NHS Oldham Talking Therapies - Oldham

John L.

My experience with Oldham Talking Therapies has been nothing but positive, I could not have asked for a better therapist Abida has been attentive, non judgmental and understanding towards me. The sessions have not only helped to understand the issues but have given me the confidence to move forward with life in a positive manner. It has been a great help and I would recommend this service to anyone.

Sophie P.

Update:
Since my initial referral in August, I've finally been approved for counselling, and been told that there is a 30-35 week wait from referral, meaning I'll likely be waiting another 4 months, at least, to get the help that I need.

First Post:
After waiting two and a half months since my initial referral, I had my assessment appointment on Thursday. I was told to expect a callback on Friday, the day after, with an update on what the service can provide. It's now Tuesday, I've tried to call them, but no one is picking up. It's honestly ridiculous.

Ursula M.

First of all, I'd like to thank Abida for helping me through a very difficult time in my life. Not only did I have my intensive therapy, but it also helped me grieve for my dad.
I feel completing therapy and going every week has changed my mindset and helped me massively.
Completing all the homework and using the strategies Abida gave me and even after our last session today knowing that I still have all my work completed which is still available to me that if I have a blip I can fall back on the strategies we have worked on and completed.
Abida was professional, understanding and empathetic towards me, kept me informed every week through email and sent me my homework after every session.
Thank you Abida.

Ryder N.

I had 9 sessions of cbt here and my therapist Abida really truly helped me understand my problems and I’m genuinely doing a lot better since I started.

Elizabeth

I have recently completed a course of High Intensity CBT for OCD with Abida Akhtar - High-Intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapist, and I cannot thank this service enough! Having struggled for 20+ years with OCD I finally decided to try talking therapy and it was the BEST DECISION I have ever made for myself. The Oldham Talking Therapies Service was amazing from my first contact with their Admin Team, to my initial assessment in which I was listened to and felt understood, to then being put on the wait list for High Intensity CBT (during that time I was given access to SilverCloud while waiting to be seen). After a short wait I started weekly video CBT sessions with Abida and she has changed my life for the better with her kindness, understanding and knowledge of how to help me help myself with OCD. You have to be ready to engage with talking therapy; because you will be asked to feel uncomfortable confronting your OCD and doing the opposite of what it wants you to do (and what I had done for 20+ years), but with Abida’s encouragement every week I did it, and am now for the first time in my life in control of my OCD - it is not ruining my life every day. I cannot say THANK YOU enough for literally giving me life back. I wish I had sought help sooner. To anyone reading this being indecisive, please try it because you will be surprised at how easy and comforting it is when you are speaking to someone who genuinely understands your problem and wants to help you. This service is a lifesaver. And, if you are indecisive and reading the negative comments, let me say this; YOU have to be ready to ENGAGE with talking therapies. It is not a quick fix; they cannot fix your problems FOR you. They teach you the skills and knowledge, which YOU have to implement each week –yes its hard and emotive because you are literally being asked to face your fears (for OCD), but if you trust them and do what is asked, you will feel SO MUCH BETTER AND IN CONTROL at the end! Unfortunately not everyone is ready to engage so they blame the service, which is not fair and is not reflective of the important and amazing work Oldham Talking Therapies CAN do if you are ready to accept their knowledge, support, compassion and help. I will now always recommend this service to anyone who potentially could be helped by talking therapies (or is aware of the service themselves but is unsure), especially for OCD, as this service has not only helped me become in control of my OCD, but given me the courage to now speak out about the devastating effects of OCD to people around me who either view it as a ‘quirky trait’ to have or ‘weird’ (as unfortunately in today’s society people do not appreciate how life destroying OCD can be). Thank you Oldham Talking Therapies for helping me, and also giving me the confidence to now help others by recommending your service by sharing my experience with them. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

Charlotte F.

shocking and that's from someone who works in mental health as a practitioner. forcing someone to discuss their problems in a group setting when not comfortable is disgusting. they care more about numbers than patients and are just generally disgusting

Annette T.

I was very doubtful when I first started my high intensity therapy due to having past bad experiences.
My therapist Abida has been absolutely amazing and listened to me and what I want and do not want in relation to wording of things. This was from the very start so this enabled us to begin this journey with knowing what to expect from each other.
I am not going to lie and say it was plain sailing because it was far from it reliving and revealing hidden memories but with the help of Abida and her compassion and empathy I am now in a much better place and have the tools to be able to keep going in my therapeutic journey.
Never once did I feel judged or patronised whilst in my sessions like before. Abida has been my absolute rock throughout this painful and traumatic experience and I am so so appreciative of the help, support and guidance that I have received. I understand not all therapists are the same but set boundaries and ground rules for you both at the beginning and please listen to your therapist they know what they are doing, and as tough as it gets please do NOT give up it's worth it in the end I promise. I have just finished my 20 session and a quote from me that I have made in relation to my experience is
"You cannot heal, if you cannot feel "
Thank you Abida and good luck to everyone else who is thinking of starting this journey, is in this journey good luck or who has finished this journey well done be proud of yourself because I know I am.
Thank you Abida ❤️

Patsy

Now that I have completed my treatment via talking therapies, I thought it only right to update my review to reflect my experience as a whole.

I contacted healthy minds/talking therapies almost a year ago where I was referred for CBT after a lengthy discussion with a lovely lady called Charlotte, who sought to understand what I was struggling with to ensure I got the correct support.

Since September last year I have attended 12 sessions with Sahana. I have nothing but positive things to say about my experience and can honestly say I have made significant progress versus where I was going into the treatment 6 months ago. Sahana has been extremely professional throughout - supportive, empathetic & extremely knowledgable always. I am extremely grateful for the support I have received and can confidently say I wouldn’t have been able to make this level of progress, without the support of talking therapies.

I can only speak of my own experience and not that of others but please don’t be put off by the other reviews. If you need support, please reach out to talking therapies and hopefully you have an experience that mirrors mine.