Frequently asked questions

We will attempt to contact you 3 times to book your appointment using two different contact methods. This will most likely be via text with a link to book your appointment or by telephone. If you would prefer alternative methods please contact us on 0113 8434388.

We will provide a safe and secure environment for your sessions and will be clear with you about your treatment, ensuring that you have a say in the treatment you receive.
We will keep your information confidential except if there are concerns about safety of yourself or others, in which case we will take appropriate action and discuss this with you.

Wherever possible, we will work with you to find something that best suits your preferences. We will make up to three separate reasonable* appointment offers. If you decline all three offers, you may be discharged and have to re-refer should you wish to still seek support from the service. If you book then cancel two appointments you may be discharged. If you are using the choose and book system, you will be able to book your own appointment from those available, however if you book then cancel two times you may be discharged.
*a reasonable offer constitutes an offer that is provided with appropriate notice, does not directly conflict with a time you have told us you are not available, and is accessible to you.

It is important that you complete the symptom questionnaires for each session and commit to doing any agreed between session work. If you need any support or adaptations to the questionnaires or support with your homework completion, please discuss it with your therapist.
Please ensure you are clear of alcohol or drugs for any sessions and treat your therapist with respect.
Please ensure you arrange childcare for your sessions and to discuss any problems with this with your therapist as soon as possible.

We will provide you with good quality and evidence-based treatment, reviewing this regularly with you, and have your best interests at heart throughout your care.
Therapy is delivered in stages, starting with a small number of sessions to understand your needs, set goals, and review whether the approach is suitable. If both you and your therapist agree, you can continue with further sessions, with regular reviews of your progress, engagement, and how helpful the treatment is. If the approach is not the right fit, we will work with you to consider alternative options.

Please attend all appointments as agreed and ensure you are on time for appointments. If you are late for an appointment, it may not be possible to go ahead, and this may count as a planned session.

If you do not attend a planned appointment and have not made contact with your therapist, they will attempt to contact you by text, phone or email on the day of the appointment giving you 5 working days to make contact. The message will state that you will be discharged from the service if you do not make contact within the above specified time scales.

There is a high demand for the service, if the time elapses with no response, a discharge summary will be sent to your GP.

Please ensure that you only cancel appointments (by telephone, text or email) when unavoidable give as much notice as possible (at least 48 hours where possible).

There is a high demand for the service and by giving enough notice the appointment can be offered to someone else.

Cancelled appointments may be counted within the planned treatment lengths and thereby reduce the number of treatment sessions available to you.

If you miss any two scheduled appointments during the course of your therapy (this includes not attending an appointment without prior notice, or cancelling your appointments), your therapist will assume that you no longer wish to receive treatment and they will complete your discharge from the service.

The only exception to this is where it has been identified at the beginning of therapy or at the point of missing an appointment any additional barriers to your regular attendance. If you feel this applies to you, please discuss this with your therapist.

If your therapist is unwell or the appointment needs to be cancelled at short notice for other reasons, we will arrange to inform you by the most appropriate method (text, telephone or email). This will not count as one of your sessions.

Individual contact details provided to you are only to be used to cancel or rearrange appointments. Messages will be picked up throughout the therapists working days (may be part time) and email or phone are not constantly manned. There will not be an immediate response to messages, therefore please do not use these contact details in times of crisis, please use crisis support numbers if required.

Yes, Leeds NHS Talking Therapies Service have introduced an online ability to view and select appointments for patients who require an initial assessment with the service. The appointment will be to find out more about your referral and mental health needs.

We have introduced online ‘Choose and Book’ to offer more choice to patients who were referred to our service and need an initial assessment. Patients can choose an appointment slot date and time that is suitable for them without telephone calls or emails with the service or being offered an appointment date without patient needs/preference being considered (for example, you are receiving an appointment date by letter with no choice).

We will not be offering this to patient who have informed us on their referral that they have accessibility needs or require reasonable adjustments, if you have put information about this on your referral you will hear from us separately by telephone call or email (as required).

Please call us on 0113 843 4388 and ask for a new link to be sent.

Alternatively, we can book the assessment appointment over the phone (this may take longer due to staff not being able to easily review all appointment slots for your needs, the easiest way for patients to choose their suitable appointment is to use the online Choose and Book web page).

Please call 0113 843 4388 as soon as you can to review your details (if we have an incorrect date of birth for you this will fail validation online) and have a new link sent or book the appointment over the telephone.

If you would like support for internet use or digital support, please note that Leeds Community Healthcare has information on digital support.

Alternatively, please visit your local Leeds Library who can offer digital support, offer access to digital devices and SIM cards as well as have public computers for access.
For more information call Leeds Libraries on 0113 3785 005 or visit Leeds Libraries here.

If you have reasonable adjustment needs (for example need a sign language interpreter, a non-English speaking interpreter, type-talk or other requirements) please call us on 0113 843 4388 or if you are unable to use a telephone, please email leeds.mws@nhs.net providing your full name and date of birth and provide details of the adjustments required.

An email confirmation is always sent when the booking is fully completed online. If you cannot find an email, please check your junk filter. You can also reuse the same link, enter your date of birth and view appointments you have booked.

You must press ‘Book appointment’ for the booking to complete, if you did not press this the booking was not completed and no email would have been sent.
Please revisit the link from text message and either view your booked appointment or fully complete a booking.

To cancel an appointment with more than 48 hours’ notice, you can re-use the same link on your text message to access the booked appointment and select to cancel it on the web page.

If you are cancelling within 48 hours of the appointment you will need to call us by telephone on 0113 843 4388 or email leeds.mws@hs.net with your name and date of birth.
If you cannot find the previous text message with link or receive an error on access, please call us using above details.

If you cancel your appointment more than 2 times, we will contact you to discuss any further requirements and/or discuss discharge from the service if it is no longer suitable for you.

If you change any of your contact information since referral please call the service on 0113 843 4388 as soon as possible so that we can update our records and have the correct way to contact you.

The ‘Choose and Book’ web pages are updated frequently with new slots, please try again at another time. If you feel you have tried on several occasions and still cannot find anything, please call us on 0113 843 4388 to discuss your needs.