Latest News and Information

Quarterly Performance Report - December 2009

Published: 21/01/2010

• The number of counselling sessions delivered 771
• The net caseload of clients being serviced increase by 47
• Waiting time for initial appointments was 30 days
• Average client satisfaction rating was 95%
• The Waiting list at the end of the period was 38 showing a 49% reduction on Q2
• Average cost of service delivery reached £43.00 per session
• Average contributions from clients was £14.51 per session

Quarterly Performance Report - June 2009 Summary

Published: 04/11/2009

• The number of counselling sessions delivered 878
• The net case load of clients being serviced increase by 47
• Waiting time for initial appointments was 32 days
• Average client satisfaction rating was 93%
• Waiting list was almost 66 showing 100% increase on last quarter
• Average cost of service delivery reached £39.78 per session
• Average contributions from clients was £12.60 per session

Quarterly Performance Report - September 2009 Summary

Published: 04/11/2009

• The number of counselling sessions delivered 768
• The net case load of clients being serviced increase by 47
• Waiting time for initial appointments was 52 days
• Average client satisfaction rating was 90%
• Waiting list was almost 66 showing 13% increase on last quarter
• Average cost of service delivery reached £40.24 per session
• Average contributions from clients was £12.75 per session

Quarterly Performance Report

Published: 28/05/2009

The latest report covering Quarter 01 January to 31 March 2009:

• 192 new enquiries were received for the period, the highest quarterly figure ever. When compared with the same period last year enquires were up52%
• The initial assessment interview was rated 93 per cent useful by all clients
• The level of clients satisfaction with the service was 93 per cent for the period
• 93 per cent of clients completing counselling at the centre reported the counselling process had positive life changing impact on them

MARKETING BOOST RAISES CHARITY’S PROFILE

Published: 16/04/2009

BUSINESS LINK - CASE STUDY
2 December 2008

More people are set to benefit from the support of Nottingham Counselling Services (NCS) as it raises its profile with a little help from Business Link.

NCS is a registered charity that has provided counselling for over 30 years and is one of the most respected and established providers of counselling and therapy in the East Midlands. 

The organisation is dedicated to providing the best possible counselling services, therapy and therapeutic support to those aged 18 and over who live, work or study in Nottingham and across Nottinghamshire. 

NCS has a team of eight staff, complemented by 60 volunteers and is fully accredited by the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).  The charity is regularly audited by its clients, receiving a 96 per cent satisfaction rate.

Executive Director, Leslie McDonald says he contacted Business Link when the charity was looking to develop its marketing and Internet presence.  “We did not have the resources to undertake the work and heard about the professional service provided by Business Link and the possibility of some funding for e-business projects.

“It’s important to be clear about what you want, to be ambitious and to get external professional help with marketing,” says Leslie. “Invest a great deal of time to get it right and it will be worth it.

Following a review of NCS, their Business Adviser helped the organisation to access training and to successfully apply for funding to enable the development and implementation of a marketing strategy.

“With this invaluable funding, people have become much more aware of us and been able to get help, rather than carrying on suffering at home or work.  The funding has also enabled us to concentrate on introducing even more counselling services to help people with the problems they are experiencing.”

Leslie says it is too early to fully evaluate the impact of the marketing work but he can see the potential benefits.  “Implementing the new strategy is helping to raise our profile, improve access to counselling support for people looking for therapeutic counselling and enabling the promotion of a new service to employers,” he explains.  “It will also help to reposition the NCS within the market for counselling services.”

Leslie is pleased with the assistance he has received from Business Link as he explains, “Our Adviser provided timely support which enabled us to realise the full benefits of the available grants. Our plans would have taken longer to progress without this invaluable support from the Business Link and our Adviser.”

SEXUAL ABUSE PROJECT TO OFFER NEW SERVICES

Published: 16/04/2009

9 December 2008

A Nottingham charity has expanded its range of counselling services to provide a lifeline to even more women who were sexually abused in childhood, across the county.  The announcement comes as new figures show that up to 15 per cent of girls have been subjected to some form of sexual abuse*. 

The Sexual Abuse Project, which currently provides essential support to hundreds of women in Nottingham, has increased the level of support it offers to make sure it reaches more women who are in need of help. 

Previously a standalone project, the Sexual Abuse Project has become an integrated service within Nottingham Counselling Service.  As a result, the Project has been able to react to demand and offer more short-term group and individual counselling sessions. 

More than 1,000 women have accessed the Sexual Abuse Project since it was set up over 11 years ago, but it had been feared that some women were missing out on the vital support they need.  Recent feedback had shown that the Project’s existing long-term group counselling groups weren’t suitable for everyone.  Some women struggle to deal with past abuse but are not ready to talk about it, but need help to deal with everyday struggles in day to day life. 

Now, as part of Nottingham Counselling Service, the Sexual Abuse Project is able to cater for these women by offering new 10 week support groups that are less in-depth and avoid going over the history of abuse.  Instead, the counselling focuses on helping women to make life better. The Project is also providing individual counselling in which women can meet face-to-face with an experienced female therapist.  This is in addition to the more long-term and in-depth 18 months group counselling it already provides. 

Tres Roche, Project Coordinator, said: “Children, who suffer sexual abuse in childhood, grow up into adults who can be emotionally and psychologically affected by their past histories.  Abuse in childhood can lead to depression, anxiety, eating disorders and self harm and there are very few places where women can get specialist help and support to help them overcome these problems.  The Sexual Abuse Project is one such place, and now we can move forward with Nottingham Counselling Service to fight together to make sure every woman who needs support gets it.”

ENDS.

NOTES:

*A series of papers published on 3 December 2008, by the Lancet medical journal, in collaboration with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, stated that some 5-10% of girls and 1-5% of boys have been subjected to penetrative sex, usually by a family friend or relative. If sexual abuse is defined more widely - as anything from being shown pornographic magazines to rape - it is estimated that it will include at least 15% of girls and 5% of boys.

Official Home Office figures released in the ‘Cross Government Action Plan on Sexual Violence and Abuse’ published in April 2007, state that: “21% of girls and 11% of boys experience some form of child sex abuse. 23% of women and 3% of men experience sexual assault as an adult.” http://www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/sexualoffences/finalsummary.pdf

NCS AGM

Published: 13/11/2008

The AGM will be held on 25th November 2008, 6 - 8 pm, at the NCS offices, 32 Heathcoat Street, Nottingham.

Quarterly User Performance Monitor

Published: 25/08/2008

The latest report covering Quarter 01 January to 31 March 2008:

• 126 new enquiries received for the period
• The initial assessment interview was rated on average 93 per cent useful by all clients
• 93 per cent was the average level of client satisfaction with counselling received from NCS
• 90 per cent of clients reported counselling had positive life changing impact on them

Our Commitment to Quality services

Published: 22/08/2008

Nottingham Counselling Service (NCS) is committed to a policy of continuous improvement, focusing on positive experience and outcomes for service users. We undertake ongoing monitoring and evaluation of our client’s feedback. We actively seek to achieve positive results for our clients.

Our analysis of client’s Evaluation Questionnaires shows that we regularly achieve in excess of 79 per cent of the health and wellbeing goals by the end of counselling.

BACP Accreditation

Published: 03/06/2008

Nottingham Counselling Service has successfully submitted its 4th Annual Monitoring Report to The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) to maintain its accredited service status.

Annual Report

Published: 03/06/2008

Nottingham Counselling Service’s Annual Charity Accounts for 2007/08 are now available from www.guidestar.org.uk

Fundraising Secures New Counselling Funds

Published: 20/04/2008

Volunteers at Nottingham Counselling Service have raised £275 from a street collection around Nottingham Market Square.

Waiting Times Cut by 43 per cent

Published: 31/03/2008

The length of time Nottingham Counselling Service clients wait before getting an assessment appointment has reduced been reduced 43 per cent – falling from 56 days to 32 days.

The number of clients waiting to start ongoing counselling has also reduced from approximately 60 per month in April 2007 to 40 per month.

New Look for NCS

Published: 11/03/2008

Nottingham Counselling Service is undertaking a corporate makeover to celebrate 30 years as a counselling service provider in Nottingham. The Charity will shortly be unveiling a new brand identity.