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Our FAQs

North East Counselling Services FAQs

We offer a range of counselling services. Prices, times and access vary with each service required. Please see our FAQs for each individual counselling service below.

Adult Counselling

Our face-to-face counselling, telephone counselling and online counselling sessions each last 50 minutes.

Sessions can be face to face, over the telephone, and online.

Face to face sessions with your counsellor would take place at our main office in Blaydon, or at our counselling rooms in Pelaw.

Our online therapy is via Microsoft Teams video calls. If you opt for online counselling, then before each session your counsellor will send the Teams link for your session to the email address that you have provided to us. You will need access to a Microsoft Teams account in order to obtain your counselling in this way.  If you don’t currently have access to Teams, then you will be able to download the Teams app, using the information that we send to you before your counselling session.

The number of sessions will vary depending upon your needs.  At intervals, your counsellor will review with you how you feel things are going. If additional appointments are needed, the counsellor will explore this with you.

You can discuss with your counsellor the number and focus of your sessions at any time, and can choose to pause or end the counselling whenever you wish.

Counselling for individuals costs £65 per session.

We also offer some reduced-cost counselling sessions, priced at £35. These are with counsellors who are returning to the profession after a career break, or who are undertaking a supervised placement with us whilst completing their academic counselling qualification.

Availability of reduced-cost counselling varies at different times of the year and:

  • is suitable for many emotional issues including depression and anxiety, or specific issues that are impacting in the short-term
  • is only for individual adults (not couples or children)

If you are interested in our reduced-cost counselling, please let us know when you contact us.

When you fill in our online referral form or call us, we will ask you for some basic information, including your address, date of birth, and the name of your GP Practice.

We will also ask you to let us know:

  • The reason you are seeking, or considering, counselling.
  • How you would prefer us to contact you
  • The days of the week and times of day when you will be normally be available to attend counselling.
  • Where you would like your counselling to take place (Blaydon, Pelaw, by telephone or online).

North East Counselling Services provides safe, confidential and ethical counselling – giving you the space to talk openly and freely.

The content of your counselling sessions will be kept private and we would only breach confidentiality in the following situations:

  • To protect you or someone else from serious harm – including safeguarding commitments.
  • Where there is a legal obligation to disclose information.
  • To prevent a crime.
  • Child protection.
  • If you have given your consent for confidentiality to be breached in order to share information with other parties.

We are committed to keeping safe the data you share with us. You can expect that we store your data securely and that we process your personal information in ways that are lawful, fair and transparent.

Before you attend your first counselling session you will be sent some documents to read. One of those will be our Privacy Policy, which explains:

  • How we securely store your data
  • Other important information about your rights – in relation to the gathering, processing and storing of your data (under the GDPR regulation).

After you've read the Privacy Policy, if you have any questions about data privacy at North East Counselling Services, please contact us.

Sometimes counselling is about finding how to change things, sometimes it’s finding a way to accept what we can’t change – and sometimes people don’t want anything to change, they just don’t want to feel alone with it all anymore.

When people first come to counselling – sometimes called talking therapy – it’s common to feel unsure about what exactly you need from the process. And that is okay; your counsellor can help you uncover this as you go.  At North East Counselling Services, you can start from exactly where you are now, working with a counsellor who will keep to your pace.

Your counsellor will listen without judgment, helping you explore your thoughts and emotions. We might also use some creative ways of tapping into your feelings, such as mapping things out on paper, or using objects and resources in the room.

Depending upon your needs and the counsellor’s approach, the counselling might focus mostly on one main issue, or could explore more broadly how you're feeling. If appropriate, the counsellor might also offer you information, or suggest a different perspective.

Whatever methods the counselling includes, our counsellors will tailor the process to fit your needs, to help you find a way forward.

There are some situations in which we might not be able to help.

At your first meeting with one of our counsellors, if we feel that the issues that you have come to us with (or some other background factors) mean that you would benefit from a different type of therapy or service, which we do not provide, then we will discuss that with you. In addition, we do not diagnose neurodiversity, or specific mental health conditions.

You can make a request for counselling on behalf of someone else, but in order to do that, you first need to follow these steps:

  1. Speak to the person concerned and explain that we are a counselling service.
  2. Check that you have their permission to give us their details and to ask North East Counselling Services to contact them.
  3. Clarify with them what they would like to get out of accessing some counselling for themselves.

Once you’ve completed the three above things, click here to send an online referral or telephone us on 0191 4661314.

You can enquire about coming to counselling in any of the following ways.

1) Complete the referral form on our website

2) Telephone us on 0191 4661314

3) Email us at info@necounselling.org.uk

Couples Counselling

Our face-to-face counselling, telephone counselling and online counselling sessions each last 50 minutes.

Sessions can be face to face, over the telephone, and online.

Face to face sessions with your counsellor would take place at our main office in Blaydon, or at our counselling rooms in Pelaw.

Our online therapy is via Microsoft Teams video calls. If you opt for online counselling, then before each session your counsellor will send the Teams link for your session to the email address that you have provided to us. You will need access to a Microsoft Teams account in order to obtain your counselling in this way.  If you don’t currently have access to Teams, then you will be able to download the Teams app, using the information that we send to you before your counselling session.

The number of sessions will vary depending upon your needs as a couple – so you don’t need to commit to a particular ‘course’ of counselling. Couples usually attend weekly at first, but might space out their sessions as the counselling progresses. Each session normally lasts around 50 minutes.

At intervals, your counsellor will review how you feel things are going. If further appointments would be helpful, your counsellor will explore this with you.

You can also discuss with your counsellor the number and focus of your sessions at any time and you can choose to pause or end the counselling whenever you wish.

Couples counselling for individuals costs £75 per session.

When you complete our online referral form or call us to ask for counselling, we will need to collect some basic information from you. The information we ask for will include your name, contact details, address, date of birth and GP Practice.

We will ask for this information from yourself, but we will also ask you to provide your partner’s basic details. That’s why it’s important that you first get permission from them to share this information with us. We will also ask you to tell us about any children you have – separately or together – or any caring responsibilities.

So that we can get in touch with you and arrange counselling, we will ask:

  • How you would like us to contact you
  • Hour availability to attend sessions (when and where)
  • The reasons (briefly) why you are seeking, or considering, couples counselling.

This will also be an opportunity to share with us any other important information that you would like us to know. If you’re filling in our online referral form, therefore, you might find it easiest to do this together.

So that we can explore whether couple counselling may be right for you, it’s important that you let us know:

  • If you or your partner have any health or mental health diagnoses
  • If there are any teams or professionals working with you, your partner, or your family. If this is the case please share with us the names of those professionals, where they work and what they help with, as well as any contact details you have for them.
  • If there are any court cases, or legal proceedings happening for you or your partner
  • If there is a history of Domestic Abuse for you or your partner, or any current issues around safety or risks occurring in your relationship now.

The information you share will help us assess if we are the right service for you, and also allow us to find a counsellor that matches your needs.

North East Counselling Services provides safe, confidential and ethical counselling – giving you the space to talk openly and freely.

The content of your counselling sessions will be kept private and we would only breach confidentiality in the following situations:

  • To protect you or someone else from serious harm – including safeguarding commitments.
  • Where there is a legal obligation to disclose information.
  • To prevent a crime.
  • Child protection.
  • If you have given your consent for confidentiality to be breached in order to share information with other parties.

We are committed to keeping safe the data you share with us. As a North East Counselling Services client, you can expect that we store your data securely and we process your personal information in ways that are lawful, fair and transparent.

Before you attend your first counselling session you will be sent some documents to read. One of those will be our Privacy Policy. The Privacy Policy explains:

  • How we securely store your data
  • Other important information about your data and privacy rights

After you’ve read the Privacy Policy, we’ll ask for your agreement to storing your data in the way we’ve outlined. If you have any questions about data privacy at North East Counselling Services, please contact us. please contact us.

So that you know what to expect at your first couples counselling sessions, we have prepared this brief summary.

First session

At the first appointment, your counsellor will ask each of you for some background information and will begin to understand what has brought you to counselling. (We call this appointment the ‘Initial Assessment’). The counsellor will also explain a little about the next two sessions – where each person in the couple will sit with the counsellor separately.

Second & third sessions

You will each be invited to take part in one individual counselling session. This is to allow each of you to discuss what you need to work on, individually and as a couple, and take time to focus on your own thoughts and feelings, with the counsellor.

The counsellor will keep confidential what you each say in these individual sessions and won’t share this with your partner.  If the counsellor feels that something that one of you has shared cannot remain confidential, this will be because of safeguarding, which we explain. We will discuss this with you if a safeguarding concern arises.

Fourth session onwards

At the fourth session, we will again see you together as a couple – and this will be the same for any further sessions.

During this appointment, a couple will usually discuss with their counsellor how many sessions they feel are needed, to help them make the changes they are seeking in their relationship.

Couples can enter into counselling at North East Counselling Services if you are 18 years old and above.

Sometimes couples and individuals who request counselling have issues that need a different type of therapist or a different service. Issues that may require other, specialist support could be:

  • Diagnosing Neurodiversity or Mental Health issues
  • Specific issues such as working with eating disorders, more complex presentations of mental health, and those who require specialist therapies
  • Issues stemming from complex trauma, e.g. flashbacks
  • Existing diagnoses of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

 

To enquire about couples counselling at North East Counselling Services, please follow these steps:

  1. Speak to your partner about attending couples sessions together
  2. Ask for their permission to give us their name and contact details and permission for us to contact them
  3. Clarify what they would like to get out of counselling
  4. Then, complete our referral form.

We won’t be able to work with a couple if one person does not want to take part in the sessions, so it’s important that you have both agreed that you would like to try some counselling sessions together.

Family Counselling

Our face-to-face counselling, telephone counselling and online counselling sessions each last 50 minutes.

Sessions can be face to face, over the telephone, and online.

Face to face sessions with your counsellor would take place at our main office in Blaydon, or at our counselling rooms in Pelaw.

Our online therapy is via Microsoft Teams video calls. If you opt for online counselling, then before each session your counsellor will send the Teams link for your session to the email address that you have provided to us. You will need access to a Microsoft Teams account in order to obtain your counselling in this way.  If you don’t currently have access to Teams, then you will be able to download the Teams app, using the information that we send to you before your counselling session.

At the start your counsellor will work with you to understand your needs as a family and what has brought you to counselling. You don’t need to commit to a particular ‘course’ of counselling – the number of family counselling sessions will depend upon your needs.

 

At intervals, your counsellor will review with your family how you feel things are going. If further appointments would be helpful, your counsellor will explore this with you. You can choose to pause or end the counselling whenever you wish.

Family counselling costs £80 per session.

When you complete our online referral form or call us to ask for counselling, we will need to collect some basic information from you. The information we ask for will include your name, contact details, address, date of birth and GP Practice.

We will ask for this information from yourself, but we will also ask you to provide your other family members' basic details. That’s why it’s important that you first get permission from them to share this information with us.

So that we can get in touch with you and arrange counselling, we will ask:

  • How you would like us to contact you
  • Your availability to attend sessions (when and where)
  • The reasons (briefly) why you are seeking, or considering, family counselling.

This will also be an opportunity to share with us any other important information that you would like us to know. If you’re filling in our online referral form, therefore, you might find it easiest to do this together.

North East Counselling Services provides safe, confidential and ethical counselling – giving you the space to talk openly and freely.

The content of your counselling sessions will be kept private and we would only breach confidentiality in the following situations:

  • To protect you or someone else from serious harm – including safeguarding commitments.
  • Where there is a legal obligation to disclose information.
  • To prevent a crime.
  • Child protection.
  • If you have given your consent for confidentiality to be breached in order to share information with other parties.

We are committed to keeping safe the data you share with us. As a North East Counselling Services client, you can expect that we store your data securely and we process your personal information in ways that are lawful, fair and transparent.

Before you attend your first counselling session you will be sent some documents to read. One of those will be our Privacy Policy. The Privacy Policy explains:

  • How we securely store your data
  • Other important information about your data and privacy rights

After you’ve read the Privacy Policy, we’ll ask for your agreement to storing your data in the way we’ve outlined. If you have any questions about data privacy at North East Counselling Services, please contact us.

The number of family members who take part can be from 2 to 5. It is not essential for every member to come to every session.

You can enquire about coming to counselling in any of the following ways.

1) Complete the referral form on our website

2) Telephone us on 0191 4661314

3) Email us at info@necounselling.org.uk

Children’s Counselling

Our face-to-face counselling, telephone counselling and online counselling sessions usually last 50 minutes.

Sessions can be face to face, over the telephone, and online. Face to face sessions with your counsellor would take place at our main office in Blaydon, or at our counselling rooms in Pelaw.

Our online therapy is via Microsoft Teams video calls. If you opt for online counselling, then before each session your counsellor will send the Teams link for your session to the email address that you have provided to us. You will need access to a Microsoft Teams account in order to obtain your counselling in this way.  If you don’t currently have access to Teams, then you will be able to download the Teams app, using the information that we send to you before your counselling session.

The counsellor working with your child will aim to meet them weekly – usually at the same time and on the same day each week. If you are funding your child’s counselling privately, then the number of sessions is flexible and there is no specific limit. Instead, your child or young person, supported by you and their counsellor, will work together to agree the number of counselling sessions they will have.

 

When children have their counselling paid for by the NHS or other public or grant funds, they are usually offered 12 sessions – though in special circumstances this can sometimes be extended.

Children & young people's counselling costs £65 per session.

When you request counselling for your child, we will ask you for some basic details, including, your child’s:

  • Address
  • Date of birth

 

So that we can arrange counselling, we will ask about the:

  • Days of the week and times of day when they could attend
  • Location(s) they could come to for counselling

 

To help us to understand your child’s needs, we will also ask why you are requesting counselling for your child. This is also an opportunity for you to share with us any other the important information that you need us to know.

We are committed to keeping safe the data that you and your child share with us.

 

If your child is under the age 16, we will ask you to read our Privacy Policy – which we will send to you before your child’s first counselling session. This sets out how we securely store your child’s data, as well as providing other information about your child’s rights.

If your child is aged 16 or over then we will ask them to read and agree to the terms of our Privacy Policy.

At your child’s first session with a counsellor, if we feel that the issues your child or young person has come to us with (or some other background factors) mean that they would benefit from a different type of therapy or service, which we do not provide, then we will discuss that with you.

We would also do this if, during or at the end of counselling, we felt that your child could benefit from some other support. In addition, we do not diagnose neurodiversity, or specific mental health conditions.

If your child has been referred to North East Counselling Services by the public sector ‘Single Point of Access’, the counselling that we provide will be the same as described above, but the number of sessions will be limited to 12 (unless there are exceptional circumstances).

Children referred to us in that way can be seen at North East Counselling Services offices in Blaydon, or Pelaw, or in their school.

You can request counselling on your child’s behalf. Before requesting counselling, please:

  • Speak to your child and explain that we are a counselling service
  • Tell them a little about what counselling is
  • Check that they have understood.

If your child is 16 years or older and you are going to contact us on their behalf, you will first need to obtain their permission to do that.

A child under the age of 16 can sometimes also legally consent to their own ‘treatment’, such as counselling – if they're believed to have “enough intelligence, competence and understanding to fully appreciate what's involved in their treatment”. This is described as being ‘Gillick Competent’.

Once you’ve spoken to your child about attending counselling, please call us on 0191 4661314, email info@necounselling.org.uk or fill in our online referral form.

School Counselling

Yes. North East Counselling Services provides one-to-one counselling to children and young people, as well as to school staff.

North East Counselling Services provides one-to-one counselling to children and young people from age 4 upwards.

We can provide in-school counselling for just one child, or can offer from a half day to several days of in-school counsellor support each week. If a student struggles to be seen in school, then alternative venues can be used.

If, at the first counselling session, we feel that the issues a child or young person is experiencing (or some other background factors) mean they would benefit from a different type of therapy or service, which we do not provide, then we will discuss that with the school. We would also do this if, during or at the end of counselling, we felt that the child could benefit from some other support.

Our rapid response, crisis service provides trauma-informed support when a school has been affected by an unexpected death or other major incident.

We have supported schools in this way, for example, after

  • Traumatic bereavements
  • Violent incidents that have affected pupils and/or staff

To assess needs, we aim to meet within 24 hours of your first contact with us. We will then work quickly with you to agree and co-ordinate rapid access to services.

This might involve one-to-one counselling for a small number of students or staff who have been most affected, or group-based sessions where appropriate.

Individual Student and Staff Counselling

When our counsellors work one-on-one with your pupils or staff, what they say to us will be confidential, within safe and legal limits. This allows them the freedom to express themselves and really get to the root of the issues, without fear of any judgement or negative repercussions from others.

 

 Group Work with School Staff

When working with groups of staff, it’s important to create a safe space in which they can speak freely. In order to do that, the counsellor facilitating the group will make an oral contract with the school staff who take part, limiting what can be shared outside of the sessions.

Our schools counsellors are fully qualified and are registered or accredited members of a professional membership body, such as the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) or the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP).

All of our counsellors:

  • Work to a competence framework and strict code of ethics set by their membership body.
  • Hold an up-to-date, Enhanced, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, and complete regular safeguarding training
  • Are covered by professional indemnity insurance and public liability insurance.

Each counsellor also receives a minimum of an hour of clinical supervision each month and undertakes appropriate continuing professional development, to inform and continually strengthen their work.

To ensure that all of the counselling we deliver is safe and ethical, we assess any risks that arise during work with a child or and young person. If at any time the counsellor feels risks may be present, they will:

  • Follow the procedures set out by the school;
  • Report to the school’s designated safeguarding lead (DSL);
  • Log the safeguarding issue on North East Counselling Services’ own system;
  • Ensure that they act in line with best practice guidance and with our own safeguarding policy

Counsellors are also able to contact a safeguarding lead, at our head office, for support as required.

To arrange counselling, discuss counselling costs and budgets, or simply to explore how we might be able to work together, please telephone us on 0191 4661314 and ask to speak to Marj Hunter (CEO) or Jolene McCourt (Operations Manager). Alternatively, email marj@necounselling.org.uk or jolene@necounselling.org.uk – or fill in our contact form to get started.

Employee Counselling

Each counselling appointment will last approximately 50 minutes.

We can counsel your employees at the workplace, or at our offices in Blaydon and Pelaw.  Both sites are close to public transport connections and offer free car parking. Counselling sessions are available:

  • Monday to Friday – 9am to 8pm
  • Saturday – 9am to 4pm

We also offer remote appointments, by telephone or video – provided that the issues for which your employee requires counselling lend themselves to remote therapy.

The number of sessions will vary depending upon your employee’s needs – so there is no requirement to commit to a particular ‘course’ of counselling. The employee can discuss with their counsellor the number and focus of the sessions at any time and can choose to pause or end the counselling whenever they wish.

 

The counsellor will aim to meet your employee on the same day and time each week, unless the employee’s shift patterns or other commitments require more flexible timings. (Meeting weekly is not essential, but it is often helpful to do this at first – then potentially to space out sessions as the counselling progresses.)

Our work with employee groups is face-to-face, in person – either at the workplace or at our Blaydon offices. At Blaydon, we can accommodate groups of up to 10 people.

In addition to the service contract that we agree with your organisation, we will also put in place confidentiality agreements with the individual(s) and group(s) of employees with whom we work.

Confidentiality is one of the foundations of the counselling relationship. When our counsellors work one-on-one with employees, what that employee says to their counsellor will remain confidential. This allows employees the freedom to express themselves and really get to the root of the problem, without fear of any judgement or repercussions from those around them.

When working with groups, it’s important to create a safe space for people to talk freely. In order to do that, the counsellor facilitating the group will make an oral contract with the participants, limiting what can be shared outside of the sessions.

There are some exceptions, where we may need to breach confidentiality. In all instances, this will be discussed in advance with the employee we are counselling. Exceptions are:

  • To protect your employee or someone else from serious harm – including safeguarding commitments
  • Where there is a statutory obligation to disclose information
  • To prevent a crime
  • Child protection
  • If the employee has given their consent for confidentiality to be breached in order to share information with other parties

North East Counselling Services is an organisational member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), and is committed to work within BACP’s Ethical framework for the Counselling Professions.

 

Our employee counsellors are academically qualified and are Registered or Accredited members of a professional body, such as BACP or the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP).

 

Their expertise spans a wide range of therapies – including person-centred counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy, psychodynamic counselling and Gestalt. Most of our counsellors use an integrative style, drawing upon techniques from a range of modalities and developed through years of experience.

 

They counsel people from roles including company directors, owner-managers, teachers and headteachers, middle and junior managers, IT professionals, retail and hospitality staff, community workers, carers and blue light workers.

If you are interested in counselling for one or more employees, please fill in our short enquiry form. We will then get in touch to find out more about your requirements – either over the phone, or via a visit to the workplace, in appropriate.

 

Alternatively, if you would like to discuss a wider package of support, or have a need for urgent counselling (e.g. after a major incident such as an employee death in service, or suicide) please telephone us on 0191 4661314 and ask to speak to Marj Hunter (CEO) or Jolene McCourt (Operations Manager).

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