We are thrilled to announce some ground-breaking news! Nottingham Counselling Service (NCS) and Himmah, a King’s Award-winning charity championing social justice in Nottingham, have been awarded a prestigious national prize to deliver two years of dedicated therapy and outreach work for racialised communities.

This recognition follows a rigorous assessment of our clinical practice, deep community engagement, and our proven success in breaking down barriers to therapy. The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) has acknowledged the significant challenges faced by individuals from disadvantaged, racialised, and discriminated communities when trying to access essential services like therapy.

NCS and Himmah have been entrusted with this vital work, and together, we are committed to dismantling the barriers, stigma, and stereotypes that often prevent these communities from receiving the therapeutic support they need. Our goal is to ensure that individuals can access the healing benefits that therapy offers, and we are excited to begin this important journey.

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to work towards making mental health support more accessible and inclusive for all.

“The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) is the leading and largest professional body for counselling and psychotherapy, representing 70,000 members across the UK. In our work, we see the vital and life-changing therapy that is delivered by counsellors and psychotherapists, but we know that many people who could benefit from counselling face numerous barriers to accessing the support they need. We are very pleased to be funding Nottingham Counselling Service to work in partnership with Himmah to make therapy more accessible to people in their community by engaging through outreach, providing choice of how and where therapy is delivered, and removing the mystery and stigma about seeking help to improve mental health and wellbeing. This grant has been awarded after a highly competitive application process in which the NCS project stood out, connecting the excellent proven track record of an accredited counselling service to the deep community connections of Himmah. Working together, NCS and Himmah are laying the foundations of innovation and change that will have lasting impact beyond the project.”

Jeremy Bacon
Third Sector Lead

Link to BACP website and award announcement:
Grant-funding supports improved access to counselling