Initial Assessment
An initial assessment is the first step in seeking counselling with the Affordable Counselling Network.
We offer you a 30 minute initial assessment which takes place via Google Meet. We ask for a £15 contribution towards the cost of your assessment.
During this relaxed discussion, one of our qualified counsellors will talk with you and ask questions to help them understand your needs better so that we can allocate you a suitable therapist.
How To Get Started
To access our service, you will first need to book your initial 30 minute assessment with one of our qualified counsellors.
This is an opportunity for you to share a little about what’s going on for you so we can get a better understanding of your needs and be able to allocate you to one of our therapists.
Following your assessment, you’ll receive a Counselling Agreement by email to read through and sign digitally when you are happy to proceed.
We aim to allocate your new counsellor within 3-5 working days after we have received your signed agreement. This may take longer depending on the availability of our counsellors and your requirements.
Once we have been able to allocate your therapist, we will email you to introduce them and your counsellor will contact you to offer some suitable sessions times to choose from, based on the availability you gave us during your assessment.
You will receive a text and email confirmation to let you know your repeat appointment has been setup.
The following are some of the types of questions we may ask you during your assessment:
- How are you feeling?
- What support do you currently have to help you cope?
- Have you had counselling before? If so, what did you find useful/unhelpful?
- How would you describe your appetite and quality of sleep?
- Are you taking any medication?
- Do you have thoughts of harming yourself?
- What are you looking for and hoping to gain from counselling?
- What days and times are you available for your weekly counselling session?
To access our service you must be:
- 18 years old
- Able to commit to weekly online sessions, ideally at the same time each week. We understand this is not always possible for some shift workers, and we will try to accommodate your schedule.
- Able to pay your session fees by debit or credit card, or support from someone who is willing to do so on your behalf.
Our service is not able to accept clients with:
- Severe trauma.
- A personality disorder diagnosis.
- Current psychosis.
- Active suicidality.
- Severe eating disorders.
