My mental health portal FAQs

Please sign in to the My Mental Health Portal and visit the ‘About us’ section.

No, you have been referred by the NHS and do not have to pay for any of your appointments.

You can contact us at servicesupport@xylaservices.com at any time. Our office hours are 8am to 5:30pm Monday to Friday. It may take us up to 48 hours to respond to your email.

You can delete your website browsing history. There is also a ‘quick close’ function on the portal. If you don’t want people to see what you are looking at, you can quickly change the screen to show a calculator.

Xyla offers a range of psychological therapies for children and young people between the ages of 5 to 25. The treatments are delivered by qualified and experienced clinicians who are experts in young people’s mental health. These appointments are delivered digitally via secure video (or text).

Routine outcome measures (or ROMs) are short questionnaires used by clincians to help them assess how a child or young person is feeling. They also help to show how effective the therapy is in making the child or young person feel better.

CAMHS stands for ‘Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services’, which is a specialist area in the National Health Service (NHS).

We’ll send you regular surveys to complete. You don’t have to include your name and identifiable details in these surveys, so you can stay anonymous if you want to.

We will let you know about changes to the service or portal and make sure you are updated.

Anything we write about your mental health will be available to you. If you are concerned at any time about how you are feeling, please speak with your clinician.

It is working through a particular intervention/workbook either on your own or with the support of a clinician. You will typically have activities and homework tasks to complete.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a form of therapy that focuses on a person’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours and looks to reverse patterns of thinking and behaviours that are unhelpful. It is commonly used to help with anxiety and low mood.

Low intensity provides short interventions based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). It can help you manage your difficulties by teaching you how to make changes and develop new coping strategies.

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a type of therapy commonly used when someone has experienced trauma (e.g. something very distressing). It involves bilateral stimulation – typically moving eyes from side to side or tapping parts of the body to lessen the distress of a traumatic memory or thought.

Counselling is a talking therapy to help you understand thoughts, feelings, experiences and relationships that are difficult, distressing and/or confusing.

Brief psychoeducation focuses on raising people’s awareness about mental health conditions. It provides them with information to help their understanding and encourages self-learning and reflection.

We are still working towards making our service accessible to people with physical accessibility limitations – this is a standard called WCAG 2.1 AA. You can still change between light and dark mode and change the text size in the current portal. Simply log in to the My Mental Health Portal and visit ‘Account settings’. You can see our full accessibility statement here.

Please contact us at servicesupport@xylaservices.com. We will turn off any marketing communications. However, we will still send notifications if they are required for you to access the service.

Please sign in to the My Mental Health Portal and visit ‘Account settings’. Here you can change between light mode and dark mode, along with the text size.

Yes, as long as you’re connected to the internet and have a browser, such as Chrome or Firefox etc. You can also use the My Mental Health Portal on a tablet, laptop or desktop.

No, but you will need access to a device (a mobile, tablet, laptop or desktop) as this is a digital service. You will also need to be connected to the internet with a browser installed, such as Chrome or Firefox etc.

Yes, you can, but please be mindful that if your camera is on your clinician will be able to see your surroundings.

You can sign in to the My Mental Health Portal with the username and password you used when you registered. The portal is available on mobiles, desktops, laptops and tablets as long as you have access to the internet and a browser.

We recommend you sign in 5 minutes before your appointment to make sure you can access everything. Once the appointment link has been enabled, you can follow the link and wait for the appointment to start. You’ll also have time to set up your camera and microphone. The appointment will start when your clinician joins.

You can leave the appointment at any time by selecting the ‘Leave’ button. You can hide the portal at any time by selecting the eye icon in the top right of the screen. You also exit the portal tab on your browser.

This takes you to the ‘Need help now’ section. It has contact details for relevant organisations who can help. If you’re logged in, the organisations will be local to you too. Remember: you can call 999 for an emergency situation at any time.

Encourage your friend to speak with their GP or parent/carer about getting support with their mental health. They should be able to direct them to the best support for them.

Listen to them and tell them to speak with a trusted adult about how they are feeling.

Simply sign in to the My Mental Health Portal again. Go to the ‘Appointments’ section to find your appointment and follow the link to rejoin.

Please try to make sure you have enough mobile data allowance and a network signal for your appointment.

You should have received an invitation email or text with a link to the My Mental Health Portal, along with 2 separate emails or text. One with a passphrase and one with an account ID. Select the link to the portal and then follow the steps to set up your account. If you haven’t received these emails or texts, please contact servicesupport@xylaservices.com

On the ‘Sign in’ page of the portal, select ‘Forgot password’. Then follow the steps to reset your password in the email or text we’ll send to the email address or mobile you used to register.

Please let your clinician know that your contact details have changed in one of your appointments or contact servicesupport@xylaservices.com

This is your first opportunity to tell us what you need support with. We will explore all aspects of your mental wellbeing and from that we will decide what to do together.

This depends on what support you will be getting, but it is typically an introduction with your clinician. You can ask any questions and set goals on what you would like to work towards achieving.

Please sign in to the My Mental Health Portal and visit the ‘Your appointments’ area. Under the ‘Upcoming appointments’ section, you can see the times and dates of your next appointments. We’ll also send you a reminder  before your appointment.

Yes, but the appointments are designed to focus solely on you. Although having a friend with you may make you feel more comfortable at first, it will likely detract from the purpose and effectiveness of the appointments. If you want a friend to attend your appointment, they don’t need to be in the same place as you. They can join in a different location if you have sent them the relevant Microsoft Teams link.

No, the appointment will not be recorded. Anything you write in the chat will also be deleted after [X weeks/months].

That will depend on the age of your child. If they are older than 13 years, they would need to give the clinician permission to speak with you and they would decide what is shared.

Don’t worry, if you’ve missed your appointment, simply log in to the My Mental Health Portal and go to the ‘Appointments’ section. Here, you can book another appointment. We will make sure you get the full number of appointments.

We’ll send you reminders of your appointment beforehand. You can also log in to the My Mental Health Portal and go to the ‘Appointments’ section to see the time and date of your next appointment.

You will be able to choose the date, time and clinician for all your appointments so they are at a convenient time for you.

Of course. Please let your clinician know what you would like to be called during your appointment. You can also contact us to change your name at servicesupport@xylaservices.com. Plus, you can add a preferred name when you register on the My Mental Health Portal.

We are really sorry about this. Please contact servicesupport@xylaservices.com.Our team will look into improving any technical issues you may have had.

No. This is an online service, but you will be able to see them via the video chat if you want to.

No, you don’t have to have your camera on. You can turn it off during the set-up of your appointment, but we recommend having your camera on if it is safe and you are comfortable to do so.

It would be best to find a place where you feel safe and can hear the clinician. If you need to change location during your appointment, please don’t worry. Just let your clinician know you need to move.

No, but please be mindful that if your camera is on your clinician will be able to see your surroundings.

Yes, the My Mental Health Portal is accessible on mobile phones as long as you have access to the internet and a browser.

Your parent or carer can come to your initial appointment, but the following appointments are designed to focus on you and your needs.

We will always help you to find the best way to talk with your parent/carer. If you feel you can’t have a conversation with your parent/carer, we can do that on your behalf. This is something you would need to talk about and agree on with your clinician.

You don’t have to fill the questionnaires out, but we recommend you complete them so we can provide the best service possible. They will help you get the most out of your appointments and track your progress.

Please sign in to the My Mental Health Portal and check when your next appointment is. If you don’t have one booked but are still due to have more appointments as part of your treatment, please book your next appointment. If you can’t book an appointment or you don’t have any appointments available to book, please contact servicesupport@xylaservices.com.

You will receive a summary of what you and your clinician have worked on. Anything you’ve shared in confidence with your clinician will not be included. The report will be a factual summary of the appointments you have attended. Sometimes you may need further support and may be referred on to another service, but that would be discussed and agreed with your clinician.

We are really sorry about this. A member of our team will contact you in the next 24 hours. You can also contact us on servicesupport@xylaservices.com.

You can and that is your choice but it would be best for you to attend the whole appointment. If you think you may not be able to attend a full appointment, you can re-arrange for another time. Leaving your appointment early would still count as a full appointment towards the overall number of appointments that have been allocated for you.

You can and that is your choice but it would be best for you to attend the whole appointment. If you think you may not be able to attend a full appointment, you can re-arrange for another time. Leaving your appointment early would still count as a full appointment towards the overall number of appointments that have been allocated for you.

As soon as you have been invited to register, you will be able to book your first appointment within 72 hours.

We encourage you to be there and attend each appointment, as they are designed to help you specifically.

If you can’t connect to Wi-Fi, attending your appointment will use up some of your mobile data. Please try to make sure you have enough mobile data allowance and a network signal for your appointment. To avoid using your mobile data, we recommend connecting to Wi-Fi.

To avoid using your mobile data, we recommend connecting to Wi-Fi. If you can’t connect to Wi-Fi and you don’t have enough mobile data allowance, then please change your appointment or contact us on servicesupport@xylaservices.com. We can try to arrange your appointment in another way.

The link to join your appointment will become active 5 minutes before your appointment start time.

We are really sorry about this but we’re sure this will be because of a technical glitch. Your clinician should rejoin, so please wait at least 10 minutes. Someone will be with you as soon as possible. If your clinician does not rejoin, a member of our team will contact you within 24 hours. You can also contact us on servicesupport@xylaservices.com.

Please contact us at servicesupport@xylaservices.com for further information.

This does happen from time to time. At the end of each appointment, you can give feedback on how you think the appointment went and how you feel about the clinician. The Xyla team will take your feedback into account. They can look at possibly finding you a new clinician.

You can choose your clinician when you book your appointment. You can see information about your clinician when you book and you can get to know your clinician during your appointments.

A qualified clinician who has experience working with children and young people.

You can choose your clinician when you book your appointment. You can also see information about your clinician when you book.

Yes, your clinician is a real person and you can see them on screen during your appointment.

Yes, all our clinicians are fully qualified healthcare clinicians, with experience of working with children and young adults. You can book appointments with clinicians that match the needs of your treatment.

Yes, when booking your appointment you will be able to see the gender that our clinicians identify as. This is to help you when choosing the clinician you would like for your appointments.

Your record can only be seen by yourself and healthcare clinicians that have authority to view your account details. We will not share any other information unless we have your consent and it is appropriate to do so.

Your local NHS trust will be aware of your referral, as well as your GP.

We will only share information with fellow healthcare professionals and people you’ve told us it’s okay to share with. We will keep what you say confidential unless we feel you or others are at significant risk of imminent harm from yourself or someone else.

We will keep what you say confidential unless we feel you or others are at significant risk of imminent harm from yourself or someone else. We would always talk about this with you first.

The only exception is if you tell us something where we think you or someone else is at significant risk of immediate harm.

No. The appointments are confidential and it is up to you to share whatever you feel comfortable with your parents.

Yes, if you feel comfortable doing so.

Yes, you can.

The clinician’s notes are created with your input. If you’re unhappy with anything or have concerns about what may be written, you can talk about this with your clinician.

Your information is yours to share with people you feel comfortable with and trust.

You can ask for a copy from your clinician. We also aim to make this available in your My Mental Health Portal.

It depends on the type of therapy that is best for you. We’ll talk about this with you at your first appointment.

We usually offer a set number of appointments. However, if you think you need more appointments you can talk about this with your clinician.

That’s okay, you can choose not to attend any more appointments, but please let your clinician know.

That will depend on what you need support with and how old you are.

The Xyla clinicians do not prescribe medications, but they can answer questions you may have. Any medication you may need would be prescribed by your GP.

You would have been referred to us because you need support in some way with your mental health and wellbeing.

It can be difficult to open up to someone and it’s ok to take some time to feel comfortable with your clinician.

That will depend on the type of support you are getting and that will be discussed and agreed with you. With some therapies, you may be asked to complete tasks between appointments to help you work towards your goals.

Asking for help and being prepared to see a clinician is an important first step in helping yourself. Being as open and honest as possible with your clinician will also help them to help you. They may also ask you to complete structured activities and other tasks outside of the appointments.

On average, an appointment is between 45 and 60 minutes.

An assessment is usually around 60 to 90 minutes.

Sometimes things can change from when you were referred to the service. You will be involved in all decisions about the outcome of the assessment.

It is a written document of agreed actions, resources and information. It identifies risks and how they will be managed to help keep you safe.

If you need urgent assistance, please dial 999 immediately. You can also visit the ‘Need help now’ section of the My Mental Health Portal. This section has contact details for relevant organisations who can help. If you’re logged in, the organisations will be local to you too.