Noah’s Ark Centre offers a high-quality counselling service, provided by weekly face-to-face sessions at the Centre in Ovenden, Halifax. Because of the pandemic some of our clients transferred to having telephone or video sessions. Going forward we envisage remote counselling will be an exceptional option for those with specific needs where physical access may be an issue.
We are a major training provider of placements for student counsellors from universities and colleges all around West Yorkshire. Hence a large proportion of our counsellors are undertaking a counselling placement with us during their training. We will always endeavour to match clients with suitably experienced counsellors.
Noah’s Ark Centre is not a crisis service. If you are in crisis, please click here.
Before deciding whether or not counselling is for you at this time, you will need to consider what counselling is, what it is not and whether you feel ready to undertake the counselling journey.
Counselling/therapy can only work for you if you feel clear about wanting to explore the self and make changes. It can then result in a number of benefits including improved inter-personal relationships and resolution of specific concerns that led you to seeking counselling.
Counselling/therapy is not just about off-loading to a sympathetic ear. While discussing problems is a part of counselling, the goal is to work on change. Change takes work and a willingness to look at one’s self openly and honestly – learning how to drop our defences that keep us stuck in old relating patterns. It means developing more self-awareness and practicing applying this to our lives and relationships.
Counselling will require your very active involvement and commitment, right from the start.
You can make an enquiry about counselling by email or phone, providing basic contact details, but before we can take a referral, we will call you and have a phone discussion with you first initially, followed by a face-to-face intake appointment, to find out about what your needs are and whether we think we are the right service for you at this time.
We do not accept clients who, in our opinion we cannot help. So, if we find our service cannot meet your needs we will endeavour to signpost or refer you to a more appropriate service and approach.
If we go on to take your referral for counselling, we will ask you for some personal details (including name, contact details, date of birth, emergency contact information and GP details) and some information about what issues or concerns you want to address in counselling.
If our counselling service is appropriate for your needs, you will then be placed on our waiting list and will move up it until you are offered a counsellor.
Donations: Noah’s Ark Centre is a charity and as such relies on donations to continue to offer our service. We encourage those who are able to, to make a donation of £5-30 per session, according to financial circumstances.
If you have a hearing impairment, we will undertake part of the referral process by email, followed by a face-to-face meeting.
We do keep written client records on a secure, encrypted and password protected electronic data storage system designed for such purposes. Clients who do choose to access our counselling service will be given a more detailed Data Privacy Notice to read and sign at their intake appointment before the start of their sessions.
Please also see our general Privacy Statement on the website.
We use an online secure video platform (Zoom) for all video counselling.
We ask our clients who wish to have telephone or video counselling to make sure that they have a safe and secure confidential space in which they can take part in these sessions.
You will enter into a contract with Noah’s Ark Centre and your counsellor when you start counselling, the terms of which will have been shared with you prior to your first counselling session, with the opportunity for you to ask questions. Counselling is generally offered on a rolling 6 session review basis up to 26 sessions. You have the right to terminate your counselling at any time.
Your contract will provide you with further practical information in relation to the counselling method you enter (face-face, online/video, phone) how your sessions remain confidential, how to make cancellations and what happens if you don’t attend your appointments. This is your go to document regarding your counselling once you have begun the process.
Noah’s Ark Centre is an organisational member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). All our counsellors are members of the BACP and/or another professional body (e.g. UKCP, HCPC, NCS), have DBS checks, have good references and regular supervision to ensure the highest quality of counselling practice.
| If you live in: | Adults |
|---|---|
| Calderdale | Suggested donation of £5-£30 per session |
