Checklist
Asking for the right kind of support
Use this before an appointment or a first phone call, and again if support you were given did not seem to fit.
Awareness · Understanding
Work out what you are asking for
- I can say in one sentence what is hardest at the moment.
- I know whether I am asking for practical help, medical help, or help making sense of things.
- I have said what I want, rather than waiting to be offered something.
- I have written down what a good outcome would look like for me.
Check whether the fit is right
- They have told me plainly what they do and do not do.
- What they offer matches what I said I needed.
- I know who to speak to if it is not working.
- I have not been asked to explain everything from the start again with no reason.
Know the difference
- Practical support: money, housing, work, benefits, paperwork.
- Clinical support: your GP, NHS services, a qualified therapist.
- Identity work: making sense of who you are now, which is what AURIS does.
- Crisis support: urgent help when you are not safe. Contact 999 or NHS 111.
Where this comes from
This page is written by AURIS from our published framework and research. You can read the papers behind it:
AURIS Institute is education and structured self reflection. It is not therapy, medical treatment or crisis support. If you are in crisis, contact your GP, NHS 111, or the emergency services. aurisidentity.org
Want to go further? Introduction to AURIS is a free nine lesson course that covers this in more depth.