Mental Health and employment support

What we offerNot sure where to start?Find wider supportHow we workNeed urgent help?
What we offer
We provide free, community-based mental health and wellbeing support across Sussex, so people can get well, stay well, and feel less alone when things are hard.

We work alongside adults across Sussex through community wellbeing support, help during periods of mental health crisis, specialist recovery services, and support with employment.

Our services are person-centred, recovery-focused, and shaped by people with lived experience. All services on this page are free and for adults aged 18 and over.

This page will help you understand where to start, whether you are looking for support for yourself or someone else.

Find supportGet urgent help

Not sure where to start?

You do not need to understand the mental health system or know the name of the service you need before asking for help:

If you live in Brighton and Hove or East Sussex

Brighton and Hove

East Sussex

Contact UOK for information about local mental health and wellbeing support. The team can listen to what you need and help you explore suitable options.

Contact UOK

If you live in West Sussex

West Sussex

Pathfinder brings together mental health support provided by organisations across West Sussex.

Visit Pathfinder West Sussex

Talk to your GP surgery

Your GP surgery can talk to you about your mental health, refer you to appropriate NHS services, and tell you about mental health or social prescribing support available through the surgery.

NHS Talking Therapies

Adults experiencing difficulties such as anxiety, depression, excessive worry, panic, post-traumatic stress, or obsessive-compulsive disorder may be able to refer themselves to their local NHS Talking Therapies service.

Find NHS Talking Therapies in Sussex
Find wider support

Mental health can be affected by other pressures

Money worries, housing problems, loneliness, domestic abuse, substance use, relationships, caring responsibilities, and other life circumstances can all affect how you feel.

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust brings together information about mental health, NHS services, and practical support available through councils and community organisations.

Find wider mental health and practical support
How we work

How we work alongside you

Mental health support should recognise you as a whole person, not a diagnosis or a set of symptoms.

We will listen with curiosity rather than judgement and work at a pace that feels manageable. We focus on your experiences, choices, strengths, relationships, and hopes for the future.

Many of our teams include Peer Workers who draw on their own lived experience of mental health challenges. Peer support can help people feel understood, reduce isolation, and show that change and recovery are possible.

Our approach is guided by the Southdown Beacon, our shared framework for psychologically informed support. It helps us create environments and relationships where people can feel safe, respected, included, and able to take an active role in their support.

We also work closely with NHS services, local authorities, GPs, and community organisations. This helps make support more connected and reduces the need for people to navigate complicated systems alone.

Learn how we work

Need urgent mental health help?

If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999 or go to A&E.

If you need urgent mental health help but there is no immediate danger:

  • call NHS 111 and select the mental health option
  • text SUSSEX to 85258 for free, confidential text support
  • visit a Staying Well service for walk-in, out-of-hours support

 You can ask for help for yourself or someone else. You do not need to have used mental health services before.

Real stories

Real experiences

For me, Southdown is about kindness, respect and genuine support. They help people like me move forward with our lives and gain independence.
Everyone’s experience of mental health and support is different.

Read how people have used peer support, crisis support, recovery services, and employment support to build confidence, find connection, and take steps forward in their lives.

Read mental health stories

Looking for support?

Find out what services are available to you or someone you care about.