NHS Plymouth Talking Therapies — Mental Health Services in Plymouth, England

First phone call seemed really positive. Follow up poor. Need GP referrals or finances to pay for counselling etc. Given an online service to use even tho I specifically said this would be no good as if stressed or depressed id ignore as I bury my head. As with lots of nhs services these days very poor

Next to no support to be found here, took my partner off the list even though they cancelled the last 2 or 3 appointments themselves due to "staff sickness"

Not a good experience at all. Had to call numerous times and kept being told id get a call back. I gave times I wasnt available to recieve a call. They called when I wasnt available and took me off the list. I also know someone there who works there and is an alcoholic. I didnt disclose this but I did specify a certain practionor wasnt appropriate for me to have any communications with. They sent me the telephone assessment appointment with that practioner! Needless to say the conduct there didnt make for a safe talking environment about my past trauma. I went private for some assessments with practioners that had 10 plus years experience in EMDR which is what I was advised to have.

as other reviews suggest, not sure a great place. They cancelled my appointment without even telling me. Very strange.

AVOID AVOID AVOID!!!! This organisation NHS Plymouth Talking Therapies aka Plymouth Options, is truly a waste of taxpayers money! Staff are unprofessional, poorly trained and mostly seem to be students. The 'help' they offer is worthless! You'll be better off getting help elsewhere. Plymouth Options are useless! And they have been around for many years and are still useless! Here's an example of how disorganised and inept this organisation are. Sharon, one of their counsellors offered to send me 'useful info' on other organisations who offer mental health services eg NHS 111, my GP, Samaritans, Relate etc. This was during a telephone assessment I had with her where she told me Plymouth Options couldn't help me. I politely declined her offer of 'useful information' and told her that as I have access to the Internet, I can easily find this information myself. And this information is all over the Internet. There's no need for anyone to provide me with information that I can find within seconds on the internet. Sharon agreed with me and said it'd be pointless to send me this info for these reasons. However 1 hour later she sent me this 'useful info' in a letter via text message anyway. So she completely ignored my wishes and disrespected my boundaries. I was extremely angry at this lack of respect. But this is how Plymouth Options roll. This is pretty standard behaviour from them from past experiences I've had with them. And what's worse is it's 2025 not 1995. The Internet is now the go to place for most people. And as a result the Internet has lots of useful info available on Mental Health. So why on earth would I or anyone else with access to the Internet, need Plymouth Options to send us 'useful information' that is already available to us on the Internet? Unless you don't have access to the Internet or are unable to use it for whatever reason, then there is no need for Plymouth Options to be sending unwanted information to clients! And they also have a Website which has the same unsolicited 'useful information' that Sharon sent me! So what's the point of having a Website then? Why not suggest people look on their Website for 'useful information'? I am genuinely baffled! It's also important to mention that Sharon clearly took time to write her letter to me, with 'useful information' included that she'd clearly copied and pasted from the Internet or somewhere else. The very same internet that I told her I would access myself if I needed useful information to help me. And the very same information I told her I didn't want her to send to me because it's already available on the internet. Sharon decided to waste taxpayers time and money anyway to type out her unwanted copy and paste letter to me. I never asked her to do this. In fact I said NO! Plymouth Options staff clearly have alot of time on their hands to waste. Sending me information I never requested, that I made clear I didn't want and that is easy to find on the internet, is disgraceful. Then they have the nerve to tell you that they are busy and have huge case loads! This is untrue because they clearly have time to write unwanted copy and paste letters to clients. If you can afford to, please pay for private counselling and CBT. Look online for private services in Plymouth. But trust me when I say you should avoid Plymouth Options. They are just not worth the hassle! They are a Mickey Mouse Club! My hope is that many of us together, can get this organisation shut down. They are a waste of taxpayers money and we need to contact our MPs as well as petition to have them shut down. They should have been shut down years ago and replaced. I'm sure the govt can hire another organisation that will be better than this lot are. We definitely deserve better than Plymouth Options. And the positive reviews you see on here are likely not genuine in my opinion. They are probably written by the staff themselves, their friends or families. This organisation deserves 0 stars! 5 star reviews are unbelievable given how useless Plymouth Options are! AVOID AVOID AVOID!

I cannot thank this service enough. I am so grateful for the kind, patient and knowledgeable help I received from the amazing therapist I saw. He has given me hope that I can get through my struggles. That is priceless. Every member of staff I met was welcoming, kind and professional. There are some very negative reviews on here, but I can only say positive things. I hope the wonderful people who work here know that they are appreciated and valued beyond words.

I read these reviews before starting my own journey with Plym Talking Therapies and was sceptical. In fact I was sceptical about CBT in general and didn’t have high hopes for the process. However, all I can say is I was massively pleasantly surprised. Don’t go expecting miracles, and don’t go unless you’re 100% prepared to challenge yourself, put the work in and be open minded. I met a brilliant therapist called Isabel who helped me with my own crippling struggles with anxiety. She’s really helped me change and challenge some fundamental thought processes and beliefs I’ve had for all my life. Extremely grateful to her. Only negative about it all is the time waiting to see someone, but that certainly isn’t the fault of the therapists working there. If you’re reading this, be reassured and give it a try !

''What a joke! Haven't even finished the CBT course yet, but was discharged by my support lady because I've had 1 week of feeling a bit better!! She has decided I'm in recovery. 1 week after 4 years...really? Useless, no point in completing course now as no-one will be monitoring or supporting me. And now I'm discharged and listed as an Options success story" Incredibly disappointed. Sent from my Galaxy

I attended the Stress Management course and then had one to one CBT which was helpful and it helped me through some tough times. Please take the negative reviews here with a pinch of salt, this service explains on their website what they can and cannot offer I.e. they can't support people with risk. It's a free NHS talking therapies service with some caring staff. Update 21st March 2023: I have used Plymouth Options again, had one to one CBT and found their staff and the intervention I've received helpful. My referral was processed fairly quickly, waited a few weeks for assessment and to start treatment.

I had EMDR Therapy with Richard and it has completely changed my life. I didn't think it could or should work. But i cannot recommend it highly enough. Whenever i can i tell people and the effect it has had on me personally and for my family too. Staff are very professional, nothing is too much. When arriving it is a very safe environment which makes it easy to do the counselling provided. Yes the waiting times are sometimes long, but you are getting a free service. And what is 6 months of waiting when it could change the next 20-30 years of your life and for the better.