What is counselling?

Counselling is a type of talking therapy that allows a person to talk about their problems and feelings in a confidential and dependable environment.

The counsellors at Changing Pathways are trained to listen with empathy (by putting themselves in your shoes), whilst allowing you the space to reflect and explore your thoughts and feelings.

How can counselling help you?

A counsellor helps you gain perspective about the issue(s) troubling you. Together you explore these issues and consider what might be stopping you from reaching your full potential. The aim of the counselling process is to enable you to understand and accept yourself, to change your behaviour to that which is more productive and rewarding for you, and to help you move towards becoming the kind of person you want to be.

Our counsellors

All counsellors adhere to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy’s Code of Ethics and practice for counsellors.

Good counselling practice requires regular supervision of the counsellor. Our counsellors receive their supervision monthly, which helps ensure good counselling standards are maintained.

The counselling process

We offer all prospective clients a short assessment interview. This provides you with an opportunity to decide whether you wish to go ahead with the counselling. As regular attendance is a crucial part of the counselling process, normally clients should be prepared to commit to a minimum of 6 sessions and a maximum of 20 sessions. Each session lasts for 50 minutes, usually on the same day and time each week. if you are late arriving, due to time constraints the sessions would normally finish at the usual time.

Confidentiality

Counsellors treat any information disclosed to them as confidential. Any information their supervisor receives is also treated as confidential and we do not disclose client details to any third party. However, should a counsellor feel a client is either a danger to themselves or others, she does reserve the right to inform outside agencies, but would not do so without, whenever possible, informing the client first. Please also not that under the Children Act 1989, counsellors are required to report any child protection concerns to Social Services.

Cancelled appointments

We do not charge for counselling, but would ask you to give a full 24 hours notice for cancelled appointments. In the event that an appointment is cancelled on two consecutive weeks, or if an appointment is missed without any prior cancellation, we will ask whether or not you wish to continue with your counselling or postpone it to a later date.

Our counselling service is not a standalone service that can be referred into by outside organisations.  A referral can only be made by our support practitioners for clients that are receiving refuge or outreach services.