We’re doing things differently to create more accessible counselling services, and a more socially conscious counselling profession.
We’ve got two priorities:
1
To improve mental health outcomes in marginalised communities.
Counselling offers a space where we can explore and understand our emotions, thoughts, and behaviours. It provides a supportive environment where we can gain insight, develop coping strategies, and enhance our self-awareness.
Research consistently demonstrates that counselling yields positive outcomes, including reduced symptoms of mental health disorders, enhanced well-being, improved coping skills, and increased overall satisfaction with life.
So that everyone can access counselling, we will deliver talking therapy in marginalised communities, establishing therapy rooms in local spaces.
2
To nurture an even more socially conscious counselling profession.
Therapists often come from middle-class backgrounds due to educational and financial prerequisites for pursuing advanced degrees, diplomas and certificates. The costs and time commitments of training can be barriers for individuals from marginalised socioeconomic backgrounds, contributing to a predominantly middle-class composition within the therapy profession.
That’s why class consciousness in a therapy setting is crucial – it helps foster effective and empathetic relationships between counsellors and the people they are supporting. Sensitivity to these structural barriers, and to the nuances of each community, enables therapists to create a more inclusive and supportive therapeutic environment.
So that people can feel properly understood by their therapist, we will provide development opportunities for trainee therapists, hosting supervised and supportive volunteer placements.
Underpinning Principles
These principles set out what we expect from ourselves and what we will bring to any partnership.
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Because the best therapy happens when everyone can be fully present.
We will employ therapists on terms that respect the investment that they made in their training, and create working conditions that allow them to focus on delivering high quality therapy.
We will make sure that all costs that trainee therapists incur as a result of delivering therapy within the service are covered, and provide time and space for meaningful discussion around the role of therapy in creating social justice.
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Because we accept our duty to be honest with ourselves and others - especially when it’s uncomfortable.
Sometimes our attempts to keep the peace result in tension being kept too. With empathy and consideration, we pride ourselves on saying the thing because opportunities for growth for us and others can grow from there.
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Because coming together in community can provide opportunities to solve problems, develop new ideas and heal from the difficult things that many of us have faced in our lives.
Everything that we should reflect this. We take time to understand and think deeply about the ways we might impact the communities we become part of.
