Listening Lounge Extends Mental Health Support

Jersey's Listening Lounge has set up a dedicated helpline for people struggling with mental health issues because of coronavirus.

The 'Listening Line', available on 866793, allows the counselling team to speak to more than one person at a time and offer informal support for anyone feeling isolated or experiencing distress and loneliness.

It's set up while the walk-in facility on Charles Street is closed to limit the spread of Covid-19.

Team Leader Lucy Nicolau says they are here to help anyone in need.

"At a time where we are experiencing perhaps greater distress as a community, we really do need to make sure the support is available and is available that people can access easily.

"We want to remove as many of the barriers as we can at the moment to make sure that people can still have some support if they feel that they need it."

Other services being offered at the moment include:

The Listening Lounge is also extending other lines of support while the walk-in facility is closed.

That includes:

* Assessment and counselling appointments over the phone or online

* The dedicated counselling team can contact clients via phone call or Zoom video conferencing - which will be used on an appointment-only basis.

* Wellbeing sessions are being offered via live video link to encourage islanders to stay active and take time to protect their mental health.

The opening times remain at 10am-10pm until further notice.

"All of us, perhaps, are going to feel a bit more vulnerable to experiencing difficulties with our mental health and our wellbeing in a way that we haven't done previously.

"Firstly I think we need to just acknowledge that and have a bit of self-compassion and self-kindness. These are really unprecedented times and it's quite usual to have those experiences and to feel a bit different about ourselves, people around us and the situation in general." - Lucy Nicolau, Team Leader.

New self-referrals can be made by filling out the relevant form on www.linc.je and emailing it to [email protected] where a member of the team will get in touch to schedule an appointment.