Our staff have developed their skills in a broad range of settings, including the NHS, the voluntary sector and through life experiences. They are trained in counselling or psychotherapy and a range of therapeutic approaches.
As such, MCS has extensive experience in helping people with a wide range of problems and we can offer different forms of counselling and psychotherapy to match an individuals needs. These needs, are assessed at the first appointment with us.
How counselling and psychotherapy can help
All therapy sessions are tailored to the individuals unique needs, and, counselling can help in a variety of ways.
A therapist can assist a client in helping recognise the difficulties that they may be facing. They can offer tools which may help them cope better. Helping clients to understand what might be going on and give them a fresh perspective on situations.
Our therapists use a range of approaches, some of which are listed below.
Gestalt is a highly positive and practical integrative therapeutic approach. Broadly, Gestalt practitioners help people to focus on their immediate thoughts, feelings and behaviour and to better understand the way they relate to others. This increased awareness can help people to find a new perspective, see the bigger picture and start to effect changes.
A humanistic and holistic therapy. One of its chief distinctions from more traditional Freudian analytical therapy is that it holds we have a “higher” as well as a “lower” unconscious, and that body, mind and feelings are closely connected. Through exploration of all these elements, sometimes through the use of imagery and visualisation, it is possible to understand the patterns that we find ourselves repeating and to move towards uncovering our true potential.
Helps people who are unhappy in their relationship with one another find a way through to better communication. It is not limited to people who are married, but can help in any close relationship. It is about finding common ground and respecting individual difference, enabling better choices to be made and helping people feel more comfortable about their way forward, whatever that might be.
MBCT has been used successfully with people experiencing depression and a range of emotionally stressful situations. It helps us to relate differently to our negative thoughts and feelings. Mindfulness encourages us to develop our willingness to experience life, and our capacity to engage with things that are difficult. It can give us the courage to allow distressing moods, emotions, thoughts and sensations to come and go, without using up our energy to battle against them.
Exploring difficult situations in our lives, with others who share some similar experiences. It can initially be very challenging to be in the group situation as we may already be struggling with feelings of alienation from others or the opposite, feeling too dependent. However, as it is often our experience of the family or social group which has created these difficulties, it is in a group that we may best find a new way of being with others.
As a BACP accredited counselling service we take our duty of care to clients and to our counsellors or psychotherapists, seriously.
We support the work of our qualified and experienced therapists through small regular supervision groups.
To maintain standards within the organisation, senior clinicians with qualifications in supervision monitor and input into the work of all our counsellors.
Clinical placements
If we feel experience and previous work provides appropriate skills, we offer clinical placements to people in their final year of a new training. We are especially keen to provide a safe and professional route for mature trainees.
Most therapists will, at some point, return to training to build their skills. MCS encourages this through effective supervision and can sometimes offer financial support to extend the services offered.
Clinical placements are voluntary and help us offer our service at a cost matched to peoples circumstances.
If you would like to find out more please get in touch with us.
Our therapists, whatever their level of experience, are committed to their own development which we facilitate, providing opportunities for training and continuing professional development (CPD) within the organisation.
Therapists working for MCS also undertake external training to develop further areas of expertise in their work.
Occasionally a client is asked if they are willing for their situation to be discussed annoymously with others in a training organisation to help the therapist progress in their studies. There is never any obligation to agree to this and the counsellor will always explain what this would involve beforehand.
A counsellor who recently left for personal reasons gave us this feedback...
"I have felt very supported working as a counsellor at Marches. There is a warm and friendly administration team who were so helpful when I started working there - always available to answer questions.
The group supervision provided is invaluable and I have had the
opportunity to meet other therapists which has really enriched my experience and helped me increase my professional network. There is a real feeling of community and support."
57 St Owen Street,
Hereford HR1 2JQ
Available M-F during daytime, in person or online.
There is also some evening & weekend availability.
