone services is more limited - for example, trying to conduct hypnotherapy over the phone would be ridiculous.

They currently offer counselling, CBT, neuro-linguistic programming and hypnotherapy, possibly among other things.

They have a tier system of charges. Most people would fall into the £20-£25 per session bracket with students and people living on benefits paying only £5-£7.50 per session, and the heavy earners paying £40-£45.

In most cases, applications for therapy are processed the same day they arrive and your therapist will contact you within 14 days. Imagine trying to arrange that on the NHS! You'd be here til Christmas.

Membership

You will need to join Anxiety UK if you want their professional services. Membership for a year costs around twenty quid. You get a quarterly magazine called Anxious Times which is worth £4 if you buy it on its own. Also you get a membership pack with your details and lots of information about their services.

If you do sign up for a professional service such as counselling, there is a one-off £5 admin fee. If you ever actually speak to the people at Anxiety UK you will pay this without hesitation, believe me. Twenty-five quid in total to get access to cut-price therapy... there aren't many bargains left in Britain, so get one while you can.

Just giving their phone line a ring to talk about your problems is fine, you can do that any time they're open. Membership is not a requirement - I was just thinking of getting counselling or hypnotherapy for such a low price.

Well anyway, that's my two-penneth, I hope other people will take the company up on this.

CONTACT DETAILS

http://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/

Tel: 08444 775 774 (Mon-Fri 9.30-5.30)

[MyNameIsTerry]

Spotted this off the back of the Inositol thread and thought it worth a bump.

Here is the memberships section if anyone wants it:

https://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/membership/

They offer a sliding scale for various therapies and membership is currently £30 per year.

For those struggling to find a therapy solution, maybe this can help? Having a major charity vetting the therapists & counsellors is a big tick in the box. BACP membership (or BABCP too if looking on NHS websites) is a good way to find an approved therapist or counsellor but BACP are not very good at vetting their members and I know I've seen 2 members on their register that shun CBT in favour of an unproven "guru's" methods which have ZERO proof yet remain on there despite complaints from a charity about them. This is not good for anyone looking so please be careful and look around the internet incase there are any ties to guru's.

AnxietyUK offers more protection I would think since you know they have been checked out by them too?

[ricardo]

https://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/members.../therapy-fees/



MEMBERSHIP £30.00 PLUS FEES SCALE just so everything is clear.

I wish to point out that I am not passing judgement on this organisation just so that you know all the various costs. This is aimed at very low income households only as far as I can see,but please correct me if I am wrong as if you are a higher earner the rates are more or less the same as any private therapist who usually charge for a 50 minute consultation.

It is not clear how long a consultation is by phone or face to face with anxietyuk.
.
I must have misread the first two categories or my English is crap. Proof of income required for Level 1 or 2.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Let's not forget that this is a 40 year old charity with a fair few impressive NHS/academic specialists on their advisory panel (Salkovskis is one I know of who NICE have used for 2 rounds of anxiety recommendations and has close ties to OCD UK, another charity). So, I think their pedigree is well established.

As a charity, they are well governed by The Charities Commission.

The therapist & counsellors are part of a network, hence they are private. Sessions will be inline with the standards they are expected to deliver. It does explain the likely sessions for 2 forms of therapy.

I would disagree on low income households. A single man in a city further north than the M25 can easily be earning £22k a year inline with an average salary for their city. £30k a year is a good salary in many areas of the UK. These people can still access reduced cost therapy so whilst it is less helpful to those further towards the capital (like any scheme that doesn't set it's tiers based on geographical location) it could be helpful to people in other areas of the UK whether low income or doing well for themselves.

[Rennie1989]

A single man in a city further north than the M25 can easily be earning £22k a year inline with an average salary for their city.

Unless you have the qualifications and/or experience to. The unfortunate reality is that this is not strictly true.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Unless you have the qualifications and/or experience to. The unfortunate reality is that this is not strictly true.

Based on national statistics it can be an average salary. It has been in my city.

I take it you mean that average salaries per area are often too high? I would agree on that. I can remember this being published years ago for my city and it was higher than most of the managers on site.

However the basic principle is the same - £30k is a very good salary in many areas of the UK but they would still qualify for the reduced cost. It seems unfair that way since 2 parents could be pulling in the same combined wage with kids to feed.

[SeaJay]

It's very comforting to know this organisation is out there

I'm seriously considering joining them

Thank you for posting this!

[ricardo]

I have spoken to them twice in the last two weeks, so please don't disagree as I know what they told me. The HO which is just a house and I was asked to speak to a lady called Sheila, who in fact answered the phone. She wasn't very enthusiastic and without asking me any questions told me 6 phone calls would cost £40.00 plus £10.00 membership.She told me she was eating her lunch when I phoned so I suggested that I call back but she said she would e mail me the details .I am still waiting.
I would say their free service to phone is very good if you can get through.

My impression is that it is a very very small organisation, with very few helpers and last time I looked they had 8 members on FB

[MyNameIsTerry]

My impression is that it is a very very small organisation, with very few helpers and last time I looked they had 8 members on FB

I'm not sure you have looked at Anxiety UK, Ricardo.

Their 2014 annual statement seems to suggest they are anything but "very very small":

https://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/wp-cont...eport-2014.pdf

"The charity has also gained over 15,000 new followers on Twitter and Facebook with a combined following of over 50,000 people who view our posts and updates."

They have been around since the 1970's afterall. They seem sizeable but nowhere near the size of MIND of course.

[ricardo]

Quite right it was Anxiety UK a link was posted on here a couple of weeks ago.They all have very similar names.

https://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/members.../therapy-fees/