ChatCBT Safeguarding Policy

If you need urgent help right now

ChatCBT is a self-help resource. It is not an emergency or crisis service, and it cannot respond to you in real time — no one is monitoring your activity here. If you are in crisis, having thoughts of suicide or self-harm, or worried about your immediate safety, please contact one of the services below straight away. They are free, confidential, and there to help, day or night.

For anyone:

• Emergency: Call 999, or go to your nearest A&E, if you or someone else is in immediate danger.

• NHS urgent mental health line: Call 111 and select option 2 to reach your local NHS crisis team — 24/7, for adults, children and young people. If speaking aloud is difficult, you can text 07860 009642.

• Samaritans: Call 116 123 free, any time, or email jo@samaritans.org.

• Shout: Text SHOUT to 85258 for free, confidential 24/7 text support.

• CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably): Call 0800 58 58 58 or use the webchat at thecalmzone.net, 5pm–midnight every day.

For children and young people:

• Childline: Call 0800 1111 (free, for anyone under 19).

• Papyrus HOPELINE247 (support for anyone under 35 with thoughts of suicide, and for those worried about a young person): Call 0800 068 4141, text 88247, or email pat@papyrus-uk.org — 24/7, every day of the year.

You are not a burden, and reaching out is a sign of strength.

1. Purpose and scope

This policy explains how ChatCBT works to protect the wellbeing and safety of the people who use its self-help tools, particularly anyone who may be experiencing a mental health crisis while doing so. It sets out what ChatCBT is and is not, how we signpost people to appropriate support, how our interactive tool responds to signs of crisis, and how any concern about a user's safety that reaches us directly is handled.

It applies to everyone who uses the ChatCBT website (chatcbt.online), the self-help worksheets, quizzes and interactive tools, and the MindPath app. We've written it in plain language because we want anyone who lands on our site — including people who are distressed — to understand it easily.

2. What ChatCBT is — and what it is not

ChatCBT is a free, self-help resource. Its worksheets, tools and content are curated, organised and packaged from cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) techniques that are freely available in the public domain, drawing on established, publicly accessible sources. It also includes a directory of qualified UK therapists.

ChatCBT is not, and does not claim to be:

• a therapy service, treatment provider, or substitute for professional care;

• a crisis, emergency, or monitored support service;

• a service staffed by clinicians who can respond to individual users in real time;

• a medical service — nothing on the site should be taken as personal medical advice.

ChatCBT is operated by one person. The tools are designed to support self-directed learning and self-management of everyday stress, low mood and anxiety. They are not appropriate as a person's only source of help during a mental health crisis. Anyone who needs assessment, diagnosis or treatment is encouraged to speak to their GP, a qualified therapist, or one of the services listed above.

Every page of chatcbt.online carries a disclaimer to this effect, together with clear signposting to crisis support, so that anyone arriving in distress is directed to appropriate help immediately.

3. Our safeguarding commitments

ChatCBT is committed to:

• Being honest and transparent about what the service can and cannot do, so users can make informed choices about how they use it.

• Signposting clearly and consistently to crisis and professional support on every page and within the tools.

• Doing no harm through content — being thoughtful about language, tone and imagery, given that people arriving at the site may already be distressed.

• Responding responsibly to any disclosure of risk that reaches us directly (see Section 5).

• Protecting user privacy in line with UK data protection law (see Section 6).

• Keeping this policy current and reviewing it at least annually.

4. Signposting and how our tools respond to crisis

Because ChatCBT cannot monitor how individuals are feeling as they use the tools, prominent and repeated signposting is our primary safeguard. Accordingly:

• Crisis contacts and a self-help disclaimer appear on every page of the website.

• Signposting is written in plain, non-judgemental language and includes options for those who find phone calls difficult (text and email services).

• Both adult and children and young people's services are listed, recognising that ChatCBT is open to the general public of all ages.

• Contact details are reviewed at each policy review to ensure they remain accurate and current.

Our interactive tool

ChatCBT includes an interactive, CBT-guided tool. Because a user may express distress or thoughts of self-harm while using it, we build the following safeguards into how it behaves:

• It is designed to recognise language that may indicate crisis — for example, references to suicide, self-harm, or being unable to stay safe — and to respond by pausing the self-help exercise and clearly directing the person to the urgent-help contacts above.

• It will not attempt to counsel a person through a crisis, provide clinical advice, diagnose, or clinically assess risk. In these moments its only role is to point the person towards trained human help as quickly and clearly as possible.

• Automated detection is imperfect: it may miss signs of crisis, or flag distress where there is none. It is a prompt to seek help, never a clinical judgement, and never a replacement for the services listed above.

• We never rely on the tool alone to keep a user safe. The persistent signposting exists precisely so that help is reachable even if automated detection does not trigger.

We keep the wording and behaviour of these responses under review and update them as we learn.

5. Handling disclosures of risk that reach us directly

ChatCBT collects limited personal information through its contact form and email, its quiz and newsletter sign-up, and MindPath app accounts. This means a user may occasionally contact us directly and, in doing so, disclose that they are struggling or at risk.

We want to be clear and honest about what we can and cannot do:

• ChatCBT is run by one person and cannot offer real-time, ongoing or out-of-hours support. Messages are not monitored around the clock and may not be seen quickly.

• If someone contacts us expressing distress or risk, our response will be to acknowledge them with care and signpost them promptly to the appropriate services listed in this policy. We will not attempt to provide crisis counselling or clinical advice, as we are not qualified or resourced to do so.

• Where there is a clear and immediate risk to a person's life, or to the safety of a child or vulnerable adult, and enough information is available to act, we may contact the emergency services (999) or relevant safeguarding authorities. In such cases, the duty to protect life takes priority over the usual expectation of confidentiality.

We will always aim to be respectful, non-judgemental, and clear that reaching out was the right thing to do.

6. Privacy, data and confidentiality

Any personal information provided through the contact form, quiz sign-up or MindPath app is handled in line with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and in accordance with our Privacy Policy. We collect only what we need, keep it secure, and do not sell it. The self-help worksheets and tools themselves can be used without providing identifying information, and we do not use any data we hold to profile users' mental health.

Confidentiality is respected as far as possible. The one exception, as noted in Section 5, is where we reasonably believe there is a serious and immediate risk to someone's life or safety — in which case relevant information may be shared with emergency or safeguarding services in order to help keep that person, or others, safe.

7. Children and young people

ChatCBT is openly accessible and may be used by people of any age, including under-18s. Because the tools are self-help and general in nature:

• Content is kept appropriate for a general audience and free of graphic or distressing material.

• Crisis signposting includes dedicated services for children and young people (Childline, Papyrus HOPELINE247, and NHS 111).

• Young people in difficulty are encouraged to talk to a trusted adult — a parent, carer, teacher or GP — as well as to use the services above.

• Young users who need support beyond self-help are directed to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) via their GP or NHS 111.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children, in line with our Privacy Policy.

8. Vulnerable adults

Some users may be vulnerable owing to their mental health, disability, or personal circumstances. ChatCBT seeks to reduce risk to these users through clear, jargon-free content, consistent signposting, and honesty about the limits of the service. Content and imagery are chosen with these visitors in mind. Where a disclosure suggests a vulnerable adult is at serious risk, the approach in Section 5 applies.

9. Our therapist directory

The directory helps people find qualified UK therapists, so that anyone who wants ongoing, professional support can find it. To support user safety:

• We encourage users to check that any therapist they contact is registered with an appropriate professional body (such as the BABCP, BACP, or another recognised UK register).

• The directory is a signposting resource. ChatCBT does not employ, supervise, or take responsibility for the conduct of the therapists listed, and does not broker or oversee the therapeutic relationship. Listing does not constitute a recommendation of any individual practitioner for a particular person's needs.

• Concerns about a listed therapist's conduct should be raised with the relevant professional body; concerns about a listing itself can be sent to us using the contact details in Section 12.

10. Content and design safeguards

Recognising that visitors to a mental health resource may already be in a fragile state, ChatCBT takes care to:

• Use supportive, non-triggering language and avoid sensationalising distressing topics.

• Choose imagery that is calming and inclusive rather than distressing.

• Frame every tool as optional self-help, encouraging users to stop and seek support if a technique feels overwhelming.

11. Responsibilities and accountability

As the sole owner and operator, Marie Belsten is responsible for implementing and maintaining this policy, keeping crisis information current, responding appropriately to any disclosures of risk, and reviewing the policy at least once a year or sooner if circumstances change (for example, a change in the service, or a safeguarding incident).

12. Contact and feedback

Questions, concerns or feedback about this policy — including anything that helps improve the safety of ChatCBT for its users — can be sent via the contact form at chatcbt.online or by email to info@chatcbt.online. We review safeguarding feedback promptly and take it seriously.

Please remember that this inbox is not monitored for emergencies. If you need urgent help, use the crisis contacts at the top of this page.

13. Review

This policy will be reviewed at least annually. The next scheduled review is July 2027. We will also review it sooner if:

• guidance from the NHS or mental health charities changes;

• crisis contact details are updated;

• we add or change interactive features (including the MindPath app), or

• a safeguarding concern highlights something we should improve.

MindPath and any future interactive tools are covered by this policy, with their crisis-response behaviour designed to the same standard set out in Section 4.

This policy reflects ChatCBT's status as a self-help resource operated by a sole trader, not a clinical or crisis service. It is intended to be transparent about both the support ChatCBT offers and its limits, and does not create a clinical or therapeutic relationship between ChatCBT and any user.