Trusted Therapy
to the highest ethical and
professional standards to all
members of society.

Cork Counselling Services is a non-profit and charity that has been serving the Cork community since 1982.

LEARN MORE
  1. OUR MISSION
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    Together, we are committed to providing counselling and psychotherapy to the highest ethical and professional standards to all members of society regardless of financial means, religious beliefs, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or educational background.

  2. COUNSELLING / PSYCHOTHERAPY
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    Counselling (or Psychotherapy) is a professional relationship where clients can explore and understand their lives, tell their story, be listened to, and find respect and acceptance. Over time people can work towards healing emotional pain, distress and trauma. This process can also help people to look at themselves in a new way, gain confidence and take charge of their own lives.

  3. CRISIS INTERVENTION
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    Crisis Intervention, in contrast to Counselling, provides short-term support. Its aim is to bring the crisis to an end and guide the client back to normal functioning. Crisis intervention also involves a review of the coping skills used to deal with the crisis in order to prevent a new crisis developing.

Make an
Appointment

You are very welcome to contact us to arrange an appointment for counselling. You simply refer yourself here. Print the form, fill it out, scan it and email it to us or post it to us as per the instructions on the form. Or phone us on 021- 427 4951 and we will post you out a paper form. Or call in person and fill out the form in on our premises.

FAQ
  1. HOW CONFIDENTIAL IS YOUR SERVICE?
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    Discretion and confidentiality are critically important to our service. The client's privacy is paramount and clients can be assured of confidentiality. All our staff members sign confidentiality agreements, in addition to adhering to the IACP Code of Ethics and Practice.

    What you say to your counsellor will stay between you and your counsellor. There are a number of occasions, however, when this cannot happen. For example, if children, or other vulnerable members of society are in danger and this has not been reported or if you are a danger to yourself or to others.

    Limits of confidentiality also operate within the law. This means that we must report unreported child sex abuse where the abuser is still alive or client involvement in criminal activity.

  2. DO YOU STORE MY INFORMATION?
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    Client files are anonymised, encoded and stored securely so that your personal information is never divulged. We have a very long record in keeping our clients safe.

  3. CAN I REFER A CLIENT?
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    Any person over 18 years of age is welcome to contact Cork Counselling Services. Clients are also referred to us for counselling by GPs, social workers, teachers, counsellors, ex-clients, friends etc. We are happy to accept enquiries on our services from friends or relatives and to provide information for them to pass on. However, if the client is over 18 years of age we need them to make contact themselves to arrange an appointment. If the client is under 18 years of age written permission to attend counselling will be required from both parents/ guardians.
  4. HOW MUCH DOES COUNSELLING COST?
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    The full cost of each session is €60.

    Cork Counselling Services operates a sliding scale, which means you will pay only what you can afford. In order to serve the community in this way we rely on those who are financially able to pay the full fee to do so.

    The reduced fee is usually €30 to €40. However a lack of money should NEVER stop you from coming to counselling. You can talk to the counsellor at the initial appointment about how much you will be able to afford.

    All client fees go directly to Cork Counselling Services charity (Reg. No: CHY 8911).

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  5. WHO WILL I BE SPEAKING WITH?
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    The Centre is run by a diverse team of professional counsellors and psychotherapists. All of our staff are either accredited by the IACP (Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) and/or the IAHIP (Irish Association of Humanistic Integrative Psychotherapy) and/or Registered Psychologists with the PSI (Psychological Society Ireland) or are working towards accreditation. All of our counsellor and psychotherapists work within recognised codes of ethics and the highest professional standards.
  6. HOW DOES THE PROCESS WORK?
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    Once we receive a completed self referral form we will set up an initial appointment for you. This first session is usually offered within a week to ten days. Counselling sessions usually last one hour.

    Your first appointment allows you to experience how we work here and helps you to decide if counselling is right for you. We welcome all your questions and queries about counselling and the services we offer. Together you and the counsellor we will begin to explore what it is that brings you to counselling at this time, your hopes, needs and supports. At the end of the initial assessment you and the counsellor will agree on the next step.

    There are some instances in which we may need to refer you on to a more appropriate services. Examples include:

    Drug or alcohol addiction Eating disorders Gambling Clients who engage in sexual and/or physical abuse Clients who are in a very fragile state and who may need to be hospitalised for a period of time Clients who are unable to take care of themselves between sessions and may need therapy within a more protected residential environment

    We will help you to access support around this and refer you to another agency if necessary.
  7. HOW SOON DO ONGOING APPOINTMENTS BEGIN?
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    Ongoing appointments begin as soon as possible after the initial assessment. Due to our limited resources there will be a waiting period. At your initial appointment we will inform you of how long you should expect to be waiting. Once you begin ongoing counselling you will be meeting with the same professional counsellor on an ongoing basis. This may not be the same counsellor you met in your initial session.
  8. HOW DO I CANCEL AN APPOINTMENT?
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    If, after confirming an appointment, you realise that you are unable to attend, you are kindly asked to contact us and let us know. There is a huge demand for our limited services and if the appointment time doesn’t work for you it could be offered to someone else who is waiting.

    If you need to cancel a session, please let us know at least 24 hours in advance as we are unable to fill the space at short notice.

    Thank you for your consideration.

Community
Support

Below is a list of community support services and their contact details that we have put together which you might find helpful.

Community Support

Where ordinary
people can make
an extraordinary
difference.

CONTACT US