We never judge you. We understand that for many women it's difficult to make the first contact so we want to reassure you that we will work with you, listening to you and understanding your individual needs, so that we know how best to meet them and give you the best possible service.
We are here for you if you are older or younger; if English is not your first language; if you have additional needs or feel excluded because of a disability or discriminated against because of your race, sexual orientation, religion, lifestyle or any difference that has led you feeling isolated or unheard, including sex working or prostitution or having a history of offending.
We can offer 1-1 support, taking into account your needs and how you wish to be supported.
“I had become lost somehow . . . crying in the dark. The Women’s Centre made it easy for me to take responsibility for my journey to get well.”
Once you have registered with us, you’ll be invited to attend an initial assessment. This means that you’ll be asked to tell us about what problems you are dealing with and start to look at how we can help you. The confidential assessment will be undertaken by a qualified and supportive member of our team.
We’ll then help you to create a support plan, so that you understand what to expect and exactly how we’ll be supporting you.
The support team will work with any issues such as housing, benefits, relationships, domestic abuse, criminal justice and offending, mental health, personal development, support at meetings and advocacy.
You may decide to access our Counselling & Psychotherapy Services.
We offer a range of different therapeutic options such as person-centred counselling, transactional analysis, CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy), integrative therapy and art therapy. We can discuss these different approaches with you more at your initial appointment to help you identify which therapy you will get the most from.
We also offer an 'at home' service for those who are experiencing mild to moderate difficulties. This is a computerised CBT programme, where you can make your way through a series of modules, using your computer, or other device.
“Therapy gave me the chance to explore an experience that I had blocked out. The counselling enabled me to let go, make sense and move on with my life.”
Counselling & Psychotherapy offers you a safe and private space to explore the difficulties you are experiencing in your everyday life, whether these stem for your early childhood experiences or stressors you are experiencing in the here and now.
It’s an opportunity for you to explore some of the challenges you are facing and identify the changes that you would like to make. Counsellors and psychotherapists won’t offer you advice but will support you to find alternative coping strategies and different ways of thinking.
The team is made up of qualified and trainee therapists and counsellors, all of whom come from a wide range of backgrounds. We have a strict recruitment process that all of our therapists must go through to ensure that we are able to deliver a quality service.
“I was taught how to start loving myself a little at a time. One of my biggest problems is/was self-harm, I now see how I didn’t deserve any of it, how I was just repeating the cycle of abuse I’d grown up with. Fingers crossed I don’t self-harm again. I’m almost 2 years without. My life is still sad a lot of the time but I don’t give up.
The Centre helped with that. I treasure it."
The Centre offers both 'taster' sessions and hour-long appointments for a range of complementary therapies, such as:
Massage: This is a body treatment where a variety of different types of massage movements are performed as you are lying down on a couch or seated in a massage chair. Massage can be given with or without aromatherapy oils.
Indian Head Massage: The therapist uses a range of different massage pressure and techniques to stimulate these areas of the body. It is believed that these are important energy centres in the body and by treating these areas the wholebody can benefit, physically and emotionally.
Reflexology: is massage of the feet that aims to promote wellness in other areas of the body. It is based on the principle that the foot has ‘reflex’ pointsthat correspond to the various structures and organs throughout the body.
Emotional Freedom Technique: can support you in managing stress, responding to emotions and enabling you to make healthier choices. In your first session with your therapist you can expect to learn how to gently massage or tap on acupressure points. This can have a calming or balancing effect. Once you begin using the tapping technique, your therapist will be able to guide you gently through each session, talking and tapping. In your sessions, you will learn someways to use EFT in your daily life. Once the course is completed, these skills will be there for life.
“They made me better”
The eTherapy@home service is part of the NHS IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) scheme, which is offered free of charge and does not require a referral from your GP (although we do inform your GP that you are accessing the service.)
The treatment is suitable for mild-moderate common mental health problems, including low mood, depression, anxiety, stress, panic and phobias. It can also work to improve sleep and improving physical activity. The treatment is based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)techniques and is accessed online, from any device that can access the internet.
It works in the here-and-now and can help you to learn day-to-day coping strategies for your difficulties. You to log into the programme in your own time for at least an hour a week to engage with the resources, and to use the tools of the programme in your daily life.
Following an initial assessment, if you are suitable for the service you will be introduced to a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner who will support you with the programme. She will call you once a week for a 15-20 minute check-in, for 6 weeks, to help you to support you to meet your goals.
“This is a pretty amazing place already!”
