Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Adults Mental Health Support

Who Can Help

You, or someone you know, might be in crisis if:

  • You are thinking of hurting yourself or suicide seems the only option.
  • Someone you know has made threats to hurt you or someone else.
  • You are experiencing extreme distress that seems overwhelming.

Who can help in a mental health crisis +

Call 111 and select the mental health option when prompted for Mental Health service for the First Response Service -

A 24-hour service for people in a mental health crisis. This service is for anyone, of any age, living in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. The phone will be answered by a trained mental health professional who will be able to listen to your concerns and help you get the support you need.  They can offer advice over the phone, put you in contact with the crisis services or even refer you to a Sanctuary - safe places run by Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and South Lincolnshire Mind (CPSL Mind). 

The Peterborough and Cambridge Sanctuaries offer short-term practical and emotional support between 6pm and 1am, seven days a week. You can watch a tour of the Cambridge Sanctuary.

Who can call?

If you aren't able to make the call yourself then anyone can call on your behalf, for example a friend, carer, loved one or even your GP. The service is available to anyone, of any age, currently living in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough in a mental health crisis.

For more information click here. 

There are lots of people who can help if you're suffering with a Mental Health Challenge! 

There are several local services here to help - you can find them on the What Services Can Support Me Page!

There is also a wide range of national services available to you - find these on our National Services Page!

You can check out loads of local services available in Cambridgeshire in the Lifecraft Mental Health Handbook. The Handbook is a directory of local and national mental health services, and is regularly updated. It also includes some useful services that are not specific to mental health. There are also chapters that explain relevant law and theory, plus information about statutory mental health services and professionals. You can download a free pdf version of it here!

Self help books are also out there for you if you would prefer to go down the self help road. There is the option of getting books on prescription -Reading Well Books on Prescription helps you to understand and manage your health and wellbeing using self-help reading. The scheme is endorsed by health professionals and supported by public libraries. You can also try mood boosting books - Reading Well Mood-boosting Books is a national promotion of uplifting titles, including novels, poetry and non-fiction. The books are all recommended by readers and reading groups.

*Some information gathered from www.nhs.uk and the services listed.

Information About Suicide +

Not everyone who thinks about suicide will tell someone and there are some people who give no indication at all of their intention. However, there are warning signs that we can all look out for. These include if a person is:

  • Talking or writing about death, dying or suicide.
  • Actively looking for ways to kill themselves.
  • Talking about feeling hopeless or having no reason to live.
  • Talking about being a burden to others.
  • Talking about feeling trapped or in unbearable pain.
  • Increasing their use of alcohol or drugs.
  • Suddenly very much ‘recovered’ after a period of depression.
  • Visiting or calling people unexpectedly to say goodbye either directly or indirectly.
  • Making arrangements; setting their affairs in order.
  • Giving things away, such as prized possessions.

The STOP Suicide website has lots of information on what to do if you are worried about someone or you need help yourself.

You can also visit the Zero Suicide Alliance website and complete a 20 minute suicide prevention course which can give you some extremely helpful information on how you can talk to someone who may be feeling suicidal along with some helpful resources.

There is also lots of support for people who are struggling with bereavement through suicide. Below are lots of services, helplines, groups and books that offer lots of help and advice:

Helplines +

  • CPFT1st Response Service - Call 111 and select mental health - Supports people experiencing a mental health crisis. Mental health care, advice, support and treatment. (24-hour access, 7 days a week, 365 days a year)

  • Lifeline - Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Crisis and Support Helpline, freephone 0808 808 2121 11am-11pm, 365 days a year.

  • Samaritans - 116 123 (freephone) - Offer a safe place for you to talk any time you like, in your own way – about whatever’s getting to you. You don’t have to be suicidal. (10:30am - 10:00pm)

  • Winston’s Wish - 08088 020 021 (freephone) - For children. Giving hope to grieving children. With the right support at the right time, a child can face the future with confidence and hope. (Mon – Fri 9am -5pm, except bank holidays)

  • Childline - 0800 1111 (freephone) - For children and young people in the UK. You can talk to us about anything. No problem is too big or too small.  However you choose to contact us, you're in control. It’s confidential and you don’t have to give your name if you don’t want to. The number won't show up on your phone bill. (24 hours a day, everyday)

  • Papyrus HOPE Line UK - 0800 068 41 41 (freephone) - For children, teenagers and young people up to 35. National Confidential Helpline.  If you are a young person at risk of suicide or are worried about a young person at risk of suicide. (Mon-Fri 10am - 10pm, Weekends: 2pm - 10pm, Bank Holidays: 2pm - 5pm)

  • CALM - Nationwide 0800 58 58 58, London 0808 802 5858 (freephone) - For men. The Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is dedicated to preventing male suicide, the single biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK. (5pm – Midnight, 365 Days per year)

  • Support Line - 01708 765200 - For everyone. Provides emotional support and details of support groups, helplines, agencies and counsellors throughout the UK.

  • Cruse National Helpline - 0808 808 1677​ (freephone) - Staffed by trained bereavement volunteers, who offer emotional support to anyone affected by bereavement.  To help you talk things through, or signpost you to your local Cruse service and other sources of information. (Monday-Friday 9.30-5pm (excluding bank holidays) Tues, Wed &Thursday 9.30am – 8pm)

  • Maytree - 020 7263 7070 - A sanctuary, supporting people in suicidal crisis in a non-medical setting. Free 4-night/5-day stay, and the opportunity to be befriended and heard in complete confidence, without judgement and with compassion. (24 hours a day, 365 days a year.)

Local Groups +

  • Lifecraft - Suicide Bereavement Support Service. Contact point for family and friends for support and information on bereavement by suicide. Email: sbs@lifecraft.org.uk or Call 01223 756 958

  • Mind Cambridgeshire & Peterborough - A range of services to support those recovering from mental health challenges. Email: enquiries@cpslmind.org.uk, Cambridge: 01223 311 320, Peterborough: 01733 362 990, St Neots: 01480 470 480

  • Cruse - Bereavement care with a helpline to talk to someone about bereavement. Email: cambridge@cruse.org.uk, 9.30am - 1.30pm Monday to Friday, call: 01223 633 536
  • NHS Cambridge & Peterborough Foundation Trust (CPFT) - Suicide bereavement support group. Warm welcome assured, contact Jane Pope (07973 883 511) or Mary Hanna (07887 655 713). Email: chaplaincyteam@cpft.hns.uk6pm – 7.30 Monday monthly in Peterborough, call: 01733 776 080

  • Compassionate Friends - Support group for parents bereaved through suicide. Email Rosemary Wilson at: p.wilson34@ntlworld.com, 7.30pm – 9.30pm Cambridge 1st Tues of each month

Websites +

  • Hub of Hope - A place to go to for those who are struggling, to locate the nearest service available to you, as well as national organisations. A web based app makes it as easy as possible for people to find help and support around them.  Simply enter the post code and search.
  • Support After Suicide - For everyone. We are a network of organisations who support people who are affected by suicide.

  • If U Care Share - IUCSF offers the opportunity to speak to other people who have life experience around suicide. We offer 1 to 1 practical and emotional support. We are also available to offer practical advice on the procedures that take place when there is a death by suicide. Helpline: 0191 387 5661

  • Bereavement UK - We aim to provide you with bereavement support and information when you need it the site is available at your fingertips.

  • Students Against Depression - Students Against Depression provides you with the resources you need to find a way forward from stress, low mood, depression or suicidal thinking.

  • The Way Foundation - For men and women aged 50 or under when their partner died. It’s a peer-to-peer support group run by a network of volunteers who have been bereaved at a young age themselves.

  • NHS Choices - For everyone.  It may be difficult at this time, but it's important to know you're not beyond help and you're not alone.  Many people who've had suicidal thoughts have found with support and treatment they have been able to allow the negative feelings to pass.

  • CHUMS - CHUMS Mental Health & Emotional Wellbeing Service for Children and Young People provides therapeutic support in a variety of ways.

  • Alliance of Hope - For Suicide Loss Survivors provides healing support for people coping with the shock, excruciating grief and complex emotions that accompany the loss of a loved one to suicide.

  • Keep Your Head - Keep Your Head brings together reliable information on mental health and wellbeing for children, young people and adults across Cambridgeshire & Peterborough.

Books and Literature +

  • Making Peace with Suicide: A Book of Hope, Understanding, and Comfort by Adele Ryan McDowell, Whiteflower Press
  • Healing After the Suicide of a Love One by Ann Smolin, Simon & Schuster
  • Healing After the Suicide of a Relative by Ann Smolin, Simon & Schuster
  • A Special Scar: The Experiences Of People Bereaved By Suicide by Alison Wertheimer, Taylor & Francis Ltd
  • No Time to Say Goodbye by Carla Fine, Bantam Doubleday Dell 
  • Dying to Be Free: A Healing Guide for Families After a Suicide by Cobain & Larch, Simon & Schuster
  • Making Peace with Suicide: A Book of Hope, Understanding, and Comfort by Edwin S Shneidman, Oxford University Press
  • Silent Grief: Living in the Wake of Suicide by Lukas & Seidon, Jessica Kingsley
  • Touched by Suicide: Hope and Healing After Loss by Myers & Fine, Jessica Kingsley

General Grief Books and Literature

  • Death and how to survive it. A practical and uplifting guide to coming to terms with the loss of your partner. by Boydell,K (2005), London Vermilion
  • Widow to Widow. Thoughtful, Practical ideas for Rebuilding Your life by Ginsburg, GD (1997), Tuscon AZ: Fisher Books
  • Overcoming Grief: Joining and Participating in a Bereavement Support Group by Munday J S (2005), Skokie IL : ACTA Publications
  • I  Wasn’t Ready to Say Goodbye by Noel & Blair PA (2008), Naperville IL Sourcebooks
  • My True Son An anthology by Hartley Jill (2008), Morleys Print and Publishing
  • Aspects of Loss. A companion for Bereaved Parents and their families by Hartley Gill. ( 2011), Morleys Print and Publishing

*Some information gathered from www.nhs.uk and the services listed.

Managed by The SUN Network