Beacon Counselling Service

What is BEACON?

In 1984 local churches in Bramhall & Woodford set up Beacon to be a confidential counselling  service for anyone in the Stockport area experiencing relationship difficulties, depression, bereavement, anxiety or emotional stress.

Who runs BEACON?

Beacon is a registered charity, which depends upon the efforts of 80+ supporters, mainly volunteers working as trained counsellors, professional supervisors, receptionists, admin staff and a management committee.

Who are the counsellors?

Beacon counsellors are ordinary men and women who over a number of years have studied to obtain a recognised counselling qualification and accumulated a considerable amount of skill and experience in the process.  They receive regular professional supervision for their work at Beacon. 

Confidentiality is vital to the counselling process.  In this and other respects everyone at Beacon follows the Codes of Ethics and Practice for Counsellors and for Supervisors of Counsellors as established by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.

    So what is counselling?

Counselling can help you to make sense of what is happening to you - letting you sort out your needs and priorities, helping you to accept things that cannot be changed, enabling you to make decisions and find more effective ways of coping. 

In counselling you begin to explore various aspects of your life and feelings, talking freely in a way rarely possible with friends or family, to a person who neither judges, criticises nor gives advice. 

Beacon counsellors have no magic answers to problems.
Instead what they offer is time., commitment, their undivided attention and respect - as a client you are valued and accepted as you are. 

Together you can work through how to make the sort of changes YOU want to make in your life.

    So how do I arrange to see a counsellor?

Just ring 0161 440 0055 - we have a 24 hour answerphone so don't worry if the office is closed. Leave a message and your number and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

Our office hours are between 10:00am and 4:00pm Mondays to Thursdays.  There will usually be someone there to take your call.

We will ask for your name, address, a daytime phone number, and when you are available.

Counselling takes place most weekday evenings and some daytime sessions are available.

Beacon offers confidential individual or couple counselling.

Information about clients is kept to a minimum, and coded to prevent identification.  We will ask if it's OK to call you at work or to leave a message on an answerphone.

Beacon is also registered with the Data Protection Agency.

    'Will I have to wait for an appointment?

That depends - generally speaking the more available you can be the sooner we can fit you in.

    So what next?

During your first appointment you and your counsellor will be able to discuss whether counselling will help you, or whether another approach will be better.  If you decide on counselling you will be able to see your counsellor for an hour each week, same time, same place for as long as is required.

    How much will it cost?

Beacon is a non-profit making charity.  We rely on grants, gifts and donations to survive.  It costs us in the region of £20 to provide 1 hour of counselling.  We do ask you to consider how much you can contribute to the cost.  Every little helps.

Cancellations - There may be occasions when you really cannot attend, and in such cases we would appreciate it if you would give us as much notice as possible by phoning 0161 440 0055 during Beacon office hours.  If you do not wish to come any more, please let us know so we can keep waiting time to a minimum and arrange for another client to come.