Run by Dorset HealthCare, the round-the-clock Access Mental Health services offer help and advice over the phone and face-to-face, including evenings during the festive and New Year period.

If you need someone to talk to you can use any of the following:

· Connection – a 24/7 telephone helpline (0300 1235440), which can provide direct help or signpost you to a range of other services

· The Retreat at Hahnemann House, Hahnemann Road, Bournemouth BH2 5JW, also at 30, Maiden Castle Road, Dorchester, DT1 2ER. The Retreat is a drop-in support service, open 4.30pm-midnight every day. Run in partnership with the Dorset Mental Health Forum, it provides a safe space where you can talk through your problems with mental health workers or peer specialists

· Community Front Rooms – drop-in support services in Bridport, Shaftsbury and Wareham, open 3.15-10.45pm, Thursday-Sunday. They are run by local charities and are all fully staffed by mental health professionals and peer support workers. Here are the addresses: The Bridport Community Front Room at The Assembly Rooms, Gundry Lane, Bridport DT6 3RL. The Shaftesbury Front Room at The Hope Offices, Unit 4-6 Plot 25c, Longmead Industrial Estate, Shaftesbury SP7 8PL. The Wareham Community Front Room at Unit 1 Leanne Business Centre, Sandford Lane, Wareham BH20 4DY.

The Retreat and Community Front Rooms are for people aged 18 and over, and you don’t need an appointment – just drop in when you feel you need support.

People of any age can call Connection at any time. If you require urgent clinical help, staff can arrange an assessment within four hours.

Steve Jones, Dorset HealthCare’s Mental Health community services manager, said,  “This time of year can be overwhelming – many feel under pressure and unable to cope.

“The Access Mental Health services will continue to run as usual so people can get the support they need, at the exact time they need it. They can talk to mental health staff and peer specialists, people with their own experience of such issues, in a safe, non-judgemental space and find the solutions which can help them.”

More information, including address details of The Retreats and Community Front Rooms, is available at www.dorsethealthcare.nhs.uk/access-mental-health