As the leading Mental Health charity across Bedfordshire, Luton & Milton Keynes providing a range of different services in the support of mental health, we are committed to ensuring that no one has to experience a Mental Health Problem alone. Mind BLMK is delighted to be working collaboratively with CAMHS and East London Foundation Trust (ELFT) across Luton, Central Bedfordshire and Bedford, to provide crisis services for young adults in need of mental health support. 

This new provision in Bedford follows the successful launch of our Young Person’s Sanctuary in Luton earlier this year and it will offer free help and advice for anyone between 14-17yrs.

Located at our shared CAMHS building, 5-7 Rush Court, Bedford, MK40 3JT, our doors will open for the very first time on Monday 15^th May at 5.30pm and the service will run from 5.00 pm – 10.00pm, (Monday – Friday) and 4.00pm – 10.00pm (Saturday & Sunday), 365 days of the year. 

Our Young Person’s Sanctuaries are safe, non-judgemental spaces that you can come to if you find yourself in crisis or mental distress in the evenings. There is no need to call and book an appointment, simply drop in and you will be met by a trained mental health worker who will listen and help you identify ways to address the problems you are facing.  The teams will also be able to refer and signpost to other services if required.

The Young Person’s Sanctuaries were identified as the preferred support option during a round of public focus groups held to shape a new 24-hour extended mental health crisis care for young adults across Bedfordshire and Luton.

“The schools do not have the resources to meet the needs of children with mental health problems and it took 9 months to get support and by this time it was too late…”

The Young Person’s Sanctuaries will be a key element in the new-look structure by providing fast, personal help without the need for long referral waits.

For more information about our Young Person’s Sanctuaries, please visit our website Young Person's Sanctuary - Mind BLMK

The Bedfordshire Wellbeing Service is for residents of Bedfordshire (excluding Luton who has a separate service) who experience depression, anxiety, sadness, extreme shyness, obsessive behaviour, phobias, relationship difficulties including depression and common mental health symptoms or other psychological issues which are holding them back in their lives.

Telephone: 01234 880400

Website: www.elft.nhs.uk

Service Directory

4 Mental Health provide compassion-focussed mental health training courses and free self-help resources, with modules on wellbeing, self-harm and suicide mitigation. Training is delivered under the program name ‘Connecting with People’, with formats available to support the needs of both clinical and non-clinical audiences via a range of delivery modalities; face 2 face, webinar, e-Learning.

Website: www.4mentalhealth.com/

If something is troubling you, call Samaritans free, 24 hours a day 365 days a year.

Telephone: 116 123

Website: www.samaritans.org/

By answering five simple questions, adults will get a personalised mental health action plan with simple, practical tips to help them deal with stress and anxiety, boost their mood, sleep better and show ‘there are little things we can all do to look after our mental health’.

Complete the Mind Plan Quiz

Self help leaflets are available covering a range of conditions, including anxiety, depression and eating disorders.

Website: www.web.ntw.nhs.uk/selfhelp

The Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is leading a movement against male suicide, the single biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK. Join the campaign to take a stand against male suicide and get the tools you need for action.

Telephone: 0800 58 58 58

Website: www.thecalmzone.net

Bedfordshire and Luton Recovery College is part of the Bedfordshire Mental Health Academy which is a formal partnership with East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT) and the University of Bedfordshire.

The college is open to any adults who live or work in Bedfordshire and Luton. All of their courses and workshops are FREE of CHARGE. 

Find out more

Papyrus is a national charity dedicated to the prevention of young suicide.

Hopeline UK: 0800 068 41 41

Email: pat@papyrus-uk.org

Website: papyrus-uk.org

Milton Keynes Specialist Memory Service offers a comprehensive psychiatric and neuro-psychological assessment of an individual’s memory, ensuring that if a diagnosis of dementia is made, the diagnosis is given as soon as possible.

Telephone: 01908 801020

Website: www.cnwl.nhs.uk

Reading Well promotes the benefits of reading for health and wellbeing. The programme has two strands: Books on Prescription and Mood-boosting Books.

Email: readingwell@readingagency.org.uk

Website: https://reading-well.org.uk

Information and Support for all mental health issues.

Telephone: 0300 123 3393

Website: www.mind.org.uk/

Update on our Crisis Cafés

Chasing the Stigma (CTS) has launched the Hub of Hope – a national Mental Health database aimed at bringing help and support together in one place, with a focus on grass roots organisations.

Enter your postcode at the Hope of Hub website and it brings up local organisations and local groups that can help people suffering from mental health problems.

Depression Alliance bring people together with comprehensive resources to help end the loneliness and isolation that so often comes with depression.

Website: www.depressionalliance.org/

Arts for Health has funding from The Rothschild Foundation to run HEADSTART, an art programme for young people aged 13 – 17 years who experience stress, anxiety or depression.

For more information or to refer a young person, please contact sharon.paulger@mkuh.nhs.uk or call 01908 996124.

Download Referral Form

Get answers on mental health from world leading experts and those with lived experience. Just Ask A Question

Help, information and support for all those affected by mental illness.

'We improve the lives of people severely affected by mental illness through our network of local groups and services, expert information and successful campaigning. Our goal is to make sure everyone severely affected by mental illness has a good quality of life.'

Telephone: 0808 801 0525

Website: www.rethink.org/

For people who hear voices, see visions or have other unusual perceptions.

The group is open to people who hear voices and live in the Bedfordshire area. The members are all people who are interested in talking about their experiences of voice hearing and would like to share these with others.

Telephone: 01234 310044 (Dave)

Email: dayresourcecentre@blpt.nhs.uk

Website: www.hearing-voices.org/groups/bedford/

No Panic is a registered charity which helps people who suffer from Panic Attacks, Phobias, Obsessive Compulsive Disorders and other related anxiety disorders including those people who are trying to give up Tranquillizers.

Telephone: 0300 772 9844 (10am-10pm 365 days a year)

Youth Line: 0330 606 1174 (10am-10pm 365 days a year)

24hr Crisis Line: 01908 680835

Website: nopanic.org.uk/

OCD Action provide support and information to anybody affected by OCD.

Telephone: 0300 636 5478

Email: support@ocdaction.org.uk

Website: ocdaction.org.uk/

The mental health and well-being of the people in our area is important to us. We are committed to making a real difference to people’s lives by developing mental health and learning disability services with an emphasis on compassion and empathy.

Website: www.blmkccg.nhs.uk

For more information about mental health, ways to cope with it and more visit -

NHS Choives - Mental Health

One You - Feeling stressed?

Reflect is a free, confidential and 24/7 text support service for anyone in Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire, Milton Keynes or Luton who needs advice or help. It is delivered by trained volunteers and clinicians who are available around the clock to listen and support anyone who is feeling anxious, lonely, overwhelmed or not quite themselves. It is part of the wider network of shout services across the UK.

Text reflect to 85258

The first call for help takes courage.

Specialist care and support for Service leavers, reservists, veterans and their families.

Telephone: 0300 365 2000

Email: gateway@berkshire.nhs.uk

NHS webite for more info: www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/armed-forces

Support For Patients With ADHD (From NB Medical Education):

Behavioural support can be accessed via organisations such as the ADHD foundation. They have a wide range of videos, podcasts and downloads to help with concerns such as sleep support, preparing for exams, impulse control and risk management, supporting social skills and relationships, and staying calm and positive.

CBT is very helpful for many people with neurodiversity. Low self-esteem is prevalent, as many people will have frequently been told that they are lazy or disruptive on a regular basis, and the frustration with not being able to achieve as they would like to can be difficult to come to terms with. CBT can also be helpful for those common issues such productivity, executive function, problem solving, and active listening skills. There is good range of free CBT modules on CCI and NHS Scotland has a free module on problem-solving

There are now a plethora of apps to help people with ADHD. Time management is a perennial issue and there are apps that help to organise time, block distractions for a period of time, track how much time is being spent on activity (to help that rabbit hole from becoming the Channel tunnel…) and assist in managing procrastination. There is a good overview of apps here by a self confessed tech geek with ADHD on the ADDitude site and also a good round up from Devon NHS Trust 

Sleep disturbance is an incredibly common issue in ADHD and the ADDISS website has a very useful download for parents who are struggling to manage their child’s ADHD sleep and the ADHD foundation has a page of different resources here

Exercise is well recognised for its mental health benefits and anecdotally helps keep the fidgets at bay. In addition, it has become more apparent that the benefits go further than this in ADHD, helping to improve attention, impulsivity and executive functioning. People with ADHD tend to experience hypoactivity in dopaminergic and noradrenergic systems in the pre-frontal cortex, and one of the benefits of exercise is to increase productivity of https://www.adhdfoundation.org.uk/https://www.adhdfoundation.org.uk

A lot of our patients will be frightened and stressed at the prospect of running out of meds, and the families, partners, carers and teachers of them may be significantly affected as well. By sharing these resources, and helping them to get their meds using the supply information, we can help them to weather the storm.

The websites below all have a great range of resources for our patients:

ADHD foundation

AADD-UK

ADDISS

The ADDISS bookshop has a huge range of curated book, for children, teenagers, adults and parents