Important Counselling Service Update
Counselling for Children & Young People
Our free specialist counselling service for children and young people was made possible thanks to a grant from The Evelyn Trust, and we are extremely grateful for their generous support. Unfortunately, the grant was awarded for a two-year period and comes to an end in October. We knew from the outset that the need for this specialist service was significant, but demand has continued to grow throughout the two years. For the past 12 months, we have therefore been actively seeking further funding so that we could continue providing this important service beyond October 2026.
Sadly, despite our efforts, we have not yet secured a funder able to support the service at the level required. Although our search for funding will continue, we have unfortunately reached the difficult decision to temporarily (hopefully) close the service. We closed to new referrals on 4 September, and the service will officially close on Thursday 29 October 2026.
While the counselling service is temporarily closing, we do have other projects available that provide education, support, and guidance to young people, including:
• Relationships and sex education
We very much hope that this closure will only be temporary. We remain committed to finding a sustainable source of funding and hope to be in a position to reopen the service in the not-too-distant future.
Please continue to keep an eye on our website and social media channels for updates or join our mailing list to receive news directly.
Counselling
for Adults
Unfortunately, our adult counselling service will be temporarily closing.
Although the service is not funded and we have needed to charge for sessions over the past couple of years, our fees have remained well below the usual market rate for therapy. However, demand has unfortunately been too low for us to continue employing a counsellor to deliver the service.
As a result, we have no option but to temporarily close the service, and we are no longer able to accept new referrals for adult counselling.
We will, however, be carrying out a review and needs assessment to help us understand the future needs of the service. As with our Children and Young People’s service, we will share updates here on our website and through our social media channels.
You can also join our mailing list to receive news and updates directly. In the meantime, please visit our Other Support Organisations page for information about other organisations that may be able to offer support.
Request for
Support
Our specialist counselling services provide vital support to people who may be experiencing difficult and challenging circumstances. Our counselling is specifically tailored to support people affected by sexual trauma, domestic sexual abuse, inappropriate sexual behaviours, and difficulties around relationships and healthy boundaries.
While the support we offer is not unique, specialist services like ours can be difficult to find elsewhere. People who use our services regularly tell us that they struggle to find appropriate support locally, particularly for children and young people. We hear from families who have searched for help and found it difficult to identify services that understand these sensitive and complex issues and can provide the specialist support they need.
We are committed to reinstating our counselling services as soon as we are able, but we need your help to make this possible.
If you, your organisation, or someone you know may be in a position to support us through a donation, funding opportunity, or by letting us know about grants that could support our work, we would be incredibly grateful to hear from you.
Every contribution, whether financial support or information about potential funding, could make a meaningful difference. Your support could help us restore access to specialist counselling for children, young people and adults who may otherwise struggle to find appropriate support locally.
If you are able to help or know of any funding opportunities that may be suitable for our work, please contact our CEO, Sharron Spindler, at sharron.spindler@dhiverse.org.uk
Thank you for your understanding, generosity, and continued support. Your support means a great deal to us and, most importantly, to the people and families who rely on our services.