The Woking Safe Harbour, a daytime crisis prevention service for Surrey adults, is reflecting on their progress as the first clients complete the programme.
Safe Harbour offers a comprehensive six-week programme for individuals referred clinically by healthcare professionals. The pilot launched in November 2024 and has now seen several clients through the full programme.
Hawa Mohamud manages the service and says, “It’s been very exciting seeing the service develop, and it’s been heartwarming seeing the growth of clients who have engaged in the programme.”
Over the six weeks, clients are given the opportunity to talk through their problems, receive counsel, practical help, psychoeducation, and coping strategies for mental health crisis prevention.
Fareen is a support worker at Safe Harbour and says that “Many clients don’t know much about diagnoses they’ve received. This can exacerbate mental health struggles when an individual doesn’t know why they feel the way they do. We can explore their current presentation and help with that understanding.”
One client who has completed the six-week programme explains that “It’s been helpful to understand myself. It’s the first-time anxiety, depression and overthinking have ever been explained to me, and this has helped a lot. It’s the best mental health service I have used, genuine help, I wish I met you four months ago. I feel I’ve made a lot of progress.”
Whilst each client is provided with structure and a timetable, the programme offers flexibility to meet the needs of each individual. This may mean meeting in a different location or remotely, focusing more on one-to-one rather than group support, or working on a particular area of concern for the client, whether that be practical or emotional.
A client explains the benefit of this approach: “Normally I cannot attend other services because I can’t stick to a programme and its structure. I think it’s good that you have options of where to meet, and flexible with meeting if I am too unwell. It is sometimes stressful having to contact every day, so it has been good slowly building it up with you. The slow introduction helped because I need to build a rapport before I slowly start healing.”
Before a client of Safe Harbour leaves the service, Hawa explains that they will be guided to ongoing support: “We will look at what each client needs are beyond our service and then make necessary referrals or signposting. This is so that after the six weeks, they are not left feeling lost; they know they have ongoing support within the community.”
To learn more about the Safe Harbour and to donate to Catalyst Support’s work, visit their website at: https://catalystsupport.org.uk/services/mental-health/safe-harbour/.