What to expect from NHS Talking Therapies

Well done for taking the first step in coming along to NHS Talking Therapies. It can often be the most difficult step.

We understand that it can sometimes be really challenging to attend appointments. To help with this, we have created this webpage to explain what to expect when attending your appointment. 

We hope that reading this information will help you to feel more prepared and confident to attend your appointment. If you have any questions or queries, please call us on (01472) 625100.

How can NHS Talking Therapies help me?

NHS Talking Therapies is a service that provides short term talking therapies for people with anxiety and depression. Find out more details about what the service offers.

Where is NAViGO House?

NAViGO House can be found at 3-7 Brighowgate, Grimsby, DN32 0QE.

Our opening times are:

Monday: 9am-5pm

Tuesday: 9am-8pm

Wednesday: 9am-8pm

Thursday: 9am-5pm

Friday: 9am-5pm

Getting here by bus

There are 16 buses which stop in Grimsby town centre, which is less than a ten minute walk away from NAViGO House. 

If the bus stops near Grimsby Town railway station, it is a three minute walk to NAViGO House. To plan your visit, go to the Stagecoach website.

Getting here by car

If you're driving to NAViGO House, there is on-street parking outside the building which is limited to one hour. 

There are several Pay and Display car parks too, including: 

• Abbeygate (DN31 1NB)
• Freshney Place multi-storey (DN31 1ED)
• Duchess Street (DN32 0RH)

Duchess Street Car Park is around a four minute walk away from us.

What facilities are at NAViGO House?

• Disabled car parking 
• Disabled WC
• Step-free access 
• Wheelchair access
• Café 

Arriving at your first appointment

When you enter, you will be received by the friendly reception staff who will take your name and guide you to the waiting room. 

You will be asked to complete some paper questionnaires whilst you wait.

When the appointment is due to begin, you’ll be greeted by the practitioner who will show you to the treatment room and begin the session.

Attending the appointment

You’ll be asked to fill out some questionnaires before every appointment. There are no right or wrong answers to these. 

The practitioner will outline the aims of the session and the things that you may cover. You will have an opportunity to have your say about what you’d like to cover.

It is important to note:

• You can tell your practitioner you don’t want to talk about a particular event or detail if it makes you distressed
• You can leave the appointment at any time 
• Let your practitioner know if you need a break — therapy can be intense and they will understand this 

The appointment will end by reviewing how you found the session and booking another appointment, if appropriate. If you have any questions, please call (01472) 625100.

A suitability assessment is where you can discuss the difficulties you have been experiencing recently and what impact this is having. This can take up to 45 minutes.
  
By the end of the assessment, we will come to a joint decision about the next step. Sometimes we might be able to make that decision there and then. There are other times that we may need more time to think about the next steps.

How to get the most out of your appointment

Do

• Let us know as soon as you are unable to attend appointments so we can let someone else have that appointment
• Think about what you would like to get from the appointments
• Prioritise the appointments as people are more likely to see improvement when they attend regularly
• Arrive 10 minutes early to complete a questionnaire
• Let us know if there’s anything we can do to make it easier for you to attend your appointments.

Try not to

• Arrive with children or dependants
• Have your phone on, answer calls (that aren’t emergencies) or respond to texts whilst in session
• Miss too many appointments as you may lose that session and the total number of sessions you have may be reduced. For example, if you were initially offered 12 sessions and miss two appointments, you may only be offered 10 more sessions.

Each appointment, we will ask you to complete a questionnaire. This will give a snapshot of the symptoms you have. We would hope to see the scores reducing over time. 

If you need help completing the form, just ask. One of our team will be happy to help you!

If you need to cancel your appointment, please let us know 24-48 hours before the scheduled appointment, if possible. This will help us re-book your appointment for a more suitable time for you.

Please call us on (01472) 625100 to cancel. We can then offer that appointment to someone else.

Non-attendance without prior notice leads us to class your session as ‘Did Not Attend’ (DNA). Two consecutive DNA appointments will lead to us ending your referral to NHS Talking Therapies. Multiple cancellations may also result in you being discharged from the service. This is due to high demand for the service and lengthy waiting times. 

However, we realise busy and ever-changing schedules can act as a barrier to attending appointments, too. To help with this, we will aim to be as flexible as possible when rearranging appointments.