If you're looking for help but can't afford private support, you still have options. Here we look at some alternative routes you can take

At the time of writing, we’re existing in a very strained time. More people are struggling financially as the cost of living crisis escalates. This in itself is taking a toll on mental health for many.

Even without this crisis in the picture, it’s important to recognise that paying for private therapy is inaccessible for some.

This doesn’t mean you don’t have options though. Here we want to talk through the different routes you can take to look after your mental health without spending more than you can afford.

Look into counselling on the NHS

This is the first route a lot of us go down. If you’re registered with a GP, you can access therapy for free through the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme. The types of therapies you can access in this way will depend on your individual needs, but include cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), guided self-help (where a therapist supports you as you complete a self-help course, using a workbook or online) and counselling for depression (a specific type of counselling for those with depression).

There are several different ways your therapy may be delivered, from one-to-one and group sessions, to over-the-phone therapy and self-help courses. Going to your GP in the first instance can be helpful as they often suggest a therapy type and refer you. You don’t however need a referral from your doctor to access these therapies.

You can easily self-refer directly to a therapy provider in your area. Depending on where you live, you will need to be over the age of 16, 17 or 18 to do this. If you’re younger than this, you can get support from your local child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS).

If you do self-refer, you’ll need to contact the therapy provider and they’ll come back to you within a few weeks to give you an assessment (usually done over the phone). This is where they’ll ask you for some more details of what you’ve been experiencing so they can understand how best to support you. They will then let you know when your first appointment will be.

What can be a barrier for some people on this route is the waiting time. The amount of time you’ll have to wait to get treatment will depend on a number of factors, including where you live. If the wait is long and you need help sooner, you may want to look into the other options below.

Consider low-cost therapy

There are some private practices and organisations that offer low-cost therapy. This may be a blanket fee for everyone, or they may offer concessions for those on benefits or low-income households. Never be afraid to ask about these when researching private therapists, while some will advertise them, others will work on a case by case basis.

You may also want to think about reaching out to therapy-training providers to see if trainee counsellors offer reduced rates. Trainee counsellors will need to complete at least 200 hours of therapy work before graduating, s

Sweet and Salty Chocolate Caramel Banana Trail Mix

A little bit of sweet, a little bit of salty and the yummy banana chips you remember from your childhood! This trail mix recipe is perfect for hiking, the holidays or game day!

I was chatting with friend the other day about school lunches, aka the worst part about back-to-school ever and she mentioned that she was so tired of the snack rut. I totally am the same but one little thing has been helping me the past two years- snack mixes and trail mix!

All you do is throw together snacks that hit a few notes like sweet and salty, crunchy and soft and bam, you’ve got a brand new snack for lunch or after school! Sometimes I even mix together cereals and dried fruits, the kids love it!

Ingredients for Banana Trail Mix

One of the best things about a trail mix is that it can totally be flexible to what you have and what you love. This is our favorite combination but feel free to customize it to your liking.

• Dark Chocolate Chips – creamy and chewy
• Pretzels – salty and crunchy
• Caramel Bits – sweet and chewy
• Salted Almonds – salty and crunchy
• Banana Chips – sweet and crunchy

The measurements for each ingredients is listed in the recipe card below.

How to Make Banana Trail Mix

It almost seems silly to even have a section to explain this, but you would be surprised! Dump all the ingredients from the bags into a large bowl and toss together. Now that’s a recipe that anyone can handle!

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Former England rugby player Kat Merchant shares her experience of ‘fit shaming’ and how she deals with it

As a former England rugby player, I have always been a ‘strong woman’. It was my job to be the strongest and fittest I could be to win, and that meant being physically muscular to be at peak performance every time I stepped onto the pitch.

Elite women in the sporting spotlight face a huge amount of pressure to perform and look a certain way, which also means our bodies often get judged harshly – particularly in my line of sport. Women rugby players have consistently had to deal with labels like ‘manly’ and ‘unfeminine’. Critics have placed more value in the way we look rather than the way we play, without realising the negative effect this has on our mental health and body confidence.

I’ve received a torrent of online abuse over the years, criticising my muscular appearance as a woman. Society still associates muscle and strength with masculinity – a harmful, outdated stereotype that stops young girls and women from getting into sports and having confidence in their own skin.

The first time I received online hate about my appearance was in response to a video of me doing a bicep curl I had uploaded to Instagram. As a personal trainer, it’s important in my line of work to demonstrate the exercise, and to show the right technique for others to follow. That’s the positive side of social media, it makes training skills accessible to a wide audience wanting to better their fitness. But someone decided to respond very negatively, sending a video of them retching at me. At first, seeing that reaction really knocked my confidence. I couldn’t understand why someone felt it necessary to be so hurtful – it even made me consider coming off of social media completely.

I discussed it with my partner, who suggested that I turn it around and show people strength in responding and not letting it affect me. Out of a negative experience, I had been given the opportunity to make female strength more standardised. I could use my platform to actually raise awareness about the abuse strong women get, and hopefully make a difference in a positive way.

It has taken time for me to get to a point where I am less affected mentally, because it is something that can chip away at your confidence and you do get sick of it. But for me, it was almost like doubling down on the hate. Now, if someone comments ‘you look like a man’ on any of my pictures, I respond with another picture where I look really muscular, just to show that not only are they wrong, but there are also consequences for somebody saying something insensitive that can negatively affect someone’s mental health.

Lots of people feel a certain sense of anonymity on social media, where they can

Chicken Enchilada Dip is a creamy, cheesy, spicy chicken-filled enchilada dip, a hit with everyone who tries it.

Chicken Enchilada Dip

If I can turn a dish into something eaten on a tortilla chip I am totally in! Chips and dips get to the core of this savory girl every time. Not to mention, whenever you can turn a snack into a meal, everyone is ready to dive in.

Dippable and snackable is how my family would describe chicken enchilada dip. With all the flavors of my homemade enchiladas without the filling and rolling mess, anyone can make this enchilada dip.

Enchiladas find their way to our table quite regularly we eat them with a fork, scooped up on tortilla chips or rolled and stuffed into burritos. I make them with beef, or chicken, or vegetables. We’ve even been known to eat enchiladas for breakfast.

This dip makes traditional enchiladas even easier to scoop up on tortilla chips; the kids and my husband were raving about this appetizer for a couple of days. Hearty enough for a main dish, this was an enormous success for our family movie night.

Start by sauteeing your onions, bell pepper, and seasonings in a skillet. While your onions are cooking cut up the tortillas into small pieces so that you can add them to the onion mixture.

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What are 'morning pages', and how can we make the most of their wellbeing magic by doing this activity every day?

Many of us know the wellbeing benefits of writing, whether it’s creating a gratitude list each week or penning poetry that explores our experiences. Morning pages is an activity that involves writing three pages of stream of consciousness in longhand, first thing each morning. This, according to its inventor, Julia Cameron, can help us think through problems and improve our creativity.

Cameron outlines ‘morning pages’ in her 1992 book, The Artist’s Way, where she explores how we can discover and recover our creative selves. She recommends morning pages as a tool to help overcome creative blocks. And it’s not just for artists: boosting creativity can help us to problem solve in all areas of our lives, making it a worthwhile exercise for everyone.

As a writer, I was curious about trying morning pages. I’ve seen others talk about how they find it useful, and wondered whether it would help me feel more energised to write creatively each day. So I decided to give it a go.

The wellbeing benefits of morning pages

I asked counsellor Jenny Warwick for her insights into how morning pages can support our mental health and wellbeing.

“It gives you the chance to think about, and state, what’s going on for you,” she tells me. “It’s an opportunity to put down literally whatever is at the top of your head without fear of judgement. You can get those thoughts out onto paper and clear them from your mind, so that you can start the day fresh. You may well be surprised at what comes up as a result.

“While it may be tricky initially, it may give you some insight into what’s actually going on in your head, which is surely worth doing for your mental health and wellbeing.”

By writing morning pages every day, we can, Julia Cameron says, work through problems. “It is very difficult to complain about a situation morning after morning, month after month, without being moved to constructive action. The pages lead us out of despair and into undreamed-of solutions,” she writes in The Artist’s Way.

Morning pages, of course, are written first thing. Which Jenny explains gives you the chance to put your thoughts down on paper before the rest of your daily stuff gets in the way.

“It’s time that you are making specifically for you, and you alone,” she adds. “It’s before the day has gotten in the way of what’s going on in your head. Your mind has been working overnight to process the previous day and is fresh. You could catch some insights as a result of this processing before you start your new day.”

Morning pages involves writing whatever comes to us, without worrying about spelling and grammar, or what other people will think. This, Jenny explains, allows us to pour our thoughts out as they are beginning to take form, knowing that no one else is going to read them. “This means you can tap into thoughts and feelings you might not even realise or recognise that you had, which would be really valuable to know,” says Jenny. “You might even surprise you