To be eligible for our Multilingual Counselling Service, you must meet the following criteria:
- Age: 18 years or older
- Location: Reside within Greater London
- Immigration status: Refugee, asylum seeker, or displaced person
- Language: Counselling is available in selected community languages. Applicants must be able to engage in one of the languages currently offered.
- Healthcare Registration: Registered with a General Practitioner (GP) in London
- Commitment: Able to attend weekly counselling sessions at an agreed day and time throughout the course of therapy (usually 6–12 sessions).
We provide free, time-limited counselling in clients’ first languages for refugees, asylum seekers and other displaced people living in Greater London. We support people experiencing a range of emotional and psychological difficulties including anxiety, depression, stress, loss, trauma and relationship challenges. Many of the people we work with have experienced displacement, persecution, torture, trafficking or modern slavery.
When our service may not be the right support at this time
While we aim to make counselling accessible, there are some situations where this service may not be the most appropriate support at this time. This includes if you are currently experiencing:
- Current suicidal thoughts where there is significant or immediate risk requiring crisis or secondary mental health services
- Current substance dependence where this is the primary presenting difficulty
- Recent bereavement where grief support or specialist bereavement services would be more appropriate initially
- People whose current mental health needs require more specialist or intensive support than our service is able to provide
In these situations, you may benefit from more specialist or intensive support, please contact your GP for more information.
Additional Considerations
Our counsellors have experience supporting a wide range of emotional and psychological difficulties. However, we are a general counselling service rather than a specialist mental health service. This means we may not be the most appropriate service for people whose primary needs relate to severe and enduring mental illness, active addiction, complex neurodevelopmental assessments, or other specialist interventions. Where appropriate, we will discuss alternative sources of support.
Assessment Consultation
You will be invited to an initial assessment consultation to ensure that counselling at WCC is suitable for you at this time. While we strive to make counselling accessible for all, it may not be suitable for everyone depending on your specific needs and circumstances.
At referral and assessment, you can feel free to share any preferences you may have (for example, regarding counsellor gender or ethnicity and availability). While we do our best to take into account client preferences, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to meet all of your preferences.
Following your assessment, we will consider whether our service is the best fit for your current needs. If we are unable to offer counselling, we will explain our decision and, where possible, suggest alternative services that may be more appropriate.