At Cogwheel, we believe that counselling can make a difference to anyone navigating the impact of one of the many curveballs that life throws. Whether it is to manage stress, anxiety, low mood or work though grief or relationship challenges, being able to access professional counselling at a convenient time at the weekend can make all the difference. Alongside our affordable service, this new, non-subsidised service could be where change begins for you too.
Why Cogwheel on Saturday?
Our Cogwheel on Saturday service is designed for convenience around the regular working week and aims to keep the waiting times to a minimum. We understand that when you are ready to reach out, you are ready to engage with the work. Cogwheel on Saturday offers the following benefits:
- Reduced wait time
- Allocation to a qualified counsellor
- Convenient central Cambridge location
- No wait between initial assessment and counselling sessions
- Longer term therapy to safely work in depth
What can we help with?
We are a generalist service working with individuals aged 18 and over. We can help with many issues such as:
- Anxiety
- Low mood
- Grief
- Stress
- Relationship difficulties
- Challenging past experiences
You can talk to our team if you have any questions or are unsure whether we are the right service for you. The registration and assessment process will further enable us to understand how we can best support you.
How does it work?
When you register, you will be asked to book a registration phone call with us, provide basic information and complete a small questionnaire.
We will give you more information during the registration phone call and will add you to our waiting list to start the counselling. Your first session will be an assessment where we can help you in understanding what support may be most beneficial at this stage. If everyone agrees, the counselling can start the following week.
Your sessions can be in person in our offices or online through our video conference platform. Each session, including your initial assessment, lasts 50 minutes and is charged at a fixed rate of £69/session.
We believe time is critical to work on painful issues and well engrained patterns that no longer serve us. Therefore, we offer up to one year of weekly sessions, with the possibility of a review and extension if needed.
FAQs
I need help now, what can I do?
It can feel very difficult to reach out and then be told you have to wait for weeks and sometimes months before starting your counselling. However, the waiting time does not have to be a passive period. It can be a time of reflection where you can fine tune your own capacity to cope, self soothe or distract and develop your understanding of what is troubling you. If you are in a crisis however, please do reach out to your GP urgently, call 111 and select the mental health option or ring the Samaritans on 116123. We work at keeping the waiting time as brief as possible.
I am not sure my counsellor is a good fit, what can I do?
The relationship you develop with your counsellor is instrumental to your counselling being a constructive and useful experience. At Cogwheel, our Head of Services reads all assessments and is very attentive to match clients and counsellors in a way that will facilitate good therapeutic work. Counselling is a collaborative endeavour and your counsellor will welcome your concerns and be keen to find alternative ways to support you. We do not routinely offer reallocations, however, please reach out to our team to discuss your concerns and we will support you the best way we can.
What if I can no longer attend on a Saturday?
Schedules can change, we understand this. We will work with you to find alternative availability during the week and look into a reallocation to a different counsellor able to work with you at a time that suits you better. Your existing counsellor will work with you to manage the transition.
What if I can’t make my next session?
Continuity of attendance is important to ensure your counselling is as impactful as possible. However, we appreciate that there may be occasions a session needs to be cancelled. We ask that you give us 48 hours’ notice to cancel a session. It will then be rescheduled to the following week as normal. Unfortunately, if this is not possible and the session is cancelled with less than 48 hours’ notice, it will be charged at the full rate as the slot is reserved for you and cannot be reused.
What if I need to pause my counselling for an extended period of time?
There can be many reasons leading to an interruption in the counselling that was not originally anticipated. Regular attendance is important for the best outcomes in counselling. As a small organisation, Cogwheel cannot facilitate breaks longer than more than 2-3 consecutive weeks. If you need a longer break, your counsellor will support you to work towards an ending. You are welcome to register with us again in the future to resume the work. This may or may not be with the same counsellor.
What if I am based temporarily outside of the UK during my counselling?
New technologies can facilitate connection regardless of distance between two individuals. Counselling does however happen within a context regulated in terms of training requirements, duty of care processes, a legal framework and limitations in terms of insurance cover. Therefore, Cogwheel on Saturday can only offer online sessions when both parties are in the UK at the time of the session.
What can I do if I can no longer pay the agreed rate?
Personal circumstances can change at times. If the cost of Cogwheel on Saturday is no longer manageable, your counsellor will help you pause the work so that you can be transferred to our affordable weekly service. We can then determine a rate that is more manageable and based on your household income and arrange a reallocation to continue the work for up to twenty sessions. It is likely there will be a wait till we can find a suitable appointment and counsellor to work with you.
Is counselling 100% confidential?
What you share with your counsellor is confidential within our organisation. Only allowed personnel can access client records, and this is kept to a strict minimum. Counsellors do discuss their work with their supervisors, who are also bound by confidentiality. This is to make sure the service we offer is of the highest quality. There are, however, important limits to confidentiality. If your counsellor was concerned you may harm yourself or another person, that a child was at risk or that a serious crime has been committed, they would consider breaking confidentiality. Wherever possible, this would be discussed with you first.
What if I want to change how my sessions take place?
Cogwheel on Saturday aims to make it as easy as possible to attend your sessions. Whilst it may be helpful to be consistent with one mode of session delivery, in-person or remote, we know life happens. Moving from online to in-person sessions can sometimes be very beneficial and part of a client’s commitment to change. Provided a private and confidential space where you won’t be overheard is available and there are no concerns around safety, shifting from in-person to online sessions is also possible. If your counsellor is concerned a change may not be in your best interest, they will discuss this with you.
I believe I need a certain type of therapy, can you provide this?
Our counsellors have undergone a variety of training and continue to train and research their field throughout their careers. We are keen to understand and respond to your needs and preferences. Often different ways of working can be used to facilitate the desired changes. Please do let us know what you are looking for and we will work with you to determine what it is that we can offer.
I don’t believe I need a year of therapy. How do I know I am ready to end the counselling?
Your counsellor will check in with you regularly to make sure that your counselling continues to be beneficial to you and to meet your needs. Please do discuss ending with them when you feel you are ready to do so and they will support you to bring the work safely to a close, however long you have worked together. This usually involves looking back at the work and themes addressed, thinking about support in the future and reflecting on what will help maintain the gains made so far.
