Counselling charity sees rise in cases from Salisbury

Help Counselling Services is warning the full emotional toll caused by months of lockdown has yet to be seen.

The Wiltshire charity has seen a 19 % increase in cases since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Service Manager Amanda Wilkes says its concerning.

"We have 60 people in counselling at the moment when we usually have between 40 and 50 and another 43 on the waiting list, which is twice what we usually have."

"We treat people from all over Wiltshire, but we have seen a marked increase in calls from Salisbury since the lockdown."

STRESSED OUT MUMS

Amanda and her team of volunteers are expecting those numbers to rise when the schools go back with stressed out mums needing more support.

"I think we are yet to see the full fallout from the lockdown. Potentially we will see more women, particularly mothers who have been holding it together while the children are at home."

"Where you have couples working at home, men are very good at creating their own boundaries and having their own undisturbed workspace while the children are running round the house and the women are trying to hold the family together and work at the same time. I think we are going to see some really stressed out mothers very, very soon."

The charity is also seeing more calls from people who have been shielding and are struggling with getting back into normal routines.

"What we are noticing now is that people who have been shielding or on furlough and are going back to work are suffering intense anxiety about returning. Some people have been shielding since the beginning of work and the anxiety of re-entering the community makes it so difficult for them."

FUNDING BOOST

The charity has received a £6,200 grant from the Wiltshire Community Foundation's Coronavirus Response and Recovery Fund to help cope with the rise in its caseload.

That money has paid for training for counsellors who had to switch from face to face sessions to online or phone work with clients. It also funded some staff after other funding was lost.

Amanda is grateful for the support.

"There was a real shortfall for about a month and a half when we simply didn't have any money coming in and I was really getting worried."

DOMESTIC ABUSE

The group, based in Trowbridge, has also recruited a counsellor with domestic abuse expertise.

Amanda says that's because of a rise in clients suffering at the hands of partners.

"Out of the 60 clients we have, seven of them are in an abusive relationship and we have other clients who are on the waiting list - that's more than we would normally have."

"Many of the women in these relationships have already left their partners and we think this is because the intensity has increased during the pandemic. They may have stayed longer but the lockdown has brought them to breaking point."

AFFORDABLE THERAPY

People are only asked to donate what they can afford for sessions that would cost at least £50 privately.

Amanda says the charity will always try to help.

"People give what they can, sometimes just a few pounds. But we never turn anyone away."

Find out more about the group and its services at helpcounselling.co.uk.

Wiltshire Community Foundation interim co-chief executive Fiona Oliver said:

"We are so pleased to fund this vital work. We know from the many applications that we receive that groups will be in demand because of the pandemic for some time to come, which is why our fund is so badly needed."

To donate to the Wiltshire and Swindon Coronavirus Response Fund or to find out how to apply for a grant, go to wiltshirecf.org.uk.