External Support Services
This page has contact details of lowcost counselling options in the Bath and Bristol area and information on finding a private therapist.University Medical Centre - 01225 330096
Quarry House
North Road
To make an appointment with one of the University Medical Centre counselling team it is necessary to see a GP at the medical centre first. Counselling is usually for 6 sessions and there is no charge.
Focus Counselling Bath – 01225 330096
Crypt
St. Michael's Church
Broad Street
Bath, BA1 5LJ
Focus Counselling offers low cost counselling at a minimum of £5 for up to 6 sessions. Open ended is available but not at low cost. They are conveniently situated in the town centre opposite the Podium/Waitrose. Focus also offers a fortnightly eating disorder group on Monday evenings.
Bath Centre for Counselling & Psychotherapy – 0845 2235267
BCCP operates a referral service for low-cost therapy starting at £15. The referral service will take a few confidential details, then match you with the most appropriate practitioner they have available. There will be no waiting list. You can also find a therapist using the on-line database of practitioners. Click here to search our database yourself. You can either see a full alphabetic listing, or search on a keyword, such as 'Bristol', or 'Eating Disorders'. Or using the advanced search function, you can search by the gender of the practitioner and the minimum price they have quoted for seeing clients.
Off the Record Bath – 01225 312481 / 0800 3895551
http://www.offthereccord-banes.co.uk
Free counselling and advice service for 11-25 years old.
Opening times: counselling Monday to Thursday 1pm to 7pm
Drop in sessions Monday to Thursday 4pm to 7pm
Initially the service offers 6 sessions but they can extend to 12. However, open ended counselling is no longer available.
The service does have a waiting list (as at March 2012 6 to 12 weeks) based on availability but if a staff member would like to make an urgent referral you can fill in a contact leaflet by going to their bath website, click on services, click on make contact and fill in an online referral form or ring their office manager and speak to someone directly. Ruth Sexton is the referral manager.
Bath NHS Health Care Centre – 01225 478811
(Walk-in centre)
James Street West
Provides 7 days a week access to doctors and nurses 365 days a year between 8am and 6.30pm. No appointments necessary. No provision of counselling but in case students need out of hours medical help or support for psychosomatic symptoms brought on by anxiety, panic, stress…quick and instant.
Off The Record Bristol
For young people 11-25 years old. Offers:
- Free counselling up to 6 sessions.
- Free informal support and information at the main office and at Connexions;
- Specialist services, including LGBT Counselling, Sexual Health and Night Stop.
Off The Record Freephone Booking 0808 808 9120 - Mon: 10am - 5:00pm, Tue & Wed: 10am - 8:00pm.
Womankind – 0845 4582914
http://www.womankindbristol.org.uk/
Womankind provides women in the Bristol area with free or affordable professional counselling, psychotherapy and on-going support.
- A Helpline for women in distress and women suffering domestic abuse
- Befriending for women with enduring mental health issues, only for those living in South Gloucestershire
- Low cost counselling for women, only for those who live in Bristol
- Counselling for refugees and asylum seekers
- A private counselling and group therapy service for women who can afford to pay
Platform 51 – 01179 638775
Platform 51 in Bristol offers 1-1 counselling for women who are pregnant or have new born babies. They have a free creche facility.
Wessex Counselling Service – 01373 453355
http://www.wessexcounsellingservice.co.uk/
Rooms based in Bristol and Frome. WCS offers low-cost psychodynamic counselling. For students there is a free assessment and a follow up of 12 sessions at £10 per session.
Help Counselling – 01225 767459
Based in Trowbridge for clients from west Wiltshire (including Bath)
Low cost counselling for age 16 years upwards.
All clients are asked to make a donation and no-one will be declined. Not suitable for severe mental health issues or severe addictions.
The University Chaplaincy - 386458
Email:chaplaincy@bath.ac.uk
The chaplaincy on University Campus is a space that students can go to regardless of their religious background. It is situated next to the library, turn left to east part of campus and go down one set of steps from the parade.
It has many activities on offer and can be a space for students who feel lonely and where they can meet people in a friendly and unthreatening environment. Activities cover anything from free shared lunches to prayer groups, a game of scrabble, cooking, social gatherings, drumming group and meeting groups of varied interests and sociable dinners on Saturdays.
For foreign students a free lunch every Wednesday brings together students from around the globe. The kitchen is particularly popular with Chinese students who use it for microwaving their specially prepared foods and eating together.
It is as students, who have been to the chaplaincy, said: ‘The only place on campus where one is not assessed or asked to fill in forms’.
The staff in the chaplaincy are from various denominational backgrounds and happy to speak to people of any faith. Anyone who drops in and wishes to speak in confidence will be welcome and receive counsel, advice or a listening ear.
Hours of opening:
Term time weekdays 10am until 5pm, and until 6.15pm on Tuesdays.
The main meeting room is open during Christmas holidays. The premises are open longer and used for social activities in the evenings or early morning prayer groups.
Every Friday night between 11pm and 3.30am – tea and toast organised by the Christian Union – all are welcome.
Relate – 01225 465593
Bath and District Relate
21 Milsom street
Bath, BA1
Opening times:
Monday 9am-1pm, Tuesday 2.30– 8.30pm, Wednesday 4.30–8.30pm, Thursday 11.30am–8.30pm and Friday 10am–3pm.
Relate offers counselling for any relationship issues and also offer advice on domestic violence and abuse. They also have a family counsellor. There is no low cost counselling available currently. Sessions cost between £45 and £50.
Cruse Bereavement Care Bath and District – 01761 417250
2 Westfield Court
Third Avenue
Westfield
Midsomer Norton
Bath BA3 4XD
crusebath@btconnect.com
Monday – Friday 10am to 1pm
Students can make contact via email or phone in the mornings. Cruse offers 1 to 1 counselling for individuals on a short term contract, 6 to 12 sessions in the Baptist church in Bath. Currently (March 2012), there are no groups running for young people.
Kinergy – 0117 9087712
Based in Kingswood, Bristol, Kinergy offers free or low-cost counselling for men and women who have been raped or sexually abused
The Green House Bristol – 0117 9351707
P.O. Box 665
Bristol
BS99 1XY
Offers a free, specialist counselling and psychotherapy service for adults, adolescents and 'looked after' children to work through the difficulties they face in the aftermath of sexual abuse. Open to any adult living in Bristol who has suffered sexual abuse as a child or adult.
DHI – 01225 329411
Bee Hive Yard
Walcott Street
Bath
Developing Health and Independence is a drug and alcohol service providing 1 to 1 support, group sessions, drop in, acupuncture and needle exchange.
Finding a private therapist
In the UK, counselling and psychotherapy are regulated by the two organisations below. However therapists aren’t obliged to be members of any professional body and anyone can call themselves a counsellor or psychotherapy, even if they’ve had no training.
Therapists that are accredited by the BACP or UKCP meet certain professional standards, have their work supervised, follow a Code of Ethics and have public liability insurance. It therefore makes sense to look for a therapist that is accredited or registered with them.
Both organisations have websites with ‘find a therapist’ search engines where you can put in criteria like location and special area of interest and find names of people nearby.
British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP):
http://www.bacp.co.uk/
Look for an ACCREDITED member. Counsellors will use the initials
MBACP (accred) to show that they are accredited; if it only says e.g. Joe Bloggs, MBACP, this simply means that they are a member of BACP – in other words, have just paid them some money!
United Kingdom Council of Psychotherapy (UKCP):
http://www.psychotherapy.org.uk/
Look for a REGISTERED member.