What people say

Mark was left feeling depressed after his mother passed away.

After hearing about ieso on social media, Mark received typed therapy.

“I was very depressed and feeling guilty after my mum's death. It was such a bad time for all my
family, I felt unable to speak to any of them about how I was feeling.

I received typed therapy after hearing about ieso on social media.

The overall experience with my therapist was excellent. He really got to the bottom of my problem and was very sympathetic and good at communicating. The sessions were always at a time to suit me. The Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) skills my therapist taught me were very specific to
my problem - it took me a couple of read-throughs for it to click with me, but the sessions are stored on your file so you can read through as many times as you want to, which helped. The sessions were easy to access on my laptop without any problems.

Typed therapy was convenient for me as I don’t get much time to travel to places, and I didn’t have to wait all that long to get access it. Also, you can keep working with the same therapist, which might not be the case if you have to travel.

I would heartily recommend ieso’s typed therapy to family and friends, because not everyone likes to talk to a stranger face to face”

Chiara was feeling anxious, worried about the future, and depressed.

After hearing about ieso while browsing the internet, she decided to try typed therapy.

“I was going through a lot at the time, and this was causing me to feel extremely anxious and worried about the future, as well as depressed.

I first heard about ieso when I was browsing on Google looking for NHS Talking Therapies in my area.

When I signed up to this service, I was honestly sceptical about typed therapy as I didn't know what to expect and I profoundly dislike texting, so I was worried I would have not found it beneficial.

I am happy to say I completely changed my mind about it for a number of reasons: the conversation flows naturally without awkward pauses; it allows you to enjoy the comfort of your own home without having to be seen by anyone which can be relieving at times when you are feeling depressed; having the chance to read the therapist summarisation can really help having a better understanding of what you are saying and feeling.

My therapist was great the whole time. She made me feel at ease from the very beginning, allowing me to talk about whatever I was struggling with on that particular day. And she always made me feel understood and validated as well as kindly questioning when my worries were mostly irrational, in order for me to see things through a clearer lens. Throughout our relationship she taught me tools to help me reach the certain behavioural change I was trying to move towards, and she was always flexible with timings of our sessions, understanding when I had to cancel an upcoming session and always offering an alternative time when she had to cancel.

I would particularly recommend ieso to people who are approaching therapy for the first time as having to have a face-to-face conversation can be intimidating at times, whilst typed therapy makes things much smoother and relaxed. I have been recommending this service to friends who live in my area and are looking for some therapeutic help.”

My therapist was great the whole time. She made me feel at ease from the very beginning, allowing me to talk about whatever I was struggling with on that particular day. And she always made me feel understood and validated.

CHIARA
FORMER IESO PATIENT

Phil* was feeling anxious and stressed due to situations at work.

After finding ieso on an NHS website, he tried typed therapy.

“I was feeling anxious and stressed due to situations at work. These feelings were negatively impacting on my personal life. Sometimes my feelings and issues would go round and round in my head causing further distress.

I tried typed therapy after finding out about ieso on an NHS website.

The typed therapy sessions had a positive impact on my wellbeing. The therapist took the time to understand my issues and the causes of them. They offered practical advice that I could use on a daily basis to help me manage. It was easy to join the sessions on my laptop and email reminders were sent to me as well.

Typed therapy worked well for me. I could arrange the sessions at a time that suited me. I felt at ease in my own home so was able to be open and honest without feeling judged, as we were not meeting face to face.

I’d recommend ieso as I found the sessions were very helpful and had a positive impact, and because the therapist was so professional and helpful.”

*name changed for privacy reasons.

Typed therapy worked well for me. I could arrange the sessions at a time that suited me. I felt at ease in my own home so was able to be open and honest without feeling judged, as we were not meeting face to face.

PHIL
FORMER IESO PATIENT

Stephen was feeling angry and became snappy with his partner, as a result of low mood and anxiety.

His GP told him about ieso and he started typed therapy sessions.

“I was experiencing a low mood and feeling very anxious at times. I could be angry for no reason and snappy with my partner. My GP referred me for typed therapy with ieso.

I felt that the therapist really knew how I was feeling and understood what I was going through. The sessions themselves were at a good time for me; they were after work and my partner was also here to help me write what I needed to say.

I found that some of the activities made me think about my situation and why I was feeling the way I did. They helped me to understand the cycle I was in and gave me the skills to learn how to get out of that cycle.

I have to say that I was very sceptical as I do prefer talking to someone face-to-face, as I’m not that good on a computer or phone, but my partner did all the writing and I just told her what to say.

I would recommend typed therapy with ieso. It worked for me because I had my partner to help and it meant that we could do it in the comfort of our own home.”

“I felt that the therapist really knew how I was feeling and understood what I was going through.”

Following a car accident, Karen experienced severe anxiety symptoms, such as nausea, panic and avoidance.

After discovering ieso while searching for NHS Talking Therapies in her local area, Karen began typed therapy.

“I was struggling for about a year and a half with being a passenger in a car following a minor car accident in July 2022. I was experiencing severe anxiety symptoms such as nausea, panic and avoidance. This would interfere with my everyday life and would result in me avoiding car journeys where possible. I would also panic about being in a car accident every single time I sat in a car.

I was searching for NHS Talking Therapies services in my local area and came across ieso’s website. Once I inputted my GP surgery’s details, I discovered I was eligible for typed therapy with ieso.

My experience with ieso overall was really positive, especially as my therapist was very flexible around me and my availability, so I found it really easy to schedule therapy into my routine. It was very easy to join the therapy room each week, and to access previous messages and homework from my iPad with little to no technical issues. The content within the worksheets was very helpful and I found completing the homework tasks to be straightforward. If I had any questions in the meantime, I was able to message my therapist and she would respond really quickly, usually within a day or two. I looked forward to each session and found it easy to refresh my mind on previous discussions by reading through the messages.

I have only ever had face-to-face therapy in the past, and I will say that I do find it more beneficial seeing a therapist face to face when trying to treat conditions such as agoraphobia and anxiety/avoidance, as it encourages you to leave the house and attend your sessions on a weekly basis which helps. However, that being said, I did find it a lot easier to open up to my therapist via typed therapy, as I didn’t know who I was physically talking to.

I would recommend typed therapy with ieso to a family or friend as the flexibility and ease of use would be beneficial to a lot of people that I know who currently lead busy lives.”

I would recommend typed therapy with ieso to a family or friend as the flexibility and ease of use would be beneficial to a lot of people that I know who currently lead busy lives.

KAREN
FORMER IESO PATIENT

Feeling isolated and alone, Natalie could see no end to her suffering.

Natalie was referred to ieso by her GP for typed therapy.

“When I first contacted ieso my state of mind was very bleak. I could see no end to my suffering, I felt isolated and alone. There were feelings of entrapment and uncertainty about the future and of being stuck in an ever-revolving door swinging through scenarios that had no solution. The best way I can describe how it feels is like the dreams you have where you are trying to run from something, and you cannot get your body to move.

My GP referred me to ieso for typed therapy, and I would say it was the best therapy experience I have had.

I found the typing therapy a lot more discrete, and less intrusive and judgemental because I found it like talking to a screen that effectively behaves as a sounding board. It was as if I was talking to myself.

I loved the CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) approach. For me, my problem was that I felt stuck. My therapist gave me answers and solutions which empowered me to find my way out of the hole I was in. I would say the time was used efficiently; my therapist often set an intention at the beginning of the session for how long we should spend on each area. The sessions were easily accessible, and I found it a lot easier to fit in therapy with my very chaotic schedule.

What was key to the experience was being able to save all of my transcripts and action packs into a folder on my computer, as now therapy has ended, I can still go back over them when I need to, and remind myself of the work we covered on specific topics and the tools I used to manage such episodes during day-to-day life.

I have already recommended ieso to many, many people. It is a fantastic resource, as anybody these days has access to either a phone or computer. Generally, people nowadays communicate through their devices more than they do in person, so it fits well with what is considered to be the way of the world at present.”

My GP referred me to ieso for typed therapy, and I would say it was the best therapy experience I have had.

NATALIE
FORMER IESO PATIENT