FAQ'S About PARCS Face to Face Counselling

What is counselling?

Counselling gives you an opportunity to talk to someone about your experiences and how they affect you. You will not be judged, criticised or told what to do, but supported in being yourself and making your own choices

It can sometimes be hard to put your thoughts and feelings into words so you may wish to try other ways of expressing yourself, such as drawing or painting. It's up to you.

How long does it take?

During an Initial Assessment with a counsellor, you will have an opportunity to discuss whether or not to begin counselling. If you both agree that it may be helpful, you will probably be offered 6 sessions to start with. This may be enough support for you, or you may want to continue. Counselling is a very individual process so it's impossible to say how long it will take. Some people attend a few sessions, others many more. You may stop coming to counselling at any time.

Is it confidential?

Counselling at PARCS is confidential, however, your counsellor will work to Hampshire Wide Child Protection Procedures. This means that if someone under 18 has, or is, experiencing emotional, physical, sexual abuse, or neglect, they may need to contact Social Services. This is the same for almost all Young Peoples' services in the area. If this happens, your counsellor will always try and discuss it with you. PARCS address is confidential. For more details go to Confidentiality/Privacy.

How will I be contacted by PARCS - I don't want the people I live with to know I'm having counselling?

PARCS can contact you directly on your mobile, and/or arrange to send letters to a different address. You can let your counsellor know how and where you want to be contacted.

What if I get embarrassed or upset when I talk about what happened to me?

That's okay. Your counsellor will understand that it is not an easy thing to talk about and they will support you in speaking about things at your own pace. Counsellors at PARCS are specially trained to work with the issues surrounding sexual violation and understand how difficult it may be to talk about it.