Member Article

Harrogate counselling service moves to new premises

Wellspring Therapy & Training, the Harrogate-based counselling and training centre, is moving into new premises to cope with the growing demand for its services.

The charity is relocating from Prospect Road, Starbeck, to nearby St Andrew’s Vicarage, which has recently been bought by the Liz and Terry Bramall Foundation.

Wellspring will lease the vicarage and will be moving in next year.

The well-respected charity, which was founded in 2003, provides affordable short and long-term counselling for the Harrogate and district community.

Emily Fullarton, the Executive Director of Wellspring, explained: “The demand for our services in the Harrogate area is growing fast, which is why we need to expand. We have been very happy with our premises at Prospect Road, but they simply aren’t big enough now.”

“In the UK, 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health issue at least once in their lifetime.

According to local research, many people in Harrogate assume because it is a ‘nice town’ people don’t struggle with these issues. That simply isn’t true. There is a huge demand in Harrogate for our services and it’s increasing. The NHS, which is responsible for mental health care, needs our support. In 2015, for example, 44 per cent of our referrals came from the NHS.

“Thanks to the incredible generosity of the Liz and Terry Bramall Foundation, we have found the perfect premises to move into. St Andrew’s Vicarage is only half a mile away from where we are now, on Starbeck High Street,” explained Emily. “It’s beyond what we could have imagined”.

“The Foundation has paid a significant sum to provide premises for us, which is a massive vote of confidence in Wellspring, the services we offer and our future objectives. We hope very much that other charities and funders will share this confidence as we move forward,” said Emily.

The charity now needs to raise a further £200,000 for refurbishment work to make St Andrew’s Vicarage suitable and viable as a counselling and training centre.

Emily commented: “Everyone can see that more support is needed in the Harrogate area to cope with the crisis in mental health and we are now launching an appeal to help us provide that support. We need help to help those in need.

“What makes Wellspring’s work unique is that we offer affordable long-term, open-ended counselling where needed. Unfortunately, this type of therapy is not currently widely available from the NHS. Most private counselling typically costs between £40-60 for each session, but many of our clients are unable to afford this.

“We aim to restore hope, develop resilience and facilitate positive change in people’s lives. We are passionate about enabling people to find healing and seeing them move towards emotional, mental and spiritual wellbeing.

Rebecca Fletcher of the Liz and Terry Bramall Foundation said: “We are thrilled to provide support to Wellspring to enable them to pursue their expansion plans. Their ethos and aims tie in with the Foundations objects perfectly; to help and support people from all backgrounds. We feel honoured to be part of the team.”

Emily Fullarton concluded: “Our new premises are very special. Apart from being so close to where we are now, which is a massive bonus for our clients, and large enough to cope with demand, they were also the home of our founding Director, Elaine Wainaina, so it all seems like an answer to our prayers.”

To find out how you can donate to the Wellspring Appeal, please call the team on 01423 881881 or visit the website www.wellspringtherapy.co.uk

Wellspring’s first fundraising event is Made for Giving where local artists will be selling beautiful products to raise funds for the charity. Please pop into St Peters Church, HG1 1RW on Saturday 5th November, 10.00-16.00, for a shop and snack to support Wellspring.

NOTES TO EDITORS: Wellspring’s counsellors work to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Ethical Framework for Good Practice and are an affiliated organization to the Association of Christian Counsellors (ACC). They are rated highly by clients and referrers. Case studies of clients are available.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Robert Beaumont .