We offer a free, confidential counselling/therapy service to women in Sheffield over the age of 16 who have experienced some kind of persistent trauma or abuse – this could be neglect, harassment, or domestic, sexual, or emotional abuse. We provide individual therapy which involves meeting with a therapist for weekly sessions lasting between 50 minutes to an hour, for a period of time to be agreed between the client and the therapist – the average length of time is 9 months. Counselling/therapy can help when you are confused, upset or distressed by your feelings and by what has happened, or is happening. Talking with a therapist is an opportunity to explore how current problems may link with what has happened in your past. Our registered therapists and volunteers are experienced in dealing with a wide range of difficulties.
We encourage self referral although other services/professionals are welcome to make enquiries on behalf of women. We operate a waiting list – we are a small charity with limited funding, and a small number of staff, so it can take us some time to work through the list. This means you could be waiting up to, and sometimes more than, 6 months for a first assessment appointment. Assessments are usually carried out over two sessions though occasionally it takes longer. In the assessment sessions you will meet with one of our therapists to find out if SWCTS is the right service to support you, at this time. If it's agreed between you that we can support you, and you're ready to commit to weekly therapy for up to a year, your name will be added to the waiting list to start therapy. We aim to offer a start date for therapy within 8 weeks of your assessment.
We will try to support you to attend therapy where possible, for example we may be able to help with childcare; or for women who don't have english as a first language we can look at providing an interpreter.
For more information about us please click on the link to the leaflets, below.