Adult Counselling

Service Status: CLOSED to new referrals

(as at 02 January 2026: we anticipate re-opening to new referrals in mid-January 2026)

When our counsellors and/or assessors are at full capacity the service is closed (see the bottom of this page for other local services). We aim to update our status on a weekly basis.

What is counselling? 

Counselling is a talking therapy where a trained professional helps you explore personal problems, feelings, and behaviours in a safe, confidential space, empowering you to find your own solutions, gain clarity, develop coping strategies, and make positive life changes. Rather than just giving and receiving advice, therapy is a collaborative process focused on improving self-understanding, decision-making, and achieving personal goals like better mental health or managing life challenges.

How can this help me? 

Your counsellor will listen to you non-judgmentally and will support you to learn more about your emotions, thoughts, and behaviour. They can help you in identifying strategies and tools to improve your overall mental health. 

About our service 

If you are aged 18+ and would like to access counselling for yourself, York Mind offers up to 16 sessions, each one lasting around 50 minutes. These are usually held weekly (occasionally fortnightly) either in-person at our premises at Highcliffe House in Clifton (YO30 6BP) or online.

We offer sessions from Monday to Friday, but not at weekends or bank holidays. Face-to-face sessions are generally available at hourly intervals from 9.30am, with the last session starting at 3.30pm. Online sessions are available at various times, the last being at 7pm.

Our counsellors are either fully qualified, or are counsellors in training cleared as fit to practice. All of our counsellors are DBS-cleared, members of professional bodies (such as BACP or UKCP), and receive clinical supervision. Our service is run in line with the BACP Ethical Framework which emphasises putting clients first, working competently, and practicing accountably.

Within counselling there are various different theoretical approaches or styles. The majority of our counsellors at York Mind are humanistic, which means the therapy emphasises client self-discovery and human fulfilment, rather than concentrating on individual problems or symptoms. We do not offer exclusively cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) or psychodynamic therapy, but most of our counsellors work integratively and may draw on techniques from different types of therapy to tailor an approach specifically for you.

Who can access the service?

Adults who are aged 18+ and not receiving counselling elsewhere. We accept self-referrals by students, though students may wish first to check what wellbeing services are available from their place of learning. If you are currently in hospital, we advise you to wait until you are discharged before seeking counselling. If you are seeking help primarily for a particular problem, such as addiction or eating disorders, you may find that specific services elsewhere are more appropriate for you. We do not offer any form of clinical diagnosis service, but we often support people who have received, or are awaiting, a diagnosis of a mental health condition and/or neurodiversity.

Please note York Mind does not offer a crisis service. If you need urgent help then please click here.

Cost 

We strive to keep the cost of counselling as low as possible, but we do need to charge to offer this service. All our adult counsellors are volunteers - either student counsellors in training or fully qualified and offering their services for free - which means we can offer counselling much more cheaply than many other services. The fee we charge is to pay for the cost of administration and premises. 

The minimum price is £25 per session. Alternatively, you can book a block of 5 sessions for £100, paid in advance. Costs will be discussed with you in more detail during your initial telephone assessment.

If you are able to pay more than the minimum price we would be very grateful, as we are a charity and all money received helps us to continue to deliver and develop the service.

We never want money to be an obstacle to receiving support; if you are in severe financial hardship, you can ask us about any grants currently available to help fund counselling.

Referring in

We encourage those seeking counselling to self-refer, that is, to complete the referral form for themselves. In exceptional cases you may want to refer someone else; this should only be done with their consent, and this should be stated on the referral form.

To refer in, simply complete our online referral form here (NB: this link will be disabled if our service is temporarily closed to new referrals). We aim to be in touch within two weeks of receiving your referral.

If our service is temporarily closed to new referrals (normally because we are at maximum capacity) you might like to approach one of the other voluntary sector counselling services in the York area, listed below.

What will happen next?

Once you have submitted a referral, you will be contacted by the counselling team who will arrange a telephone assessment with you. The assessment lasts 30-60 minutes and will establish your reasons for requesting counselling support and whether it is the appropriate service for you. After the assessment, if appropriate, you will be matched with a counsellor and your counselling journey commences. There may be a waiting period between assessment and counselling, depending on there being counsellors who can match your availability requirements.

Contact Information 

If you want to find out more you can contact a member of the York Mind Adult 1-2-1 counselling service team by calling 01904 643364 or by emailing counselling@yorkmind.org.uk.

Other Local Counselling Services

If our service is closed to new referrals, you might like to contact one of the other voluntary/third sector services in the York area (please note, whilst some offer general counselling to all, others provide more specific services for particular needs):

• 1-2-1 Counselling Service
• Community Counselling
• Kyra Women's Project
• Reflect
• Survive
• Wellspring / The Belfrey
• York Carers Centre
• York St John Communities Centre
• York Women's Counselling Service

Private counselling services can be found via portals such as Counselling Directory and Psychology Today.

(York Mind takes no responsibility for the quality of external services)