RELATE - The Relationship People

Clergy Counselling

What is RELATE?

Relate is a national organisation with over 60 years of experience in helping people with their adult relationships. Relate will help you whether or not you are married, and whatever your age, ethnic background, personal or religious beliefs, sexual orientation or social background. Counselling is available for both couples and individuals.

How can Relate counselling help?

Most people have times when problems arrive in their relationship, perhaps as a result of difficulties in other areas of their lives, such as pressure of work, health problems, children or other life changes. Counselling will help you explore a way forward and increase your understanding of your own, and your partner’s needs.

EMCCOS

In response to the need for a readily accessible regional counselling service designed especially for clergy and their families, the Bishops of Southwell & Nottingham, Lincoln, Peterborough, Derby and Leicester in collaboration with Relate have established The East Midlands Clergy Counselling Service.

The Scheme complements already existing diocesan arrangements for pastoral care and counselling by offering a prompt self-referral service via a central phone number or email address.

What we offer:

• An initial consultation

You will be offered an appointment with a Relate counsellor fully conversant with the stresses of Parish life within 7 to 10 days of self-referral. At these meetings, decisions as to the best form of help will be made and indeed for some people this consultation may be sufficient to resolve the problem. Some people may need to be referred elsewhere while others may decide that relationship or family counselling would be helpful.

• Relationship Counselling

A course of counselling offers couples or individuals a chance to explore their relationship difficulties, to come to some understanding of the situation, and look at ways of improving it. The length of your counselling will be tailored to your own needs.  Counselling sessions are usually once a week and last approximately one hour. You will see the same counsellor each week.

• Separation and Divorce

Counselling can also be very helpful if you have decided to separate, or if you are coming to terms with the ending of your relationship.

• Family Counselling

Everyone has family arguments, and sometimes these do not just ‘blow over’. Big changes in a family – such as those resulting from bereavement, ill health, disability and relationship problems – can cause stress for everyone. Alternatively, problems or life changes that one person is experiencing may affect the whole family group.  These could include health problems, work stress, ‘growing up’ etc. Some adult members of the family may have unresolved issues from the past which are making it difficult to ‘get along’.

Sometimes, being part of a clergy family can bring its own problems, particularly for teenage children, and Family Counselling can be helpful in these circumstances.

Family Counsellors are specially trained to work with families to help people resolve their problems. They will not take sides or tell you what to do.

How is the first meeting arranged?

Contact us either by phone or email and we will arrange an appointment for you. Clients who use the service can be seen at a number of locations around the region, and you can choose where you attend. This means that you can be assured of anonymity.

How many sessions of counselling will I receive?

The cost of between 3 and 6 sessions of counselling will be met by your diocese on an anonymous basis. Occasionally a diocese will agree  to extend this on the recommendation of the counsellor. Alternatively, further counselling can be provided if required on a private basis. In these circumstances you will be asked to make a financial contribution within your means.