Counselling is a form of talking therapy where a trained professional helps you explore your feelings, behaviours, and personal challenges in a safe and confidential space. Rather than offering advice, counselling supports you to develop your own insights, coping strategies, and positive changes in your life.
Adult Counselling
Click here to make a referral
About the service
For more than 30 years, York Mind has provided a trusted and compassionate counselling service. Our dedicated team of counsellors — both paid staff and volunteers — bring experience, empathy and care to every conversation.
We can offer you 16 sessions, each one lasting around 50 minutes. These are usually held weekly either in-person at our premises at Highcliffe House in Clifton (YO30 6BP) or online.
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.
Eligibility
You can access the service if you:
- are 18+
- are not receiving counselling elsewhere
Cost
Fees range from £20 to £50 per session. These are payable at the beginning of each session, by cash or card. See our cancellation policy and full info on costs in our FAQs below.
| Unemployed / Benefits concession | £20 per session *proof will be required |
| Employed with annual income below £30,000 | £30 per session |
| Employed with annual income above £30,000 | £50 per session |
1What is counselling?
2How can counselling help me?
Your counsellor will listen to you with empathy and without judgement. They can help you:
- understand your thoughts, emotions, and behaviours more clearly
- develop strategies to support your mental health
- navigate difficult experiences
- work towards personal goals and positive change
3What types of counselling are offered?
Most of our counsellors work from humanistic approaches, which focus on self‑discovery and personal growth. We do not offer purely CBT or psychodynamic therapy, but many counsellors work integratively, drawing on different techniques to meet your needs.
4When are sessions available?
- Monday–Friday only (not weekends or bank holidays)
- In‑person sessions run hourly from 9.30am to 3.30pm
- Online sessions are available at various times, with the latest starting at 7pm
5How do I refer?
We encourage self‑referral.
Complete our online referral form (link will be disabled if referrals are temporarily closed).
We aim to contact you within two weeks of receiving your form.
In exceptional cases, someone else may refer on your behalf — but only with your consent, which must be stated on the form.
6What happens after I'm referred?
A member of the counselling team will contact you to arrange a telephone assessment (30–60 minutes). The assessment helps us understand your needs and whether the service is right for you. If appropriate, you’ll be matched with a counsellor.
There may be a waiting period depending on availability and your preferred times.
7What is your payment policy?
Our Adult Counselling Service is completely reliant on donations, and receives no external funding - each session costs our charity around £50.
This means we have to charge for our services, though we aim to keep the cost of counselling as low as we can. To help everyone access vital support, we strive to make our fees equitable, whilst ensuring the service is able to keep running.
Fees range from £20 to £50 per session.
| Unemployed / Benefits concession | £20 per session *proof will be required |
| Employed with annual income below £30,000 | £30 per session |
| Employed with annual income above £30,000 | £50 per session |
Fees are payable at the beginning of each session, by cash or card.
Sessions cancelled with less than 24 hrs notice are billable in full. Clients paying in cash will need to pay the cancellation fee in addition to the usual session fee ahead of attending their next scheduled session.
Please be aware that failure to pay for your counselling could lead to counselling being withdrawn.
