Counselling
Modern, Affordable, Established
We offer Relationship Counselling for Couples, Families, Teens and Children.
Whether you’re looking for help here and now or long term, we have a service to match.
You can access our face to face counselling appointments from 9am – 9pm Monday – Friday in our counselling venue in Chelmsford, Essex. We also offer telephone and Teams counselling. Please contact us to discuss your requirements and we shall do our best to accommodate you.
Relationship Counselling
Want to talk about your relationships past, present or future?
How your family is affected by your relationship?
How you can improve your relationship?
How you can manage a separation positively?
How you can get over a break up?
How to minimise the impact of your separation on your children?
Then the Change Project is here to help you.
How does it work?
After a three-part assessment meeting to explore if counselling is right for you you can choose to continue into counselling with the same counsellor.
Who is it for?
Everyone over 16. Married, living together, in a same sex relationship, divorced, single, or whatever your situation, relationship counselling is open to everyone who can benefit from it.
Counselling for couples isn’t suitable for situations where domestic abuse is happening and if this is true for you please look at our domestic abuse services. But counselling can help victims and survivors of domestic abuse, as well as young people and children using or witnessing abusive behaviour at home.
Counselling costs £50 for individuals and £60 for couples per session.
Family Counselling
Everyone has family arguments at some time. Usually these are easily resolved or blow over, but sometimes they just get worse.
Big changes in a family can cause stress for everyone. Divorce or separation doesn’t just affect the adults in a relationship – it can affect the way children view relationships for life. Long running disputes can cause pain to the whole family, making it difficult or impossible to live under the same roof, and the problems one person may be going through can impact on other family members.
We can also help you manage the practical and emotional aspects of being parents who are living apart.
If your family is having problems, you can see one of our Family Counsellors individually, as a small group or the whole family together to help you work things out in a way that is best for everyone. Our counsellors are experienced relationship experts and are specially trained to work with families to help them resolve their problems.
Family Counselling costs £60 per session.
Young People's Counselling
Our young people’s counselling service can help young people to build confidence, resilience and self-esteem. Young people benefit from an improved awareness of their own resources and it supports them to address problems and pursue meaningful goals.
Counsellors offer confidential support for young people aged 11-18 (up to 25 for young people with additional needs) who want to develop improved awareness of healthy communication and relationships.
Young people access counselling for many reasons, they may want to deal with relationship issues in their lives, difficulties at home and/or at school, or change their own abusive behaviour and find safe, non-abusive alternatives.
Our counselling service in schools is valued by young people as it offers them a safe, confidential, accessible and free counselling service during their school day.
What is The Change Project counselling for Young People?
If is for young people aged between 11 – 25 and provides a confidential opportunity to talk things through. If you are:
- concerned that the adults at home argue all the time
- unhappy about your parents break up and all the changes this will bring
- unhappy with the idea of a step family, or fitting into a new family
- suffering from the loss of someone close to you
- suffering from friendship problems, maybe at school, that worry you
- identity issues
- teen relationship issues
…or anything that is on your mind, then counselling may help you deal with these problems. You can spend time with a counsellor on a one to one basis to help you express and understand your own feelings better.
Counselling is available at our venue for £50 per session. We are also able to offer counselling to schools across Essex. If you work for a school and would be interested in finding out more or getting a quote, please email jo.martin-robinson@thechangeportfolio.org
Child Focussed Counselling
Change Child Focused Counselling aims to help children between the ages of 4-11 years make sense of their feelings, thoughts and behaviours. Sessions may be up to an hour with ten sessions being the average. The vast majority of children are signposted into counselling through schools.
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Children often present with a change of behaviour which causes concern to parents and/or teaching staff. This may often include one or more of the following:
- appearing sad or distressed
- being described as being disruptive or rebellious
- being withdrawn
- having difficulties in expressing and managing anger
- having difficulties with eating or sleeping
The children may present with difficulties relating to:
- relationships with friends
- schoolwork
- social development, including settling into school
- bullying
- low self-worth / self-esteem
- bereavement
- changes in the family including new siblings, separation and divorce, stepfamily issues.
The service aims to support children to be better equipped to deal with any difficulties or disruptions they are experiencing in their home and/or school environment. They will feel supported in managing any difficulties and develop a greater sense of self-esteem and self-worth.
You can access Child Focussed Counselling in Chelmsford at a cost of £50 per session.
Play Therapy
Play is now widely recognised as being beneficial in the emotional development of children. It has a therapeutic value. With the growth of play therapy, play work and the use of therapeutic play skills there is widespread confusion about the roles of each.
Here at the Change Project, we deliver Play Therapy in schools which uses a variety of play and creative arts techniques to alleviate chronic, mild and moderate psychological and emotional conditions in children that are causing behavioural problems and/or are preventing children from realising their potential.
1 in 5 children in the UK have an emotional, behavioural or mental health problem and they could benefit from Play Therapy.
Who is Play Therapy for?
It can help to support children who:
- are not realising their full potential – academically, or socially
- Having nightmares or disturbed sleep
- Is at risk of being/is excluded from school
- Has suffered trauma
- Has suffered emotional, physical or sexual abuse
- Is adopted or fostered or in the process of being
- Suffers because of separated/divorced parents
- Suffers from anxiety, stress or phobias
- Has suffered a loss or bereavement
- Is withdrawn or continually unhappy
- Is ill, disabled, or autistic
- Finds it difficult to make friends
- Quarrels frequently with peers or siblings
- Bullies others or is bullied themselves
- Displays inappropriate behaviour
- Doesn’t play
The service aims to support children to be better equipped to deal with any difficulties or disruptions they are experiencing in their home and/or school environment. They will feel supported in managing any difficulties and develop a greater sense of self-esteem and self-worth.
You can access Child Focussed Counselling at any of our locations above at a cost of £40 per session. Our Child Focussed Counselling is available in schools across Essex which children can access free of charge through their school. To check if your child’s school benefits from this service please contact us or ask the school.