Counselling can help with a wide range of concerns including

We offer two types of counselling detailed below; If you are unsure which service is best for you, please contact your nearest centre, where one of our counsellors will be happy to discuss which option is most suited to you.

Open ended counselling:
We mainly provide open ended counselling, a therapy which proceeds at the client’s own pace. This allows the client time and space to gradually develop insight into the root cause of their concerns. Clients continue in therapy for as long as they want, which can range from months to years. Open ended counselling is delivered by counsellors who are either fully qualified or are completing their training under close supervision.

If you choose an open-ended service, we will ask you to pay what you can afford, this will be between £16 and £40 per session.  The fee is decided between you and your counsellor when you start your counselling sessions.

Short-Term Counselling
Short term counselling is a good step for people who do not want to make a long commitment or have a particular issue to work with such as a relationship difficulty. It is often used by people who have had counselling in the past and want to return to work on a particular issue.

Our aim is to offer you a first appointment, known as an assessment session within 1-2 weeks, this is once we receive your completed client pack back. However, waiting times will vary according to pressure on our resources, your own availability and the service you seek.

An appointment to our short term counselling, which is not subsidised, can be offered within about one week.

If you need help urgently, please contact your GP, contact The Samaritans via phone on 116 123 or visit their website.

You can always ask me what my qualifications are.

We are able to offer counselling to your employees. Please contact us to discuss your requirements.

Things to make sure about with any counsellor or therapist you visit are:

• that they have recognised academic qualifications
• that they adhere to a professional code of conduct
• that they have regular, ongoing supervision to ensure safe and ethical practice
• that they discuss certain issues with you up front before any commitment is made to the sessions including:
  • their counselling approach
  • confidentiality issues
  • fees
  • length of sessions
  • their responsibilities to you
  • your responsibility to them

Sometimes talking to a friend can be helpful and counsellors often encourage clients to use their family and friends. However there are some disadvantages to using friends as your only confidants and support.

Friends and family could feel a conflict of loyalty and find it hard to keep things confidential.  They may become upset themselves by what you are telling them and could become upset if you don’t accept their advice.

Counsellors’ training means they have formal support and a work structure which helps them to deal with upsetting and difficult situations; friends may begin to feel overburdened, especially if they have their own problems too.

Am  not here to give you advice, tell you what to do or judge you in any way.  The aim of counselling is to help you come to your own decision(s), only you know how you feel in any given situation. The counsellor might sum up what they understand you have been saying so that they can help you to form a plan of action.

The first session of any counselling is an assessment session which lasts for around an hour and a half. During this time, an assessment counsellor will ask certain questions about you and your life. This information helps to make an initial assessment of your circumstance and the type of counselling best suited to your needs.