The
Olive Branch
Christian Counselling Service
Olive Branch
Christian Counselling Service
V1u0 - News
Counselling on the NHS?
It was reported widely in the media during February that the consensus in the medical profession is that prescribing drugs to help people deal with depression, stress, relationship problems or unemployment is not effective. Those with mental health problems would be better served by offering them counselling. There is insufficient provision for this from the NHS and private counselling could easily cost someone £300 to £400 for a typical 12 session course. The Government has again said that there will be counsellors provided by the NHS and there will be training and recruitment of counsellors. So watch this space. We and most GPs would not see this being given the required priority because we have heard it all before (last time in 2005).
It was reported widely in the media during February that the consensus in the medical profession is that prescribing drugs to help people deal with depression, stress, relationship problems or unemployment is not effective. Those with mental health problems would be better served by offering them counselling. There is insufficient provision for this from the NHS and private counselling could easily cost someone £300 to £400 for a typical 12 session course. The Government has again said that there will be counsellors provided by the NHS and there will be training and recruitment of counsellors. So watch this space. We and most GPs would not see this being given the required priority because we have heard it all before (last time in 2005).
The Continuing Need for Counselling Services such as Those Provided by The Olive Branch
While there is an under-provision of NHS facilities, counselling services such as ours play an essential role in tackling mental health issues. As Christians from a wide variety of traditions we feel privileged to be able to provide an accessible counselling service for anyone over 18 in our community. This would not be possible without the dedication and commitment of all our volunteers, be they counsellors, supervisors, those who help in the office and our management group. While we have three part time employees, most of our work is carried out on a voluntary basis. Our 45 counsellors give a few hours each week free of charge and they don’t even receive expenses. Likewise our support workers and management group give their time because they see the outcome of our work time and time again. Over the years we have built up an excellent reputation that we jealously guard. This is confirmed by the fact that the majority of our referrals come from GPs and other health professionals.
More Space for Daytime Counselling
In response to the growing demand for daytime counselling we now have another room in the Winchester Centre for most of the week. Interestingly it is the room that we had when we started our operation at The Winchester Centre. But in those days it had to be shared between office duties and counselling sessions, which sometimes meant that it was difficult to get the office work done. So although our current office can get rather crowded at times, to have three counselling rooms in the daytime is a relative luxury. Although of course there are cost implications that we need to meet. Running our service in premises in the middle of the city is not cheap, but we feel it is essential to be easily accessible from car parks and by bus and train. Being in the Winchester Centre also means that we have ready contact with a whole range of other caring agencies.
July/August News letter continued ......