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Emotional support for parents

Having a baby can affect your emotions, but help is available to support your emotional wellbeing.

Getting help

Get help if it's not an emergency

You can call:

  • SLaM 24-hour crisis line on 0800 731 2864 for connection to local mental health services including crisis support teams
  • NHS on 111 for urgent advice
  • Samaritans on 116 123 for a safe space to talk

All of these lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Get help if it's an emergency:

  • phone 999 and ask for an ambulance

Get support in Southwark

Healthy Minds Thrive

Healthy Minds Thrive is part of the Family Hubs and Start for Life initiative. It supports parents and carers with their emotional wellbeing and helps them develop healthy relationships with their babies.

Who Healthy Minds Thrive support

All parents including:

  • mothers and fathers
  • single parents
  • carers, foster parents and adopting parents
  • grandparents, aunts and uncles
  • other supporting family members

How Healthy Minds Thrive can support you

It offers you the service that best supports your individual needs. This can come in the form of:

  • 1-2-1 sessions
  • group sessions
  • whole family support
  • providing you with resources (physical or virtual)
  • signposting and referring you to the right person

The support can help with:

  • increasing your confidence in yourself and in navigating parenting
  • reducing experiences of stress and low mood
  • feeling less isolated
  • helping you find and build your 'village'
  • improving bonding with baby
  • understanding that your experience is normal!

Contact Healthy Minds Thrive

Healthy Minds Thrive is located at these Southwark Children and Family Centres:

You can self-refer or ask anyone from your support team to get in contact. 

You can also:

Wellbeing champions

Reach out and speak to \ wellbeing champion who are based in all our Children and Family Centres. They provide advice and help you access services.

Southwark Parental Mental Health Team

The Southwark Parental Mental Health Team is an early intervention nurse-led service. It supports parents with children aged 0 to 5 who are experiencing emotional distress.

It provides:

  • in-home mental health and emotional support assessment
  • help for parents to adjust to parent-hood
  • therapeutic groups
  • support to access other services

Contact the Southwark Parental Mental Health Team

You can:

CAMHS under-5s service

The CAMHS under-5s service can:

  • build stronger relationships between parents and babies or young children
  • help you understand young children’s feelings and behaviours
  • help children and parents who may have experienced stress
  • improve your confidence with your children

Contact CAMHS under-5s service

You can: