OUR TEAM - who are we?
We are very fortunate to have a wonderful team of volunteers and employees. Our employed therapists are all qualified counsellors who have many years experience working with adults and children. We also have many qualified volunteer counsellors, and all are qualified to at least vocational diploma in counselling.
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All of our therapists, whether volunteers or employees, are trained for a minimum of 3 years prior to working with clients. Counsellors in training, like Drs or Nurses, must have clinical practice (working with real clients) in order to qualify. Trainee counsellors are within a year of qualification when they begin working with Open Minds.
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We have male and female counsellors.
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Our counsellors come from a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds, some are LGBTQ, and all are allies.
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Our core ethos is relational; we believe in people and connections.
Open Minds is a charity providing one to one and group therapy to children and adults to help improve their lives.
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We offer one to one counselling, group therapy, art therapy and more.
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One to one sessions typically last an hour and group therapies 2 hours.
Concessionary sessions
We operate charitably to not exclude people by what they can afford to pay.
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We charge between £0 and £15 per session, based on your household income, for Concessionary sessions.
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The waiting list for concessionary (discounted) sessions for all ages is between 4 - 9 months long. This is because we are incredibly well-reputed and our therapy works; 97% of clients gave us positive feedback. Our therapy lasts for as long as it is useful, starting with up to 10 sessions but continuing for as long as necessary to overcome trauma and psychological distress.
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Non-concessionary rates
If you can afford to pay non-concessionary rates which cover the (still subsidised) cost of providing therapy then you will typically wait less than a month for therapy, depending on your needs.
This is because clients who pay non-concessionary rates enable us to employ a counsellor specifically for that time.
Non-Concessionary sessions are £30 per session.
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All of our non-concessionary (NC) counsellors are private counsellors who have volunteered with Open Minds providing concessionary sessions. As such we know they are experienced, highly skilled therapists who share our ethos towards counselling and helping others.
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NC counselling works in exactly the same way as discounted counselling; you are offered 10 sessions initially, although you may not need this many, or may require more, both of which will be discussed with you counsellor.
Safeguarding and confidentiality are also the same.