We offer free counselling to those who need it, particularly to those for whom it might otherwise be inaccessible.
The Reaching Out counselling service is based on Bramley Town Street. In 2011 it received Big Lottery funding for a further five years. It accepts adults and young people from the age of 12 living in West Leeds.
Why Reaching Out?
Sound mental health is fundamental to a good quality of life. Often, though, life-experiences mean that people become fragile and vulnerable to distress or mental ill-health. Counselling can be extremely helpful, but is often inaccessible or unavailable to those people with the greatest need.
How it works
People who behave in ways that are destructive to themselves, their families or their communities have often experienced overwhelming trauma themselves. The legacy of emotional distress this leaves oftens manifests itself – and is made worse by – a tangle of other complex issues. With the support of Reaching Out, people can work out what is or was beyond their control, and what is within their power to change. The impact on their lives, and on those around them, can be dramatic.
What we do
Many of our clients fall into the category of high need and have complex mental health problems. We give them the professional support they need to recover good mental health to the benefit of themselves, their families and the community. Our specialist counsellors build trust and then guide clients through emotional recovery. We may, for example, help someone manage their anger or anti-social behaviour, while working through underlying fear, anger or grief. Our clients often have other needs relating to drug use, housing, employment etc. By working with other services within BARCA-Leeds or elsewhere, we can offer truly ‘wrap around’ care. We also work with schools. We treat people with total acceptance; they feel respected, cared for and valued, perhaps for the first time ever. With increasing emotional resilience, they then begin to change their lives.
Barca-Leeds says:
We are immensely proud of our service, especially of our proven track record of successful outcomes with hard-to-reach clients. People often tell us that we have made a real difference to their lives. When we asked ‘What did therapy help you to achieve,’ we got many answers like these: ‘I was able to re-start work; I don’t need to run from myself anymore; peace of mind; I can cope alone now; you’ve helped me manage my anger; I’ve been able to face my problems; I understand now that not everything that happens is my fault; better family relationships.’ The fact that many of these clients have gone through and failed to engage with a range of services before coming to us makes such feedback all the more significant.
Facts and figures
- We work with at least 60 clients per week
- Last year, 95 per cent of our clients made at least one significant positive change to their life
- Last year, 95 per cent of our clients rated our service as good or excellent
How we could grow the service
We enjoy a reputation as a service that works effectively with some of the most high-need clients in Leeds. As a result, though, we have a long and growing waiting list. An increasing number of referrals are for young people who are angry, aggressive, self-harming, refusing to go to school or involved in crime. Many have witnessed or experienced domestic violence. By the time they see us, their needs have often become acute, and they are in crisis. We want schools to prioritise counselling as an effective intervention: by buying into our service, they can make sure that their distressed young people don’t end up on a long waiting list.
Useful links
The Market Place [link to HYPERLINK "http://www.themarketplaceleeds.org.uk" www.themarketplaceleeds.org.uk]
Information, support and counselling for young people aged 13-25. tel 0113 246 1659
STOP (Start Treating Others Positively) [link to HYPERLINK "http://www.stoponline.org.uk" www.stoponline.org.uk]
Groupwork and counselling for men who want to change violent and/or abusive behaviour. tel: 0113 244 6007.
Women’s Counselling and Therapy Service
Counselling for women in the Leeds area. [link to HYPERLINK "http://www.womenstherapyleeds.org.uk" www.womenstherapyleeds.org.uk] tel: 0113 245 5725.
Alistair’s story
For five years, Alistair had shouldered the burden of care for his wife, who suffered from mental health problems, and for their three children. ‘When I came to Reaching Out, my confidence was at a very low ebb,’ he says. ‘But with the help of the sessions, I have gained a side to myself which I never knew existed. My confidence has grown with each session, and I now look forward to the challenges in my life with relish. None of this could have been done without the help of Reaching Out. I consider the moment I started my sessions to be the turning point in my life, when I started to rebuild my life. Thank you.’
Charlie’s story
Charlie, 16, was frozen with anxiety. He couldn’t answer the phone. He didn’t dare walk to school. And he’d never been to the shops alone. With our support, Charlie picked a specific goal: to catch the bus to college – alone. Over many sessions, we gradually broke this down into steps that Charlie could cope with. We talked through his many fears (the bus could break down; the driver would have a heart attack; he’d get lost etc). He identified someone who could accompany him all the way, then only part of the way, and so on. Eventually, Charlie was able to catch the bus alone. The confidence he gained from this has had a dramatic impact on the rest of his life.
John’s story
John had successfully come off heroin thanks to BARCA-Leeds’s Community Drug Treatment Service. They had referred him to Reaching Out, because, like so many others, John’s drug use stemmed from trying to make sense of a history of trauma beyond his control. It took many weeks of therapy before John had enough emotional resilience to talk about what had happened to him: he had suffered years of sexual abuse. Weekly sessions gradually helped John to understand his behaviour. ‘In my darkest hours, you have been – and continue to be – my bridge to the future,’ he told us.
