Counselling
What is counselling?
Counselling is talking to someone who is trained to know how to help you become clearer about your thoughts and feelings, and help you find your own solutions.
You might want to make changes in your life, and you could use your counsellor to help you.
We do not pass information about you on to anyone else. In other words it is confidential. Nobody else needs to know about it. Anything shared between you and the counsellor is private. Nothing about you is told to anyone outside Off The Record without your permission.
We would only break confidentiality if your or someone else's safety was at risk.
Does it cost anything?
No, it is free.
Counselling Agreement
During your first appointment with a counsellor you will decide whether you want to arrange more counselling sessions. You will make an agreement with your counsellor.
What do people talk about?
Anything you want - it's up to you.
You can talk, draw or play.
You can use your counselling session to deal with any subject, such as:
- Your family relationships
- Your friends
- Self-confidence
- How the past has affected you
- How to overcome fear
- Making a decision
- How to deal with bullies
- Making changes
- Feeling lonely or shy
- Things that feel private and concern you
- Sexual matters
- Sadness and loss
- Eating
- How to deal with your problem and move forward
- Anything else that troubles you
Appointments
There is a waiting list for appointments.
Contact an Information Support Worker (contact details given below). She or he will talk to you and add you to our waiting list.
Each counselling session lasts 50 minutes, or shorter if you want.
You will be offered regular weekly appointments at the same time and day.
It works like this:
- See, phone or text an Information Support Worker
- We will contact you with an offer of a date and time
- You let us know within 48 hours if you want the appointment
- If we do not hear from you we will offer the appointment to someone else
- We will offer you another appointment
- If we do not hear from you within 48 hours of the second offer we will assume you no longer need to see a counsellor
- You can always contact us again to go back on the waiting list
Behaviour
We ask you to come to counselling free from mind-changing drugs or alcohol. We ask you to respect every one you meet at Off The Record. We do not accept behaviour that discriminates against people of a different sex or race. Violence or sexual behaviour is not acceptable in a counselling relationship.
Notes and records
Counsellors make notes to help you and to remind themselves of what has happened in each session. The notes are kept locked away and destroyed after you stop coming for counselling.
Notes and records do not identify individuals. Your identity is not given away.
All counsellors abide by the rules of the British Association of Counselling Code of Ethics and Practice.
How to contact us
Relevant Links
Outreach Counselling Project
If you find attending a centre difficult for whatever reason then maybe our Outreach Counselling project is for you. The counselling is "short term" which means we can see you for anything up to twelve sessions.
We know that young people often value receiving a service in a setting that they are familiar with and this can be supportive. So if you are a young person who is using a local service you could mention to a worker that you might be interested in the service.
How to make a referral
- Telephone our Bath office (01225 312 481) and ask to go on the "outreach counselling waiting list," or;
- Ask a professional who you have contact with to refer you. They can call our Bath office and get a referral form sent out, which they can then return to us
- You will be placed on a waiting list and contacted to arrange an assessment meeting. During this meeting we discuss whether short-term counselling is right for you, how many sessions you would like and where the best place to see you might be
Confidentiality Policy
The Counselling Outreach Project uses the same confidentiality policy as our centre-based projects. This means the sessions will remain confidential between the young person and Off the Record. We do not send referrers information about the content of the sessions. The exception to this may be where there are concerns about a child's or young person's safety. We have a child concern policy that details our response to child protection issues and is available by contacting an Off the Record office.