What we provide

Our Companions Carers support service provides support for mental health carers aged 18 and over in Hertfordshire.

We provide 

• 121 support tailored to the carers individual needs to support them in their caring role
• Caring and Coping Courses which cover topics such as Carers Rights, Carers Assessments, Carers Breaks and how to take care of your own well-being. We deliver these in partnership with Carers in Herts.
• Other Carers courses such as Mental Health History and Assertiveness
• Online Carers Group providing an opportunity for peer support 

Our services are normally delivered via a mixture of face to face one to one, course and group based support. However during the COVID pandemic, we are providing telephone and online support.

You can download a copy of our service leaflet at the bottom of this page.

How to make a referral

We accept referrals from other professionals or carers can self-refer to us for support.

We ask professionals to complete our referral form which can be downloaded at the bottom of this page and return this to us by email or post.

However if carers wish to self-refer, we recognise that completing the form may be difficult, if so all they need to do is to make contact with us and provide as much information as possible by calling us on 07760 615342  or emailing us at jonathan.clack@rethink.org

Our Current Group Activities and Courses

We run a weekly online Wednesday drop-in coffee morning via Zoom. This gives carers the chance to come together with us to share experiences and gain peer support.

Our carers courses are currently being delivered via Zoom due to the pandemic. We run Caring and Coping courses on a regular basis and we run a variety of other courses which we think will appeal to carers as a result of feedback received from previous courses and surveys

If you would like to attend our group please get in touch with us by calling us on 07760 615342 or emailing us at jonathan.clack@rethink.org

What do you think of us?

Friends & Family Test

We really value the feedback of people who come into contact with our service.

You can visit this link to complete one quick question anonymously to let us know your views.

Select Eastern from the 'Region' drop down box and then select 'Rethink Companions Befriending Service' to enter your feedback.

Alternatively you can give us feedback by

• calling us on 07760 615342
• emailing us at jonathan.clack@rethink.org
• speaking to one of our team in a group or 121 support session
• making a complaint on our website here

The Carers Hub

Rethink Mental Illness was founded by carers of people with mental illness and as a result its really important to us to have easily accessible information that mental health carers need on our website.

You can visit the Rethink Carers Hub webpages that are specifically designed for mental health carers, which have a range of fact-sheets and other information covering topics such as confidentiality for carers, carers assessments, benefits for carers, respite and how to support someone who is suicidal.  that is specifically designed for mental health carers here 

Find us on Facebook

We have a Facebook Group where people who use our Carers Service or our Befriending Service can connect and share experiences and provide peer support. We also share information about the service and also about other things that are going on locally in the community. This facebook group is a closed group so only members can see the posts which protects all members confidentiality. You can request to join the facebook group by clicking on this link Hertfordshire Rethink – Rethink Mental Illness.