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Home > Research & Resources > Services & Support Directory

Services & Support Directory

NSUN is not a mental health service or support provider. We also do not currently have the resource or expertise to provide advocacy and formal advice or individual casework and legal support. You can find information about providers of these services below.

This page also lists lots of other services, resources, and sources of information and support on a range of mental health related topics (including information on other user-led mental health groups).

If you would like help with being signposted to the right place, if you’re a user-led group looking for advice or support about running your group, or if you have suggestions for resources to add (please note: we aim to only add free to access resources), get in touch with us at info@nsun.org.uk.

In order, this page contains the following sections:

  1. Mental health support & services
  2. Advice, information & advocacy services
  3. Other services, resources & support (including around complaints about care, human rights and legal advice, benefits, support for user-led groups, and information on involvement/co-production)
  4. Other user-led groups/DPOs and similar organisations (including those focussing on lived experience work and other organisations in the critical mental health space)

The listing of an organisation, service, or resource on this page is not an endorsement or recommendation. All links are external and NSUN is not responsible for their content.

We know that many of us have negative experiences seeking support from mental health services and similar organisations which may be listed on this page (or signposted to in directories or webpages linked to from this page), however, we have tried to bring together as many options as possible for people to consider and decide whether they may be helpful for themselves and their current situations.

1. Mental health support & services

You can also find a list of user-led groups, some of which provide peer support, in section 4 (below).

2. Advice, information & advocacy services

Advice/information services

You can also use the drop down menus in section 3 (below) to find more information and advice services, including information about making complaints about care.

Advocacy services

Advocacy services usually provide a range of support in different contexts, but most are able to provide Independent Mental Health Advocates (IMHAs) to people detained under the Mental Health Act or being treated under a community treatment order.

3. Other services, resources & support

Complaints/challenges about care

See also: “Human rights/mental health related law and legal advice” (drop down menu, below) and advocacy services (section 2, above).

Human rights/mental health related law and legal advice

See also: “Complaints/challenges about care” (drop down menu, above) and advocacy services (section 2, above).

Help with finance, welfare claims or appeals, and benefits
Healthcare/mental healthcare groups and forums
Support for user-led groups
Asylum and immigration support
Groups that do mental health ward inpatient visits (London)

We would really like to add to this list and expand it beyond London. Please contact us if you know of any other groups doing this type of work.

Resources on “service user involvement” and co-production

If you are looking for resources, information and publications on service user involvement and co-production, including information and guidance about the implications on benefits of paid involvement work, visit our “Service Involvement & Influencing” page. If you are an organisation looking to do involvement and co-production, and are looking for help in setting this up, running it, or evaluating it, we recommend the services of user-led organisation Shaping Our Lives.

4. Other user-led groups/DPOs and similar organisations

Lived experience-led mental health groups and DPOs

User-, community- or lived experience-led groups and Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) may carry out a wide range of activities such as campaigning, providing services such as peer support and mutual aid, providing consultancy/training, and carrying out research. Here are some examples of groups in our network:

Organisations focussing on lived experience workforce

The following groups work with a specific focus on the lived experience workforce/”lived experience leadership” (i.e. for people working in lived experience/peer roles in organisations such as the NHS). They may be useful for both “lived experience leaders” and organisations that have “lived experience leadership” roles.

Other organisations in the UK critical mental health space

There are lots of other organisations (which may or may not be fully or partially user-led) working, campaigning, and researching in what gets called the “critical” or “alternative” mental health spaces in the UK, some of which are listed below. They are focussed broadly on critical analysis and challenge of mainstream models and approaches towards mental health.