The St. Barnabas Counselling Centre was founded in 1974 and we aim to offer low cost counselling to all adults regardless of race, creed or financial ability.

We have 25 professionally trained counsellors who voluntarily offer a variety of experience and specialisms. Our clients come from all walks of life and bring with them all sorts of problems ranging from abuse, loss and bereavement to depression, loneliness and relationship problems. In our often alienating and frightening world there is an ever-increasing demand for counselling.

The Centre:

• Provides professional counselling to adults irrespective of their ability to pay
• Offers short-term and long-term open-ended counselling
• Offers one-to-one counselling, couples counselling and group work
• Seeks to promote the values of counselling through talks in the wider community
• Evaluates and continually monitors the quality of service
• Provides counsellors working with a number of different counselling orientations
• Provides counselling for cancer sufferers and carers
• Facilitates and holds training courses for counsellors
• Is supported by trained supervisors to maintain ethics and professionalism
• Employs a part-time clinical director to ensure accountable practice
• Provides reception and telephone cover from 9-5, five days a week and two evenings.

The Centre is one of the largest counselling providers in Norwich and has charitable status. It is entirely responsible for its own funding. Our income is derived from grants, donations, room donations and income from counselling sessions provided to our clients. The funding crisis in the NHS has meant that GPs are unable to offer counselling, which has increased the numbers referred to us. However we have managed to keep our waiting list manageable, clients have not had to wait too long for an appointment. We are still able to offer open-ended counselling which is important to us. Counsellors continue to want placements with us as we have a reputation for offering a good supportive environment for trainees and for being a good place to work for experienced counsellors.

We operate on a shoe-string but have managed to keep our minimum fee at £12. Some clients pay more, some can only pay a small amount and are subsidised by those who can afford more. An imminent rent increase means that fundraising must be one of our main concerns in the coming year.