About SANEmail
SANEmail is a new email support service, which is fully funded by The Vodafone UK Foundation. SANEmail runs alongside our national mental health helpline, SANEline, to provide an additional channel of support to those affected by mental health issues. Anyone can email us, but in particular, the SANEmail service aims to support:
- Young people affected by mental health problems who may feel more comfortable using email to gain support rather than the helpline
- Those with a physical disability or mental illness that prevents them from using the helpline
SANEmail is able to offer you:
- Emotional support
- Information to enable you to make informed decisions about your situation
- Information on services in your local area
- Up to the minute details of medical, complementary and psychological treatments
- Help with understanding current mental health legislation and the mental health system
SANE is not a medical or legal organisation. SANEmail offers support, information and options, but we are unable to make a diagnosis and cannot give medical, legal or other direct advice, nor can we provide ongoing support. We aim to explore the options available to help you move forward in your situation and make informed choices.
1. What type of issues does SANEmail deal with?
2. Can SANEmail provide me with information about other services?
3. Does SANEmail provide an international service?
4. Who will answer my email?
5. How long will it take for my email to be answered?
6. What do I do if I am in crisis?
7. Is the service confidential?
8. What about email security?
9. Will you call me if I provide you with my details?
10. What about Data Protection?
11. Why do we collect information about you?
12. Will my message appear on the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) section?
13. What do I do if I have a complaint?
14. How do I contact SANEmail?
What type of issues does SANEmail deal with?
We offer support to anyone affected by mental health issues. SANEmail is committed to helping those who are ill as well as their families, carers and health professionals.
Mental illnesses affect 1 in 4 of us at some point in our lives. These include depression and bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety, obsessions, phobias and borderline personality disorder, to name but a few. These conditions can leave people confused and isolated and this in turn can lead to profound feelings of despair and even thoughts of suicide. There are many misconceptions about mental illness, often fuelled by the images that we see on television and the 'scare stories' that we read in the media, so sometimes people may not feel comfortable discussing these issues with friends or family members.
Can SANEmail provide me with information about other services?
Yes, all SANEmail volunteers have access to our extensive database, which contains over 10,000 records on local and national mental health services throughout the UK.
Does SANEmail provide an international service?
No, SANEmail is not funded to respond to emails from outside the UK. If you are outside of the UK, you may want to visit www.befrienders.org or search on the Internet to find your nearest email support service or helpline.
Who will answer my email?
SANEmail is staffed by trained volunteers, who answer all the SANEmail emails, supported and supervised by paid co-ordinators. The same person will not always answer your emails, but each volunteer has been trained to provide emotional support and information within a non-judgemental and confidential setting.
How long will it take for my email to be answered?
Emails received by the service are responded to within five working days during the hours of 9.00am to 6.00pm Monday to Friday. Emailers are able to send emails to the service twenty-four hours every day of the year. On submitting your email, you will receive an auto-response to let you know that we have received your message. Please do not respond to the auto-response.
If SANEmail is experiencing technical difficulties which may delay your response, we make every effort to inform you via our website.
What do I do if I am in crisis?
SANEmail cannot offer out-of-hours or crisis support. If you need to talk to somebody immediately, you may want to contact our helpline, SANEline, on 0845 767 8000. The helpline is open from 6.00pm until 11.00pm Monday to Friday every day of the year.
For support outside these hours, the Samaritans, www.samaritans.org.uk, provide confidential emotional support to those experiencing feelings of distress or despair. They can be contacted by phone 24 hours a day on 08457 90 90 90 or email jo@samaritans.org. Visit the Need help now? page for further information.
Is the service confidential?
Yes, the service is completely confidential in most cases and will not be shared with anyone outside SANE. However, in very rare cases we may break confidentiality. SANEmail is not able to provide a confidential service under circumstances where SANE policy or the law dictates a breach of confidentiality. In the case of terrorism, legal compulsion, or where we judge there to be a high risk of active suicide or serious risk of harm to another and you have given your name and address in the email, we may judge it important to pass your information on to another party.
Whether or not we take action is largely dependent on the personal information contained in the message. We do not use technology to trace emails. If you are worried about remaining anonymous, you may not want to give us identifying information such as your surname, home address and phone number.
What about email security?
The security risks associated with sending emails, in terms of unauthorised people intercepting your message, are minimal. We can see your email address, but this is not used for any other purpose other than to respond to you. If you wish to remain completely anonymous, we suggest creating a generic email address through www.hotmail.com or www.yahoo.co.uk, for example.
SANE cannot be responsible for confidentiality at your end. If you share a PC, it may be possible for other people to be able to see emails you have sent or sites you have visited on the Internet, as your browser maintains a record of these. If this is a concern for you, it should be possible for you to cover your tracks by deleting all temporary Internet files from your hard drive and deleting all links in your history folder. Instructions for deleting this information depend on the specifics of your browser. For instructions of how to cover your tracks whilst using Internet Explorer 6, please click here. If you are using another browser, you may want to visit the Yahoo! Help page for information on how to delete this information. You may also wish to delete any emails you have sent from your 'Sent Items' folder.
To protect against viruses and SPAM we ask that you do not include attachments with your email. If we suspect your email contains these, we may delete it without opening it to prevent any damage to SANEmail and other SANE services.
Will you call me if I provide you with my details?
No, SANEmail will not make a call to a telephone number in an email or deal with any request to contact a third party on your behalf. SANEmail will only respond to the person who sent the email.
What about Data Protection?
SANEmail is subject to the Data Protection Act 1998. All personal information is stored on a secure server for a maximum period of three years, after which time it is destroyed in accordance with the Act. Any information we receive is not passed on to any other organisation, except in cases where we need to break confidentiality (see above).
Why do we collect information about you?
Anonymised data is kept for statistical and research purposes and to help us to develop the service or campaign to improve the situation for those with mental health issues. Individuals cannot be identified from these records.
Other than the above reasons, any information you include helps us to provide you with the most relevant information from our database and other resources, as well as the most appropriate support.
Will my message appear on the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) section?
We are currently in the process of creating a FAQ's section on our website. This section will contain publicly accessible commonly asked questions and their responses. Any personal information that could identify the sender is removed or changed before the message is published.
Emails sent to the sanemail@sane.org.uk address and their responses will only be viewed by you and the volunteers who send the response. They will not be used in the FAQ's section, unless you specifically indicate you are willing for this to happen.
If you choose to contact the service using the webform, you will be asked whether you give your consent for the message and response to appear in the FAQ's section in the future. If you do wish to give your consent please indicate this using the tick box provided.
What do I do if I have a complaint?
SANEmail makes every effort to ensure that the information we provide is accurate and appropriate. SANEmail cannot accept liability for any action taken on receipt of this information. SANEmail reserves the right to take appropriate action if an emailer is deemed to be inappropriately using the service.
SANEmail operates a complaints procedure. To make a complaint, please email sanemail@sane.org.uk and a pack will be forwarded to you. All complaints are taken seriously and fully investigated.
How do I contact SANEmail?
You can contact the service using the webform, or by emailing sanemail@sane.org.uk.
