The UK's top mental health charities, all in one place.

Our favourite four UK mental health charities, each looking after a different part of the conversation: information, crisis support, men's mental health, and children in school.

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  Mind

  Registered Charity: 219830

  What they do

  Information, advice and local services for anyone in England and Wales experiencing a mental health problem.

  Where they focus

  Crisis support, an Infoline, peer support groups, campaigning, and a network of local Minds.

  Why it matters

  The UK's most-recognised mental health charity, often the first place people turn when they don't know where else to start.

  Why we like them

  Mind has done as much as anyone in this country to make it OK to say you're not OK. The information they put out is the kind we wish more charities took the time to write: clear, kind and based on what people actually need.

  Visit Mind →
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  Samaritans

  Registered Charity: 219432

  What they do

  Confidential emotional support, 24 hours a day, for anyone in distress or struggling to cope.

  Where they focus

  The free 116 123 helpline, email and letter support, and suicide-prevention partnerships with rail, police and the NHS.

  Why it matters

  A call to Samaritans is answered every ten seconds. For many people it is the moment everything could have gone the other way.

  Why we like them

  Tens of thousands of volunteers, trained to do one of the hardest jobs there is: sit with another person at their lowest and just listen. We don't think there's many more important things a charity can do.

  Visit Samaritans →
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  CALM

  Registered Charity: 1110621

  What they do

  Tackling suicide head-on, especially among men, who account for three in four suicides in the UK.

  Where they focus

  A free helpline and webchat, campaigns that change the conversation, and support for those bereaved by suicide.

  Why it matters

  Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 50 in the UK. CALM is the charity refusing to let that statistic settle.

  Why we like them

  CALM talks to men in a voice men actually listen to. Football, music, work, banter, no clichés about wellness. That's a rare and useful skill in this space.

  Visit CALM →
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  Place2Be

  Registered Charity: 1040756

  What they do

  Embedding mental health counsellors and support inside UK primary and secondary schools.

  Where they focus

  One-to-one and group counselling, training for school staff, and support for parents inside school buildings.

  Why it matters

  Half of all lifelong mental health problems start by age 14. Place2Be is there in the school week, when it matters.

  Why we like them

  They go where the kids already are. No referrals, no waiting list, no special trip to a clinic, just a quiet room down the corridor with someone who's there to listen.

  Visit Place2Be →