Fees and Appointments
Making an assessment appointment
Before we can confirm that we will be able to offer you counselling sessions, you will need to arrange an assessment session with one of our experienced counsellors. CCF operates an appointment system only for initial assessments which can be booked by calling 01245 284890. A member of our admin team will answer calls between 10am and 3pm Monday to Thursday. If the line is busy or at any other times, messages can be left on an answerphone and will be dealt with as soon as possible. Assessment session times are available on different days and times throughout the week, including evenings, and our admin team will be able to advise you of current availability when you call.
You will need to secure your chosen assessment timeslot with a registration fee of £20 which is payable at the time of booking and is non-refundable.
Times of appointments
CCF is open for counselling between 9am and 8pm from Monday to Thursday, with limited availability on a Friday during the day. Assessment appointments are offered via telephone or video as well as face-to-face at CCF premises.
The cost of counselling
CCF is a well established charitable company and we provide a professional, affordable service to those in need irrespective of income. Each person who comes to CCF for counselling is expected to contribute towards the cost of the service according to ability to pay.
The £20 administration fee to confirm the assessment slot is payable by debit or credit card at the time of booking your assessment session and is non-refundable.
There will be an additional charge for the assessment session itself, which the assessor will discuss with you during your session. The fee for the assessment session itself is between £20 and £65 depending on your financial circumstances. The fee for the assessment session agreed with the assessor is payable even if the outcome of the assessment is that we are unable to offer you counselling at CCF.
Fees for ongoing counselling are negotiable with your counsellor and discussed in the first counselling session. The minimum fee for counselling sessions is £20 per session, sessions take place weekly.
The assessment session
This initial meeting is important as it provides an opportunity for you to talk about your reasons for coming to counselling and to think with the assessor about what you hope to achieve. This appointment lasts for 50 minutes and gives the assessor a chance to ask you some questions about yourself, take some background information and get a sense of how counselling at CCF might be helpful for you. It gives you the chance to talk about the counselling with the assessor and ask any questions that you may have.
Following the assessment, we decide what we are able to offer you and you will receive a letter confirming this. Once a counsellor becomes available to see you, they will make contact with you as soon as possible to arrange a day and time for a first session.
It may be necessary for us to write to you to let you know that we cannot offer you counselling. If so, we will suggest alternative options that you might wish to approach instead.
Options for counselling
Time-limited (up to eight sessions) – this gives you the chance to ‘try out’ our counselling, and provides us with the opportunity to carry out a more extended assessment to ensure that once-weekly psychodynamic counselling is suitable for you.
Brief counselling (up to sixteen sessions) – this offers you the opportunity to work with one of our psychodynamic counsellors in a very focused way over a four to five month period, to help you to structure your thoughts about the issues you are facing and think together about solutions for these.
Open-ended counselling – once-weekly counselling sessions continue for as long as you find them helpful and useful to you. The timing of an ending for these sessions will be discussed with your counsellor and reviewed regularly.
Waiting times
We can currently offer an assessment within one to two weeks. Counselling sessions will currently be offered within two to three weeks following the assessment.
Counselling agreements
Appointments for ongoing counselling are arranged for the same day and time each week and last for 50 minutes. Once a day, time and fee has been agreed with your counsellor, you will be charged for all sessions offered, even if you are unable to attend and regardless of any notice you are able to provide. You will not be charged if your counsellor is unavailable for any reason. You will have the choice of having sessions face-to-face at our Cedar Avenue premises, via telephone or via video. Your assessor will discuss these options with you and you will have the chance to choose the option that is best for you during your assessment session.
The fee for counselling is reviewed and discussed with you regularly by your counsellor, especially if your financial circumstances change.
