Psychiatric Liaison Team Link Work Service
Who are we?
The Psychiatric Liaison Team Link Work service is here to support people who access the Emergency Department at Sunderland Royal Hospital and may be finding things difficult with their mental health.
We offer gentle, practical, non-clinical support for anyone aged 16 and over in Sunderland, helping people cope with day‑to‑day challenges that may be affecting their wellbeing. It adopts a holistic, strengths-based, and goal-oriented model to provide person-centred support that addresses emotional, social, and environmental stressors. Our support focuses on understanding what’s going on in your life and working together to find small, manageable steps that can make things feel a little easier.
The aim is to help reduce stress, build confidence, and connect you with the right support so you feel better supported in the community.
What do we offer?
By building a relationship with you and using a person centred approach, the service will provide tailored support to help you identify, set and achieve “what matters to me” goals to tackle issues in your life that are having a negative impact on your wellbeing.
You may be struggling with anxiety, isolation, debt, housing issues, homelessness, a new mental health diagnosis, self-esteem, depression and more.
Our link workers will offer you an assessment to understand your specific needs and then provide:
- Mental and emotional health and wellbeing support
- Advice/Signposting/Advocacy around benefits, financial issues or debt
- Coping, grounding and distraction techniques such as recognising early warning signs, developing insight, breathing techniques, safety planning etc
- A listening ear
- Advice/signposting or advocacy for practical issues such as housing, finances, employment, education etc
- Signposting/referrals into or advocacy with specialist services such as Adult Social Care, GPs
- Information and guidance on self-help documents/resources
- Identifying social and leisure activities and connecting with local community assets
You may be engaging in support for your mental health but other issues in your life are getting in the way of making positive change. We can support you to identify what in your life you’d like support with and work together to create manageable, achievable goals to work towards personal growth and recovery.
Who is this service for?
This service is for anyone who is:
- Ages 16 or over
- Living in Sunderland
- Has or currently is, being supported by a mental health service where there are additional practical needs have been identified
This service accepts referrals from the Psychiatric Liaison Team in Sunderland Royal Hospital and Primary Care Teams. If you feel you would benefit from this support, please discuss this with your worker.
Where is the service located?
Depending on your needs, we can support you remotely via online video or telephone sessions as well as in person. We can offer face to face support at our main building in the centre of Sunderland, your GP surgery and the Mental Health Hubs or from a range of community centres or public spaces across Sunderland.