What are your opening hours?
We offer a variety of appointment times:-
Monday 9.30 am – 4.30 pm
Tuesday 12 noon – 5.45 pm
Wednesday 10.00 am – 6.15 pm
Thursday 10.00 am – 7.00 pm
The Butterflies project for children and young people, operate a variety of date time and evening appointments.
How long do I have to wait for an appointment?
Waiting lists are minimal. However, depending on the type of therapy you are waiting for, the average wait will vary from 6 weeks to 10 weeks.
What is the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy?
The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) sets, promotes and maintains standards for the profession. The Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy, with its Professional Conduct Procedure, ensures that members of the BACP abide by an accepted and approved code of conduct and accountability. This Framework provides a core frame of reference for members to use in their relations with clients, colleagues, fellow members and the wider community. It safeguards both practitioners and members of the public alike.
What is accreditation?
The Service Accreditation Scheme helps the public and practitioners identify services providing a high standard of counselling/psychotherapy. It sets the standard to which all counselling and psychotherapy services can aspire and encompasses the whole range of providers from the small local voluntary group to major commercial Employee Assistance Programme providers. Listening Ear has joined BACP’s established and well-respected schemes for the accreditation of individual practitioners, supervisors and training courses.
Will I see the same counsellor all the time?
You will be allocated a counsellor, reflective listener, or Butterflies support worker when you are given your first appointment, and you will work with them throughout your time at Listening Ear.
How long do my sessions last?
Each adult session is 50 minutes and you normally attend once a week.
What exceptions do you have for confidentiality?
What exceptions do you have for confidentiality?
There are three exceptions:
- Where the member of staff has the express consent of the client to disclose the information.
- Where the disclosure is required for the purpose of any legal proceedings.
- Where the member of staff believes the client or a third party is in serious danger.
What are the different counselling approaches you offer?
Our Counsellors and Psychotherapists work from a variety of Theoretical Approaches, the principle ones being:
Person Centred Counselling
Devised by Carl Rogers and also called ‘client-centred’ or ‘Rogerian’ counselling, this is based upon the assumption that a person (the client), seeking help with how they feel, can enter into a therapeutic relationship with another individual (a counsellor)’. This can enable the person to find their way and develop inner resources’
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy/Counselling
This approach stresses the importance of the unconscious and past experiences in determining current behaviour. The client can explore childhood relationships with parents and other significant people. The therapist focuses on the client/therapist relationship (the dynamics) and in particular on the transference. Transference is when the client projects onto the therapist feelings experienced in previous significant relationships. The psychodynamic approach is derived from psychoanalysis but can provides a quicker solution to emotional problems.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
This approach is recommended under the NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) for a range of mental health issues, including Anxieties, Depression and Trauma. This uses Cognitive and Behavioural techniques to help a person learn how to manage their feelings by initially becoming aware of what they say to themselves and what they do. They can work at ways of changing thoughts and behaviours..
Integrative Counselling
This involves more than one model of counselling and psychotherapy being used in sessions in response to client needs.
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)
This therapy is offered by therapists trained by the EMDR institute. EMDR is a recommended therapy under the NICE guidelines for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It can also be successfully used for other problems e.g. chronic pain, bereavement, anxiety and depression. Subject to suitability for the client, EMDR involves rapid processing of a traumatic memory using bilateral stimulation with the options of eye movement, audio (music), or tactile.