About Us
There may be times in our lives when we all feel unable to cope.
The St Barnabas’ vision is a simple one – to help those facing
emotional problems who cannot manage this from their own resources,
where those less able to pay are not excluded from counselling.
The Centre was founded 34 years
ago and is one of the largest in the region.
We take clients (many
referred by GPs) from all over Norfolk and some
parts of Suffolk. At a time when NHS counselling services are being
reduced, referrals to St Barnabas have increased by 30%.
The St Barnabas Ethos:
- Non-discriminating - we see people regardless of their
background, problem or current circumstances. We make it
easy for clients to get help; clients can self-refer and we
accept referrals from GPs.
- Affordable - in every case we take into account our
clients’ ability to pay. Often those most in need of
counselling are least able to pay and many people contribute
around £12 per session while true cost of counselling is
more than £25 per session (and private counsellors may
charge £35 - £50). Many of our clients would have no other
counselling opportunity available.
- Flexible counselling services - clients choose for
how long and how often they come (day and evening
appointments offered). We support our clients until they
feel a resolution has been reached.
- Experienced - our counsellors have not only undergone
years of training but many are highly experienced, and we
offer specialist help from ‘Person-Centred’ to ‘CBT’.
- Professional and ethical - our work is underpinned by
an Advisory Council of mental health professionals.
- Client benefit - externally monitored surveys clearly
demonstrate client benefit.
- Volunteers - all our counsellors work voluntarily.
- Support for counsellors - we support counsellors
through training placements, and we believe that we are
unique in offering in-house supervision provided by paid,
fully qualified supervisors. In addition, the Centre holds
training seminars and invites speakers - some known
internationally - to talk on specialised areas of
counselling.
Around 25% of people have suffered from depression or other
mental illness in the UK and demand for counselling continues to
rise, while NHS counselling has rapidly declined. To help meet this
demand we now have 26 volunteer counsellors (and 9 volunteer
reception staff). This enables us to provide around 260 sessions
each month to more than 90 clients at any one time. We support and
help clients with a very wide range of issues/problems: some suffer
stress and anxiety, depression and despair, eating disorders,
bereavement; others want to rescue their relationships or their
life.
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‘David didn’t think he was the type to suffer depression. He
wasn’t even sure what it was. Until, one day, he felt so, so low.
And, he became angry. He couldn’t cope. His work suffered. He quit.
He isolated himself from his friends and family; after all, they
didn’t understand. David didn’t know what to do… |
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Funding at St Barnabas
We hold our own fundraising events and gain valuable support from
businesses and the public, whilst other income comes from client
donations and Friends of St Barnabas. We also rely on the generosity
and goodwill of Charitable Trusts (we receive no government or NHS
support and are responsible for all our own funding).
This year we need to raise £5,000 to fund this work - to meet the
demand for counselling, to provide continued training and other
opportunities for counsellors, to support our reception staff – and
just to maintain the warm, caring and supportive atmosphere that we
aim for at St Barnabas.
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