Member Article

South Yorkshire counselling service opens in Rotherham’s Fusion Business Centre

Gemma Geary and Angela Pike look to serve the local community and beyond

A Rotherham-based counselling practice that was established in 2021 in a bid to support the local community who are struggling with their mental health is on track for expansion as it outreaches services to businesses in the local area.  

Attic Counselling, based at the Fusion Business Centre near Rotherham, was founded by two professional counsellors Gemma Geary and Angela Pike who offer in-person counselling sessions, as well as online and telephone appointments. 

This flexibility has resulted in rapid expansion for the duo, offering remote appointments to clients nationally. Whilst in lockdown clients were still able to reach out for support, including frontline workers who were juggling their own mental health as well as their patients and staff.

However, Attic Counselling is now set to expand its client base further in response to the mental health crisis due to the impact of the pandemic. Gemma and Angela are now offering their services to companies across the region who are looking to protect the wellbeing of their staff. 

The growth of the business has been facilitated by a Kickstart Grant from UKSE - a business that invests in new companies and SMEs in steel areas across the UK – which allowed the company to invest in marketing, and inclusion in counselling directories. 

Speaking of the growth of the business just six months on from its launch, co-founder Gemma Geary said: “The mental health crisis fueled by the Covid-19 pandemic is undeniable, with hundreds of people suffering because of the uncertainty brought about by job losses, burnout and isolation. 

“When we initially launched the business last September, our focus was to offer support to the general public and professionals who were in need of help and support with their mental health. The pandemic has heightened the demand for counselling services and with people conscious of the pressure the NHS is under, they are wanting to pay privately for counselling services either to alleviate some of the strain, or to be seen far quicker. 

“Over recent months we have also been speaking to local businesses who are keen to do what they can to protect their staff as things start to return to some sort of normality. 

“Employers understand that a happy, healthy workforce is important, so it’s great to see them invest in that side of things. In response, we are now on track to expand our offering to be able to offer our services via workplace benefits.”

Angela Pike explained: “Thanks to the grant we received from UKSE, we have been able to invest more into marketing and advertising resources and help further raise awareness of this service, and we’re really pleased with the uptake to date.”

Looking to the future the business will look to grow the demand for its services, and over the coming months the Attic Counselling office will be made available as a collaborative space for other independent counsellors to also work alongside Gemma and Angela. 

Steve Lyon at UKSE commented: “It’s great to see Gemma and Angela doing so well, and we’re glad they have been able to use the grant to invest in some marketing materials to help the business grow.

“The work at Attic will be important, not only in creating jobs, but also helping to ensure that businesses within the region and beyond protect the mental health of their staff. In turn helping to ensure the longevity of businesses and their continued growth.” 

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Isabella Storey .