Mental healthcare
Have you been subjected to violence, rape or other forms of sexual assault and need help to work through what you have experienced? All municipalities have services offering mental healthcare
There are many ways in which to react following violence or sexual assault. Some people will need professional help. The provision of mental healthcare varies from municipality to municipality. You can seek out or contact some services independently, while others require you to have a referral.
Services that do not require a referral
Activity houses are a social meeting place for people over the age of 18 who are in difficult circumstances and facing mental health challenges. Activity houses do not offer treatment but have a wide variety of activities on offer. Their purpose is to help people get to grips with daily life, develop their skills and resources, and to build networks.
These services vary from municipality to municipality, as well as between different districts.
You can get in touch independently and no referral is necessary. You can usually find relevant contact details on the website of your local municipality.
Family houses are available in around half of all municipalities in Norway. These allow children, young people and their families to receive help in safeguarding their mental and physical well-being. The staff come from various professional backgrounds.
You can get in touch independently and no referral is necessary. You can find contact details on the website of your local municipality.
Healthy life centres are an integral part of the municipal health service. Some centres offer courses on coping with depression and stress, guidance around sleeping difficulties, and conversations about alcohol use. Many healthy life centres offer separate services for children, young people and their guardians, as well as for the elderly and immigrants.
You can get in touch independently or ask your GP, another healthcare professional or NAV to refer you.
The staff come from a variety of professional backgrounds including physiotherapy, nutrition, pedagogy, occupational therapy, nursing, public health science, and psychology.
Guidance and follow-up is offered both individually and on a group-basis, and is based on your needs and what you want to achieve.
Read more about healthy life centres at helsenorge.no
Read more about healthy life centres on the Norwegian Directorate of Health’s website
Most municipalities offer outreach care services or interdisciplinary treatment and follow-up teams who help people with mental health and substance abuse issues in different areas of life. The teams will offer you help in the place where you live or your local community.
These services vary from municipality to municipality.
Some of these teams work according to the ACT or FACT models which you can read more about below.
Municipalities also provide outreach care services targeted at young people based on other models. Get in touch with your local municipality to find out more.
Read more and watch a video about FACT teams (Norwegian only)
A number of municipalities have established urgent mental healthcare services. This is a short-term treatment option for people over the age of 16 with mild to moderate anxiety, depression, nascent substance abuse issues and/or difficulties sleeping.
The service is offered free of charge, and you can seek out the service independently without a referral from your GP. Nevertheless, your GP may often be an important partner in dealing with the issues faced.
To find out whether your local municipality offers urgent mental healthcare services, you should check their website.
Read about urgent mental healthcare services on the Norwegian Resource Centre for Community Mental Health’s website (Norwegian only)
Many municipalities and local districts have psychologists attached to the health and care services that provide short-term treatment of mild and moderate mental health issues. The service is free.
Further details on how the psychologists work and how to get in touch with them are available on your local municipality or district’s website. Your GP can also provide help in this respect.
There are a number of private psychologists and psychiatrists who practise without an operating subsidy. You don’t usually need a referral, but the service will often be more expensive than treatment at a district psychiatric centre or with a psychologist/psychiatrist who receives an operating subsidy (see below).
Services that require a referral
Your GP or dentist can assess in consultation with you whether you require specialised help. They can refer you on to a psychologist or psychiatrist if this is needed. Ask the person who refers you to request a therapist with knowledge of violence and traumas.
District psychiatric outpatient clinics and psychiatrists/psychologists with operating contracts
District psychiatric outpatient clinics are available nationwide and are part of the specialist healthcare service. Private psychologists and psychiatrists with operating contracts (contract specialists) are also part of the specialist healthcare service. In order to receive treatment from a district psychiatric outpatient clinic or a contract specialist, you must have a referral. If you need emergency mental healthcare, you can also contact a district psychiatric outpatient clinic directly. Treatment is offered in the form of stabilisation course and individual counselling.
Ask the person who refers you to request a therapist with knowledge of violence and traumas
SANKS is a separate service offering mental healthcare to the Sami population
Watch a video about what you will experience when visiting a district psychiatric outpatient clinic:
The staff have a duty of confidentiality and are therefore not allowed to share any information about you with others unless you consent to this or if there is an immediate risk of someone being harmed. An interpreter can be provided when necessary. When visiting a district psychiatric outpatient clinic or contract specialist, you must pay the ordinary user fee up to the healthcare exemption card limit. Which district psychiatric outpatient clinic you are affiliated with depends on where you live and what your local hospital is. Your GP can offer guidance.
Patient pathway and waiting times
When you are referred to a district psychiatric outpatient clinic, this initiates what is known as a patient pathway. The patient pathway ensures that you are offered holistic and predictable treatment without any unnecessary waiting time. The point of departure for this is that you are the expert when it comes to your own life. This means you should have more influence over your treatment.
Read more about the patient pathway at helsenorge.no
The waiting time for treatment at a district psychiatric outpatient clinic varies depending on where you are in the country. If your local district psychiatric outpatient clinic cannot offer you a good enough service, there is an option for you to be treated at another district psychiatric outpatient clinic. You can contact the information service “Select place of treatment” for questions regarding services and waiting times on the following telephone number: 800 43 573 (800 HELSE).
Check the average waiting time at your local clinic (Norwegian only)
Lists of where you can get help
List of whom you can contact if you need help or someone to talk to on the website of helsenorge.no
Each health enterprise offers lists of psychologists and psychiatrists in receipt of operating subsidies (contract specialists):
- contract specialists in the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority
- contract specialists in the Western Norway Regional Health Authority
- contract specialists in the Central Norway Regional Health Authority
- contract specialists in the Northern Norway Regional Health Authority
Find a psychologist on the Norwegian Psychological Association’s website.
The text was written by the editorial board of dinutvei.no.
Sources:
helsenorge.no
Norwegian Resource Centre for Community Mental Health (NAPHA)
The Norwegian Electronic Health Library
The Norwegian Directorate of Health
Various municipalities’ websites
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