MENTAL health services in Dorset will be open as usual over the festive period.

While a time of celebration, for many Christmas can be a difficult time, and support is available through Dorset’s Access Mental Health services, which will stay open as usual for anyone struggling to cope, feeling low, anxious or heading towards a crisis.

Led by Dorset HealthCare, the services offer round-the-clock help and advice to those in need, in person, over the phone and online over Christmas and into the new year.

Mental health services open over Christmas in Dorset:

Connection
The county’s Connection helpline is open 24/7 for support, advice and signposting for anyone in Dorset. Direct dial 0800 652 0190 or call NHS 111 and select the mental health option.
Connection has this year received an average of 4,500-5,000 calls per month. One caller to the service said:
“I really felt listened to and supported at a time when I was struggling to cope. It means so much to know I am not alone and was assured by the person I spoke to that I could call back any time and that I wasn’t being a nuisance.”

Face-to-face and online services available include:

• The Retreat: A drop-in service run in partnership with the Dorset Mental Health Forum which provides a way for over-18s to talk through problems with a mental health worker or peer specialist face-to-face. The Bournemouth Retreat is open from 4.30pm to 11.30pm every day and Dorchester’s Retreat is open from 4.30pm to 11.30pm, Sunday to Wednesday.
• Community Front Rooms: A face-to-face drop-in support service for over-18s in Bridport, Shaftesbury and Wareham (from 2.15pm to 9.45pm, Thursday to Sunday) and Weymouth (from 2.15pm to 9.45pm, Monday to Sunday). Virtual support is also available. They are run by local charities – The Burrough Harmony Centre (Bridport), Hope (Shaftesbury) and Bournemouth Churches Housing Association (Wareham and Weymouth) – and are all staffed by mental health and peer support workers.

Laura Ekelund, Dorset HealthCare’s crisis and acute community services manager, said: “We know this time of year can be particularly hard for many, and our Access Mental Health Services are here to help.

“Our Connection mental health crisis phone line is available 24/7. Please do call us if you are worried about your own, or someone close to you, mental health – our experienced mental health staff are here to listen and support you to find a way forward, whatever the circumstances.”

In-person support is available in the evenings at the Retreats and Community Front Rooms.

For more information, log on to www.dorsethealthcare.nhs.uk/access-mental-health, and for more on other mental health support for all ages, visit www.dorsethealthcare.nhs.uk/takeastep.