Counselling with Meeting Minds
At Bristol Mind, we are aware of how many people in our community are looking for timely and affordable counselling. Our Meeting Minds service has developed in response to this and is designed to offer you high quality and reliable support when you need it.
The service is mainly self-funded and we work hard to keep our fees low whilst covering our costs. Where we can, we also offer grant-funded counselling which allows us to deliver specialist or tailored sessions according to community need.
Meeting Minds is available to adults over the age of 18. We offer:
General Counselling: for those with mild-moderate mental health difficulties. This is suitable if you have limited experience of mental health support, and are looking for a safe space in which to express feelings and explore experiences of depression, stress and anxiety.
Tailored Counselling: we offer specific sessions for those who identify as LGBTQIA+ or Neurodivergent, delivered by counsellors with lived experience. Subject to funding, we also offer free sessions for 18-25 year olds and sessions for people with refugee backgrounds.
Psychotherapy: for those with prior experience of counselling, looking to commit to deeper therapeutic work over a longer period; experiences may include childhood trauma, abuse or chronic depression.
Please let us know when you enquire which offer you feel will best support you and we will discuss this in your initial assessment.
Fees: Fees are agreed with you in advance of starting therapy.
Our standard fee is currently £35 per hour, based on a household income of under £40k p.a. gross.
Some reduced-fee places exist, depending on demand. Please discuss this within your initial assessment, you will be asked for additional information relating to income and expenditure and we will then inform you of the fee available to you.
We also accept higher fees of £45 per hour from those on higher incomes, or wish to make a donation: this enables us to offer more reduced fee places.
Our Offer:
Counselling with Meeting Minds takes place online (remote), or at Bristol Mind’s premises (face-to-face):
Bristol Mind
48 Fairfax St
BS1 3BL
We currently offer sessions Monday – Friday between 9.00am and 6.00pm
Each session lasts 50 minutes.
Counselling Sessions are offered for up to 16 weeks, with scope to extend this where appropriate and following discussion with your counsellor.
Psychotherapy Sessions, delivered by trainee psychotherapists, can be offered for up to 2 years depending on availability
Meetings Minds works within the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Ethical framework.
Our Counsellors
Meeting Minds counselling is offered both by fully qualified counsellors and counsellors on accredited training. Trainees often bring transferable life skills and prior experience of delivering counselling. All counsellors undertake considerable training in counselling and have regular clinical supervision at Bristol Mind in accordance with BACP or UKCP guidelines.
Our counsellors share a belief in inclusive and anti-discriminatory practice and we strive to represent our diverse communities. Our rooms are accessible and we offer a choice of online and face-to-face sessions.
Please talk to us if there is something which will help you to feel more comfortable accessing your counselling sessions.
Deciding to have counselling
Many of us go through periods in our lives where we find ourselves struggling to get by: we may be affected by past experiences or traumas, uncertain about who we are now, or anxious and stressed about what the future holds.
Counselling offers a safe and confidential space to explore all of your experiences and feelings with someone who is trained to listen, accept you for who you are and help you build your resilience and confidence as you face life’s challenges.
Knowing what type of counselling you need may feel confusing as there are so many names and approaches advertised. Meeting Minds is designed to be inclusive and accessible, using a broadly integrative approach. In our initial meeting we can discuss different styles of counselling and what might be helpful and appropriate to your difficulties or the challenges you are facing. Our aim is then to place you with the most suitable counsellor from our team.
Payments
We ask clients to pay weekly: in-person sessions are payable by card/contactless at the time of the session, and online sessions are payable via payment links sent to your email address the day before.
Cancellations with less than 24 hours’ notice are charged at £20. If you do not attend a session and don’t let us know in advance, the full fee is charged.
The initial appointment costs £20.
How do I book an initial appointment?
Meeting Minds does not operate a waiting list: spaces are advertised via our website on a regular basis and filled on a first-come, first-served basis. We only take registrations when we have spaces about to become available.
If you are interested in having counselling with us, please email [email protected]
We will let you know whether we have any spaces for counselling which suit your stated availability.
An initial assessment will then be offered to you. You should allow up to an hour for this appointment.
Further information: We hope this answers any questions you may have, however, please feel free to contact us if you require any further details.