What is counselling?
Counselling is a type of talking therapy in which a counsellor provides a safe and supportive environment for an individual to explore their thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Through active listening, empathy and understanding, the counsellor helps people to gain insight into their challenges, develop coping strategies, and make positive changes in their lives.
Devon Mind is a registered member of the BACP: British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. We have a team of qualified staff counsellors (Level 4 and above), plus a number of qualified volunteer counsellors and counsellors-in-training (working towards their Level 4 awards).
Our counselling service is dedicated to providing support and assistance to individuals facing various challenges in their lives. However, it is important to note that it is not equipped to address acute mental health crises, current domestic abuse situations, or cases of historic sexual abuse. We believe in the importance of transparency and want to ensure that individuals seeking help understand the limitations of our service.
Counselling costs:
We provide affordable, high-quality counselling services tailored to meet your specific individual needs.
Initial Assessment: ยฃ15 (this is refunded to you if you do not proceed to counselling after the assessment)
Counselling Sessions: ยฃ37.50 per session
We can offer up to 20 weeks of counselling, but the right number of sessions for you will be discussed with your counsellor. Each session lasts 50 minutes.
Please note: This is not a crisis service. If you are in need of urgent or out-of-hours support, please refer to our Helpline page for a list of contacts.
Register for counselling:
To access our counselling service, please complete the form below. Once you complete the form below, a member of the team will be in contact with you to arrange an initial assessment. Canโt see the registration form below? Click here to view our backup registration form ยป
All information submitted is stored securely and not shared with any third parties. By submitting a form, you agree to the terms of our Privacy Policy.
Counselling testimonials:
โMy counsellor came into my world at a time when I really needed her. She was exactly what I needed, exactly when I needed it... I learnt so much about myself, and she helped me to feel calm at a very difficult time in my life. The skills she gave me to think about my life in a positive, calm way will continue to help me in the future. [My counsellor] helped me to realise why I felt like I did, and that much of that was due to experiences in the past and that a lot of that has been out of my control. I will always be so grateful to have met such a wonderful person. Going forward, I have been able to lose a lot of what was causing me problems, knowing why this happened and how to deal with it. Thank you for everything.โ
โMy counsellor was absolutely amazing, very kind and listened extremely well. I felt very comfortable and able to say a lot. The service ran efficiently and was effective in helping me on my journey to be in a better place mentally. Thank you to [my counsellor] and Devon Mind!โ
โMy counsellor provided me with a safe space where I could share freely. He was kind, caring, and showed me respect and validation for all that I spoke to him about. I felt that he was always fully present in our sessions, and he enabled me to feel seen. I am very grateful to him for his time and compassion.โ
โThank you, Devon Mind, for this amazing service, and thank you to [my counsellor] for your counselling advice and structure; for walking alongside me and helping me to process and understand my feelings and worries. I am particularly grateful for your well-timed interventions and for reminding me how well I am/have done and how far I have come...โ
โMy counsellor has helped me get through a really difficult time. Her warmth and kindness really shone through, and I felt seen and heard. I felt comfortable talking about things Iโve not discussed before. There was no judgment, just support and understanding.โ
โI feel very happy with my time with my counsellor, he was great and really helped me in ways I never thought I needed. Itโs helped me so much more than therapy in the past, and I feel like he is a credit to Mind. [My counsellor] is professional, knowledgeable and made me feel comfortableโฆ I felt like I learned so much, and I am forever grateful.โ
โ[My counsellor] held space to talk about what I felt at times were ridiculous things to bring up. Times where I thought Iโd have nothing to say and times when words and tears would spill out of me. Sessions of laughter, and always bringing me back on point. With all my ramblings, [my counsellorโs] ability to summarise our sessions, present observations and shine a light on interwoven patterns and my emotional landscape has been liberating. I give endless thanks to his professionalism, intellect, kindness, calm presence and humour. Thank you.โ
โI really enjoyed the sessions with my counsellor, always looked forward to them, and I feel they helped me immensely with things I have been struggling with over the past few months. There was a lot of growth during the period, and I felt very supported, understood, and empowered to explore everything and anything I had on my mind.โ
โThank you so much to [my counsellor], she challenged my way of thinking and helped me reframe situations that often just needed a โso what?โ to stop the spiral and the stress I was putting myself under. She helped me put in some good habits for self-care and realise that I do deserve it. She also recommended me for trauma counselling that I never wouldโve realised I needed without her. Itโs already made the world of a difference and I wouldnโt have realized it on my own.โ
โI found the counselling I received extremely helpful and supportive. I was in a really low place when I first made contact with Devon Mind and had very low expectations, but my life and circumstances have greatly improved as a result of the ongoing support and understanding that I received. I am immensely grateful.โ
โLife-changing! This is my second round of counselling, and I honestly canโt express how much of a difference these sessions have made to my wellbeing and overall life. Iโve felt incredibly supported every step of the wayโnever judged, always heard. My counsellor created such a warm, open space where Iโve been able to talk through the tough stuff and actually work through it. Iโm so grateful for this experience. Thank youโyouโve made a real impact on my life.โ
โMy counselling sessions have greatly helped me in starting to understand and verbalise my feelings, something I could only do with great difficulty before (if at all). Whilst I feel my journey is still ongoing, I canโt thank my counsellor and Devon Mind enough for their help in getting me started in the right direction.โ
โI have been stunned during every session how well my counsellor has been able to follow my thoughts and experiences with his own exceptional clarity and accuracyโฆ [My counsellor] has a way of replying that is clear and simple, showing he understands what you are saying and at the same time offers another manageable way of holding the experience. This has been excellent for me, thank you so much for your time and thoughtfulness.โ
Frequently asked questions:
Check out the answers to some common questions below. If you want to ask something else, please contact us.
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Counselling provides the space and time to think and talk about things that matter to you. People find it helpful for different reasons. For example, it can:
โข Help you talk about something difficult that youโve never shared before
โข Enable you to explore parts of yourself and your relationships, and help you make sense of them
โข Give you the opportunity to let out stress and teach you how to cope better
โขJust provide comfort that someone is there for you
โข Serve as a safe place to work things outCounselling isnโt about the counsellor giving you all the answers โ rather, itโs about them supporting you as you find your own solutions, and helping to build your confidence and self-esteem.
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There may be occasions when counselling does not meet your current needs. We explore all available options as part of our assessment process. We also provide other services which we may recommend.
Some examples of when counselling may be unsuitable include:
โข People who are at current risk of suicide โ if you are having active thoughts about suicide and you are planning how to do it, there is help available.
โข People who are self-harming and require medical attention
โข People with complex or severe mental health diagnoses
โข People experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
โข People who have had little benefit from many different therapies over a long period of time
โข People who present themselves as a risk to themselves or others
โข People who are currently receiving therapy from another person or service -
We will contact you to arrange an initial meeting with a staff counsellor. This is an opportunity to discuss your registration, update any details that may have changed since registration, and ask any questions you may have.
If after this initial meeting counselling is deemed appropriate for your needs, a counsellor will be assigned to you and they will contact you to arrange your first appointment. This is called an assessment session (which is free) and is different from any subsequent counselling sessions. This session, which will last around 50 minutes, is an opportunity for you and the counsellor to decide if you will work together. If the counsellor feels that you need to be referred to a more experienced counsellor within the team, they will discuss this with you.
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At Devon Mind, we can offer up to 20 sessions of counselling. However, we assess this on a case-by-case basis to ensure we are meeting your needs. Some people may need more sessions and others can benefit from fewer.
Counselling sessions are commonly delivered weekly, but can be fortnightly if this works better for you. Each session is 50 minutes in length.
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A counsellor will contact you 2-3 weeks prior to allocation to undertake an initial assessment to determine suitability for our counselling service. We will try and contact you initially by phone and if unsuccessful we will email you to try and arrange the initial assessment appointment, so please keep an eye on your email inbox, including the spam folder.
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Currently, we are able to offer in-person counselling in Plymouth only. We also offer online and telephone counselling for people who live outside of Plymouth.
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We have qualified staff counsellors who have completed a minimum Level 4 Diploma in Counselling and have many years of experience. All our staff counsellors are registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) or the National Counselling Society (NCS). As well as staff counsellors, our counselling team also includes qualified volunteer counsellors and counsellors-in-training (working towards their Level 4 award).
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Your initial assessment session is ยฃ15. If you do not proceed to counselling, then this is refunded to you. We then charge ยฃ37.50 per counselling session.
Each counselling session we deliver costs Devon Mind just over ยฃ60 โ this includes staff costs, insurance costs, supervision for our counsellors, and building costs (rent, lighting, heating, etc.). We also cover the costs of annual BACP registration and supervision for our counsellors and we need to make sure they can access ongoing continuing professional development training, which is a requirement of their role.
Devon Mind fundraises annually to ensure we can continue to deliver a counselling service, but this only covers around 50% of the costs, which is why we have to ask people to pay a reduced charge of ยฃ37.50 per session. We are always looking for additional funding to cover these costs, and when we have this, we will always offer free sessions when we can.
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We will provide you with a small pack so that you have all the information you need. This includes practical information about what you need to do if you have to cancel a session, how you can pay for your sessions, and information on data protection and your privacy rights. We will also outline what forms we would like you to complete to help us evaluate how impactful our counselling service is and what we can do better.
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We request that people have a minimum 2-month gap from their last counselling intervention, before registering for Devon Mind counselling.