What if i’m experiencing a crisis?

Ardolino Counselling is not an emergency or crisis service. If you feel your life is at risk right now, call 999 or attend A&E. If you are concerned for your wellbeing and feel you are in a crisis, please contact:
- Samaritans - 116 123 (free from any phone)
- Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM). 0800 58 58 58 (5pm–midnight every day). Or if you prefer not to speak on the phone, you could try the CALM webchat service.
- Shout. If you would prefer not to talk but want some mental health support, you could text SHOUT to 85258. Shout offers a confidential 24/7 text service providing support if you are in crisis and need immediate help. For more information on Crisis Support, please click HERE.

What can I expect?

Telephone Consultation:
At your initial telephone consultation (approx. 15 minutes), I will ask the reason you are seeking counselling - in your own words, what are you hoping for? After some discussion and assessment, if this appears to be suitable for counselling we will arrange your first session. If not, I will do my best to signpost you to more appropriate services.

First Session:
Before your first session, you will be sent some brief forms to complete. These provide us both with a foundation - a starting point to move forward together from. We will review this and your hopes for counselling and begin the journey of co-developing some therapeutic goals.

How many sessions will I need?
It is difficult to determine how many sessions each individual will need. However, our initial agreement will be for 8 weekly sessions, with a review at session 8. Some people will be satisfied with 8 sessions, others will need 12 or 16 or 24 or more. This depends on the nature of the issues we are working with, how deep you would like to go with your therapy and what completion means for you. Counselling is your journey, these are your sessions, and only you can decide what works for you.