Counselling
How can counselling help?
Cancer can bring many changes to someone’s life. It can also impact on friends and family. Counselling can help people cope with the many emotional issues that cancer may cause.
Counselling provides a safe, confidential and supportive space where you can talk about whatever is important to you. Your counsellor will not give you advice or tell you what is best for you. Counselling can support you to make sense of your situation and help develop coping strategies before, during and after your treatment.
Who can access the counselling service?
We offer counselling to anyone who has a cancer diagnosis, at any point in their pathway. We also offer counselling to relatives and carers who feel they would benefit from the service. Our service is open to people aged 18 years and older.
Is counselling confidential?
Counselling, with a few exceptions, is confidential. These exceptions relate to statutory disclosures required by law or if a counsellor becomes concerned about your physical or psychological wellbeing. Your counsellor will talk to you about confidentiality and will answer any questions you may have.
Who will I see?
The counselling team at the Cancer Wellbeing and Information Centre is staffed by fully qualified Macmillan counsellors who are accredited by the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy. We also have a specialised breast cancer counsellor.
Each counsellor will understand and value the importance of building a trusting relationship with you.
How many sessions will I have?
You will be offered up to six free counselling sessions initially, then further sessions can be added thereafter if you and your counsellor feel that it will help. Each session is usually 50 minutes in duration.
How can I be referred for counselling?
To access the counselling service, you will need to complete a counselling referral request form. You can do this by:
Contacting the Cancer Wellbeing and Information Centre in person, by email or via the telephone
Speaking to your Nurse Specialist or ask another Health Care professional that is involved in your care to refer you.
Once you have completed your counselling referral you will be contacted by phone by one of the counselling team. This will be an opportunity to talk through any questions you may have and to discuss how counselling could benefit you. Following this conversation if you do wish to move forward, you will be allocated a counsellor and they will make direct contact with you to arrange counselling sessions.
Waiting times
We will always try to process your counselling referral as quickly as possible. For cancer patients there is normally a 2-4 week waiting period.
Other organisations that offer counselling
There are a variety of organisations that offer counselling - some of these will be accessible via your GP, others you will have to contact direct yourself. Do always ask questions so that you find the right kind of counselling for you. Ask if there are any costs and ensure that what they are offering is suitable for what you need. It may be possible to ask for a taster session to see how you get on with the person and their style before committing to further sessions.
Counselling information, help and advice from Macmillan Cancer Support and Cancer Research UK
Click here to access the Macmillan Cancer Support webpage about emotional support with links to a number of different sources of support and information.
Click here to access general information about Counselling following a cancer diagnosis, from Cancer Research UK. Information includes what counselling is, different types of counselling, and how it might work for you.
How to find support for someone else
It can be really hard if you think your partner or a member of your family or a friend is struggling and you feel they need some additional help.
A national organisation called BACP -The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, have some useful suggestions as to how you might help the person you are concerned about. Click here for further information.
A national organisation called MIND also have a wide variety of support and information on their website. They have a section specifically relating to how to support someone else. Click here for further information.
Helen Rollason Cancer Charity
They provide complementary therapies and counselling support for cancer patients with all types of cancer and at all stages, whether newly diagnosed or longer term, throughout and after completion of treatment. They also provide support for patients’ primary carers at our Support Centres in Essex and North London.
The nearest support centre is located in Hatfield Peverel - Helen Rollason also provide complementary therapies suxh as massage and reflexology (not counselling) in the Cancer Wellbeing Centre at Colchester Hospital.
Website: helenrollason.org.uk
Telephone: 01245 380719
Email: enquiries@helenrollason.org.uk
MIND
A national organisation that also has local hubs. They aim to provide support and information to anyone who is struggling with any mental health issues. Whether you are stressed, depressed or in crisis, they will listen, provide support and advice and they push for a better deal and respect for everyone experiencing a mental health problem. They work with children from the age of 5 and adults of all ages. Some people use their services for only a little while and others might need help for longer.
National MIND website
Mid and North East Essex website: https://mnessexmind.org/
Telephone: 01206 764600
Email: enquiries@mnessexmind.org
They provide information about Talking Therapies and how they can be very helpful to people in all different situations. Click here for more information.
Other helpful organisations (some national, some more local) that provide links to a variety of emotional support, help and advice resources.
Age UK (for those over the age of 60)
Health in Mind (North East Essex)
If you would like to make a donation
We do not expect any donations but of course we are always delighted when people are able to donate as it enables the Cancer Wellbeing and Information Centre to continue making a difference to others,
You can donate to the Colchester and Ipswich Hospitals charity online here, (you will need to select the Cancer Wellbeing Centre fund from the drop down box on the donation page). To see how we use our donations visit our fundraising section of the website.
Thank you very much.