Our Counselling Service

We are a British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy Accredited Counselling Service and are affiliated with the Association of Christians in Counselling and Linked Professions.

Is life giving you too much to cope with?

Do you need some help?

Do you want someone to talk to?

Do you feel that you can’t go on?

Counselling Waiting List

Due to the size of our waiting list we are not currently taking any new referrals for counselling. We will update on here when we have a date for it reopening, if you need to talk to someone in the meantime you can contact Samaritans on: 116 123; try another counselling agency or talk to your GP.

Current Clients

We offer:

A high quality counselling service for individuals over 16 years, and also couples, who are needing help to get through a difficult time
Access to trained and accredited counsellors
A listening ear
A peaceful atmosphere
A safe haven
It would be a privilege to help you

Why Counselling?

Counselling is a safe environment where you can be listened to with acceptance and without prejudice allowing you to discuss your problems within a confidential relationship with the counsellor. It can help you work through or cope with difficulties or problems such as:-

Talking things through and having someone to share your journey with really does make a difference.

We offer counselling to anyone aged over 16 who is in need, both for individuals and couples. We are a Christian organisation, but you don’t have to be a Christian to use the service. Counselling would only include issues of faith at your request.

Please be aware that due to current regulations, we are unable to counsel people on adoption issues. We suggest that you look at PAC UK, www.pac-uk.org, who specialise in this area.

Cost

As a charity we are self-funded, relying on donations to continue to provide our services, receiving no funding from Government agencies or the NHS. We therefore ask clients to give a donation for each counselling session. All our counsellors are volunteers, but there are administrative costs to run the service and the centre, and of course, the costs of running and maintaining the building, all of which costs us £2,588 per week to keep the charity going.

Private counselling would cost in the region of £45 upwards and we ask clients to make an honest assessment and contribute as much as they are able to towards their counselling sessions. We do not want anyone to be prevented from receiving counselling for financial reasons, however, as a guide we would suggest a donation of £1 per £1,000 of annual income per session. Generally we would encourage those on benefits or those only receiving state pension to donate £5 per session.

Starting Counselling

Either fill in our online form or contact us and we will take your details and will then contact you offering an initial appointment when one is available. Please be aware that we do have a waiting list so it can be a few months for you to be seen for an appointment. Counselling sessions are available Monday – Friday 9.15 am – 5.00pm, and 3 evenings.

The initial appointment lasts an hour, where you can discuss areas that you feel need addressing, and ask any questions you may have. After this appointment, you will be placed as soon as possible with the counsellor who we feel is best able to help you. We make a contract with each person who uses the service where individual requirements are noted.

To arrange an appointment please fill in the form on our site or phone 01484 461098.

About our Counselling

We are British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy Accredited Counselling Service and are affiliated with the Association of Christians in Counselling and Linked Professions. We work to the BACP Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions and ACC code of Ethics and Practice. All counsellors are either on the Advanced Diploma in Counselling or a similar suitable course, working towards accreditation or are accredited by BACP (British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy) or ACC (Association of Christians in Counselling and Linked Professions).

How do we work?

We offer face-to-face, individual and couples counselling, with appointments on a weekly basis. Our model is integrative and the central core model is person-centred with psychodynamic insight. We work with each client in the modality that is the most appropriate for them.