Frequently asked questions

When is a good time to have counselling? 

Counselling can help people deal with mental health problems and emotional distress. It may help with:

If you would like support with any of the above, it may be a good time to consider counselling. Your reasons can be discussed further at your initial appointment. 

I’m new to counselling – what happens?

Starting therapy is a brave step, and it can take some people many years before they feel comfortable seeking help. At WCTS, we believe that it’s almost always a case of better late than never. Your therapist will understand the courage it has taken you to contact us, and they will treat you with sensitivity and respect, no matter what your background is or why you’ve turned to us for help. We will take some important practical steps to help you feel safe with us. 

What kind of therapy/counselling do you offer? 

We offer individual and group counselling. We also have different short courses that run throughout the year, for example courses focused on managing wellbeing or dealing with trauma.

All of our counselling puts you at the centre. Our counsellors have a range of core training but many have been counsellors for a long time and have been trained in different specialisms.

The counselling is talking therapy, but some of our therapists also use the creative arts, like art therapy.

How can I make an appointment for counselling? 

You can find information on the services currently open for appointments on the home page of this website or under What we do. You can find out more about requesting a service from this link.

Alternatively, please contact a member of our Reception team on 0113 245 5725 to arrange for a postal form to be sent to you.

What happens after I send in the appointment form? 

Your form will be received and acknowledged by our admin team and then passed to one of our counselling teams.

After this, someone from the counselling team will be in touch for a phone call to briefly discuss your current circumstances. During this phone call, a longer meeting / appointment will be arranged. This is a key discussion with an experienced therapist, to work out together whether the service will be an appropriate and helpful step for you. If counselling is appropriate for your needs, we can talk about the different types of therapy that we can offer you.

How many sessions will I be able to have? 

We’ll invite you to an initial meeting / session where we can talk about your needs and what you’re looking to get from counselling.  At this meeting we’ll discuss your reasons for coming to the service and decide with you if therapy can help, and how many sessions might be offered. 

The number of sessions you are offered will depend on individual need; most women start with between 4-20 sessions of therapy.  After an initial period, if you find that counselling helps you make changes, we can talk about offering further sessions. Most women come to counselling for around nine months. The service can offer up to 2 years of counselling.  Sometimes you might have a period of one-to-one counselling therapy, and then join a therapy group at a later date.

What is the cost of accessing therapy with you? 

All of our services are free. Donations are welcome but not expected or required.

If travel to our office or community venues is a financial barrier for you, or if there will be additional childcare costs in order for you to attend sessions, we may be able to help with these costs. You can discuss this with a therapist during our initial call to discuss your referral, and explore what assistance we can offer.

What shall I do if I need urgent support? 

WCTS is not a crisis service. If you feel you need crisis or out of hours support, or have an emergency, please contact:

Information on other mental health services in Leeds and nationally can be found at Mindwell Leeds www.mindwell-leeds.org.uk

Do you offer remote (telephone or video) counselling? 

We are proud to deliver our service face-to-face, and we always carry out our initial assessment in person. We may, in exceptional circumstances, be able to offer up to 6 remote video sessions per therapy contract. However, we do not offer ongoing, remote counselling by video or telephone.

I have been a client before, can I come back? 

We welcome women who have used the Service before, but you will need to have had a break of at least four months before making a new ‘request for service’. This is so that the impact of previous counselling has had time to ‘settle’ in your life.

How long is the wait? 

We try to keep waiting times as short as possible, we try to ensure that no one waits more than six months to start counselling, as research shows that waiting for longer than this can have a negative effect on mental health.

The wait time for group therapy is often shorter than individual therapy. Early morning or evening appointments often have the longest waiting time. 

Can I bring my child? 

Our service is only for adults over the age of sixteen, and WCTS is unable to provide childcare. We ask that you arrange childcare for your appointment.  We may be able to offer support with childcare costs in order to help you attend your appointment.

What age girls do you work with? 

We work with girls age 16 and over.

Can I change my therapist? 

It is possible to ask for a change of therapist.  We encourage you to discuss this with your current therapist, if you feel comfortable to do this.  This is because voicing something that is worrying you or troubling you can lead to a better therapeutic relationship in the future, and it can be helpful to both you and the therapist. All of our counsellors are keen to hear your experience and your feedback. If you would rather contact our reception team, they will pass your query to the service manager.

Will anyone/my family need to know I am coming to counselling?

It is your choice whether or not to tell anyone else about your counselling. The issues you bring to therapy will be confidential between you and the therapist, unless there are concerns that might mean you or another person could be at serious risk. Any concerns regarding confidentiality and risk will be explored with you fully at assessment and during therapy.