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 will usually take place via Google Meet, unless you have another preference. 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, we will email you a Counselling Contract to have a 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 contract, however this may take a little 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. Your counsellor will then email you within two working days to offer you 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?
- How are you coping with day to day activities?
- Have you had previous therapy? If so, what did you find useful/unhelpful?
- Are you on any medication?
- Do you have thoughts of harming yourself?
- Do you have any preferences regarding your counsellor’s gender, sexual orientation, additional training?
- What do you hope to get from counselling?
- On which days and at what times are you available for counselling?
To access our service you must be:
- Over 18yrs 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.
