Counselling

Our free counselling service offers dedicated time and a confidential space to talk about your feelings and challenges.

Can counselling help me?

Caring can be both rewarding and challenging.  Sometimes you might feel frustrated or overwhelmed.  You might not feel able to share everything that’s going on for you with your family and friends.  Talking in confidence to a counsellor can help you express or explore difficult emotions and develop coping strategies to avoid reaching crisis point.

You can use the service at any time, but we know that some of the key points when people often need counselling are when they first take on caring responsibilities, when the person they are caring for is moving into residential care, and when they are coping with bereavement.    You might feel anxious about your caring responsibilities, not feel up to the job or resent the change in the dynamics of your relationship.

What happens at counselling?

All our trained and sympathetic counsellors are there to listen and support you without judging.  At your sessions, the counsellor will encourage you to talk about and understand your feelings and emotions and to see things from different perspectives.  They’ll help you explore how you might deal with things differently in the future and help you find solutions to the challenges you face.

Who are the counsellors?

All our counsellors are qualified or students close to the end of their training. They have a particular understanding of carers’ needs and the difficulties they can experience.

Do I have to pay?

We can provide up to 12 sessions for free, after which we are able to provide further sessions at a subsidised cost if you wish to continue.

I am thinking about getting counselling, what do I need to do?

We welcome carers of all ages and from every faith, culture and background.  Our Information and Advice Officers can refer you to the service, another organisation can refer you or you can refer yourself by completing our Contact Form, .

One of our counsellors will then conduct a short assessment and you will be matched with a counsellor who can best support you.   Once allocated to a  counsellor, they will book you in for a series of counselling sessions at a time that works for you.  The sessions last 50 minutes and are held in a confidential space at our Carers Hub in Waldram Place, Forest Hill, SE23 2LB or via zoom.