How do I get Started?
We are offering in person, telephone or online therapy to adults
Because we cannot see everyone at this difficult time we have collected together 100s of resources, activities and links to help you at www.openmindslibrary.com
If you can pay £30 a session we can pay a counsellor specifically to work with you or your child, much sooner than our waiting list for free or subsidised therapy.
The link for non-concessionary (NC) referrals is here (children aged 8 and over, and adults):
Under 14s may be offered face to face counselling on Saturdays at a time between 10am and 1:30pm at Open Minds, or video / telephone therapy after school on weekdays, subject to counsellors being available and in accordance with government safety guidelines
Young people aged 14 and over will be offered video calling or telephone counselling
update 10th March 2025
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Open Minds have made the difficult decision to close our adult and child counselling waiting lists for the time being.
We have a current waiting time of around 6 months, but only around 3 months of funding, with more than 100 adults, and 100 children on the waiting list.
Naturally we hope to secure continuation funding, but it would be unethical at this point to continue taking people onto the waiting list when it might be impossible to support them.
We would suggest adults ask for referrals to Talking Therapies, and children ask for support in school from With Me In Mind, or seek CAMHS referrals if appropriate. You can also phone Doncaster Mind on 01302 812505 who provide support through group work and one to one work.
We are still able to take referrals for clients who can pay £30 a session or more - as these slots do not rely on funding.
If this applies to you please phone us on 07765224564 to discuss making a referral.
IS IT SECRET?
Attending counselling with Open Minds does not appear on your NHS record, because we are an independent charity.
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Counselling is confidential and what is said is kept between you and your counsellor unless someone is in danger.
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If we have reason to believe someone is in danger we have a legal obligation to act to protect them. This may mean contacting Social Services, the Police or the NSPCC depending on the nature of the concern. We would normally discuss this with you before contacting anyone, unless we believe this would endanger people further.
The exceptions are that in supervision your counsellor will need to discuss their work with you, but not to report what you have told them, instead to ensure they are working ethically with you and to the best of their abilities.
The counsellor will email brief notes which are kept in your electronic file and password protected and coded. Files kept on site are kept in a locked office and the building locked, padlocked and two separate burglar alarms are in use.
Once your counselling ends we will archive your file and then store it in secure cabinets or electronically for 7 years, or if you are under 18 we store them for 7 years once you are 18.
You can ask us to destroy your information at any time however as part of compliance with the 2018 GDPR law.
HOW OFTEN WILL I COME AND HOW LONG FOR?
We offer 10 sessions initially, but you may find that you do not need all of these. If you find that 10 sessions is not enough your counsellor will discuss this with you and request an extension. Counselling is not intended to last forever but we understand that some difficulties and distress take a long time to explore, understand and overcome. You can come for as long as the counselling is therapeutically useful.
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You will see the same counsellor every session unless you request someone else.
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We have both male and female counsellors available.
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We have ground floor counselling rooms available
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We open both inside and outside school and work hours.
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Day-time and evening and weekend appointments are available
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All of our counsellors primarily speak English but we do have one counsellor who is fluent in British Sign language.
Each session lasts 50 minutes.
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We are very sorry for any delay in contacting us.
We are open 49 hours per week.
We have 2 telephones and are also frequently contacted by e-mail for appointments, and this does mean that it can take a while to get through to us.
If you phone us on 07765 224564 and leave a message (or text that number) we are likely to respond sooner as the landline does not have an answer phone.
If you have left us an answerphone message, text or e-mail and not heard back within a week we suggest phoning again.
Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
Thank you for your time and we look forward to receiving your referral.