Counselling

Woman wearing hijab indoors near to window Everyone experiences times in their lives when emotionally things become challenging, difficult or even completely overwhelming.

Whether you’re dealing with stress, anxiety, abuse, bereavement or any other distressing issue in your life, it can be easy to feel alone or that everything has moved beyond your point of control.

Counselling provides the opportunity to talk with a trained counsellor about how you’re feeling in a wholly supportive, confidential and non-judgemental environment. While a counsellor will not be able to give you advice or tell you what you ‘should’ do, talking things through with someone who is trained to actively listen can help you see things more clearly, help you cope better, or differently, with the situations you’re dealing with and support you in making your own choices about the way forward.

Our counselling approach is integrative and we take a trauma informed approach to everything we do at the centre.

What we can offer:

Diary on table with flowers and sweets At Luton All Women’s Centre, professional counselling is an ongoing and vital part of the holistic support we offer to our clients.

Following an initial assessment for suitability, you will be offered 6 - 12 weeks of weekly counselling sessions, each one lasting 50 minutes (dependant on your needs). Our counsellors are staff or volunteers who have completed, or nearing the end of extensive training. They work to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Ethical Framework and receive regular, professional supervision. You will be matched to a counsellor who we feel is most suited to support your individual needs.

Confidentiality

Whatever takes place in a counselling situation is confidential to you, the counsellor and if appropriate a supervisor. There are a few exceptional circumstances where this may not apply and these will be explained at your initial counselling assessment.

Cost and eligibility

Our counselling service is free for women over the age of 18 who are registered clients of the centre, often referred to us by other professional agencies.

Before a client can embark on counselling there is, however, a one-off counselling assessment fee of just £10.00.

Get help

To find out more or enquire about accessing counselling at LAWC, contact the centre on 01582 416783 or email [email protected]. You will need to be registered as a client at the centre.

Please note our counselling service is in high demand, so there is a waiting list.

Support this work

While we run our counselling service with the support of volunteers and staff, it costs us around £60,000 per year.

If you are a trained counsellor could you volunteer some of your time to support this service?
If you are a LAWC supporter, could you help us keep this service funded? A £50 donation would help us run 1 session for a women who needs this type of support.

If you believe you could help in any of these ways, please contact us.

Latest

Volunteer with us

Volunteering with LAWC is a fantastic way for you use your skills, expertise and time for good, to support the vital work we carry out and to become a hugely valued member of our great team! Take a look at our current opportunities.
Take part in 16 days of activism

November 25th - December 25th. A programme of events and activities at Luton All Women's Centre and at other local partner organisations in support of the global 16 days of activism to end violence against women and girls.
LAWC Event: Engaging communities about FGM

Thursday 2nd Dec 1-2pm on Zoom. Join us to discuss how we can stimulate conversations amongst communities and families where FGM is still a real threat to the safety and wellbeing of girls and women. Women and men welcome.
LAWC Event: How do we tackle violence towards women and misogyny in society?

Friday 3rd Dec 4-5pm on Zoom AND Friday 10th Dec 1-2pm on Zoom. Join us to talk about the issues that are important to you in terms of safety and the deluge of offences that are committed towards women, both small and large. Women only

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What we do

Luton All Women’s Centre (LAWC) has been supporting women and girls living in Luton and Bedfordshire since the early 1990s. Offering a wide-range of advisory, information, practical and holistic support services, our aim is to challenge gender inequality and empower women and girls to enjoy lives that are safer, healthier and fairer.
Jobs

We are looking for new people to join our great team. Take a look at our current vacancies.
Domestic abuse

Almost 30% of women in England and Wales say they have experienced domestic violence/abuse since the age of 16. If you are affected by this issue, Luton All Women's Centre is there to help.
Counselling

Whether you’re dealing with stress, anxiety, abuse, bereavement or any other distressing issue in your life, it can be easy to feel alone or that everything has moved beyond your point of control. Counselling provides the opportunity to talk with someone about how you’re feeling in a wholly supportive, confidential and non-judgemental environment. At Luton All Women’s Centre, professional counselling is an ongoing and vital part of the holistic support we offer to our clients.
Make a referral

If you’re a professional and think someone you’re supporting could benefit from any of the services we provide at Luton All Women’s Centre, the team would be happy to hear from you.
Other groups

Luton All Women's Centre offers a range of support groups for women whose health and wellbeing have been affected by various life-events - including childhood sexual abuse, bereavement and menopause.
Health and wellbeing

The importance of maintaining good physical health, mental health and general wellbeing cannot be over-emphasised. For the women we support at Luton All Women's Centre, such things aren't always easy. Our centre provides a wide range of services which aim to help vulnerable women in Luton with this area of their lives.
Essential information

Take a look at all the essential information you need to know about Luton All Women's Centre including COVID-19 updates plus our normal opening times, facilities and accessibility information.
Help with mental health and wellbeing

Local and national information an support around mental health and wellbeing
Help with the menopause

Local and national information and support around the menopause