Deciding to embark on the journey of counselling or therapy can be a major hurdle to begin with, but for many Londoners it can be even harder to afford the specific help they need. Some of our clients share their experience…
Saira said, “I have struggled with low mood and anxiety since my mid-teens and was in a particularly rough patch before a friend recommended WCC.”
Tim* also experienced complex mental health problems that require more acute treatments prior to being referred to WCC:
“I was diagnosed with C-PTSD, and the NHS trauma-specific waiting list was 3-4 years, with the pathway unclear. WCC offered support much sooner.”
This is echoed by Arthur*, a client who engaged in long-term talking therapy from 2023 to 2025.
“I had been struggling with depression and anxiety for 6 years, and accessing therapy through my local NHS service was difficult and a long-winded process. WCC allowed me to access treatment much quicker and pay an affordable rate based on income.”
Dinah referred herself to WCC, knowing that she needed more support than she was able to access for free:
“I was struggling in some aspects of my life as well as existentially and wanted to learn how to manage my emotions and thoughts in a better way. CBT has never been helpful for me, and I needed an affordable talking therapy service.”
For some Londoners like Rachel, accessing long-term mental health support during a cost of living crisis is extremely daunting:
“I was unemployed, living at my parents’ and feeling very lost without the means of paying for private therapy.”
Being able to support the local London community has always been a core ethos for Waterloo Community Counselling. In 2025-26, 594Londoners received support, with 93% saying their mental health and wellbeing improved. 82% of clients said they felt more confident and had better self-esteem**, including Rachel:
“It completely changed my life, gave me the opportunity to experience a confidence I’ve not had before, allowed me to be more in my own body and work through things not around [my parents].”
Saira said, “My self-perception has changed, and I feel more stable and able to manage difficult moments. It was at once soothing and challenging – it changed the way I travel through the world.”
Since he finished counselling sessions at WCC, Arthur has been working towards a degree full-time. He said, “Counselling has helped me to understand myself more deeply, acknowledge the root causes of issues both past and present, and changed my perspective on many things. It has improved my relationships with family and friends, helped improve my finances, and created more long-term achievable goals.”
Long term therapy was incredibly helpful for Alex. They said: “Sessions at WCC have changed my life. I was given the chance to talk through deep rooted childhood trauma, as well as be supported through challenging work and life events. I am much more confident and self-assured in my decision making and attribute a lot of my personal growth over the past year and a half to my sessions at WCC.”
Tim’s life has also changed for the better, thanks to accessible therapy with WCC: “I have a reduced trauma response to common situations and so am able to carry on in everyday life, including caring for my child, in a more normal way.”
Dinah reflects:“Counselling has been invaluable to me, especially in these difficult times when affordable mental health help beyond CBT is very difficult to find.”
*Tim and Arthur kindly provided consent for WCC to use their real names.
Thanks to our fantastic volunteer, Lu Brookes, for writing this case study.
