Some of the issues which make people unhappy and which may lead to them considering coming for counselling at Cogwheel include the following:

• Coming to terms with events or changes in their lives
• Stress, anxiety or panic attacks
• Feeling low/ feeling depressed
• Lack of meaning in their lives
• Low self-esteem/ Lack of confidence
• Bereavement/ loss/ grief
• Disability Issue
• Coping with health issue
• Eating issues
• Family/ Parent-Child Relationship Issues
• Couple Relationship Difficulty
• Work Related Issues/ Decision-making/ Redundancy/ Unemployment
• Identity Issues
• Sexual or Gender Issues
• History of physical, emotional or sexual abuse
• Inability to assert oneself / beign vicitmised
• Difficulty with handling anger

A client may be: an indiviudal, a couple or a family or part of a family. Parent(s) will normally be invited to be involved in initial consultations for younger children. Cogwheel will, first of all, offers an initial consultation, so that the client can learn more about Cogwheel and the counsellor can explore with the client what has been happening for him/ her/ them and why he/she/ they are considering coming for counselling. We do not routinely contact GPs but will need permisision to do so if appropriate: that is if we are concerned about health or safety issues. If a person is receiving mental health care from a GP, Cogwheel may need a letter of referral before offering ongoing counselling. Cogwheel has a Child Protection Policy and makes appropriate referrals, if necessary.

As a result of the intial consultation, a way forward will be worked out involving ongoing counselling at Cogwheel, if appropriate, and, if that, is what client would like. Referral to a specialist agency may be more appropriate if, for example, a client has a significant subtance misuse issue. Cogwheel services, in this example, may be beneficial later – that is when addiciion issue has been resolved but underlying issues still need addressing.