What is counselling ?
Counsellors are trained to listen to what is important to you; your thoughts, feelings and concerns and to understand them, without judgement and from your perspective.
How do I get free counselling ?
If you live in Bedford Borough or North Central Beds and you are aged 13 – 25 you can call, text or email us to register for up to 12 sessions of free, confidential counselling.
Where do I go for counselling ?
We have a counselling centre in Bedford not far from the town centre and the bus station. You can also access counselling from home via zoom or telephone.
What we offer...
Face to Face Counselling
Online Counselling
Telephone Counselling
How does counselling work ?
Talking things through with a counsellor who is not directly involved in the problems you may have can help you feel clearer and more confident about your choices moving forward. Counsellors do not give advice but may offer a different perspective for you to consider as you work together to explore and understand the meaning of what is important to you; your thoughts, feelings and concerns.
Mission Statement
Bedfordshire Open Door is committed to offering an accessible, confidential and free professional counselling service to young people living in Bedfordshire. Our aim is to enable young people to manage their own lives with confidence and safety.
What can I talk about in counselling?
You can talk about anything you like, what is important to you is important to us. That is the joy of the therapeutic relationship. You may have come to counselling for a specific problem to let someone else help you make sense of things, but whatever is taking up your attention, the counsellor is there to think with you, about you.
Is counselling confidential?
It may also be that you and your counsellor decide together that working with other services, professionals, parents/carers would be of further benefit/support to you. In these circumstances your counsellor will always ask you for your permission first.
Why is confidentiality important?
What if I miss a session or need to cancel?
We ask for 24 hours’ notice to cancel your appointment. You will need to contact us as soon as you know you are unable to attend a session and we will inform your counsellor. You can text, phone or email us. We do understand that you may need to cancel an appointment. Please be aware that we can accept up to 3 cancellations during your 12-session block of counselling with us.
We have lots of people wanting counselling so if you miss 3 counselling sessions without 24 hours’ notice (DNA), we will be unable to hold the session open for you and it will be offered to someone else on the waiting list.
About Bedfordshire Open Door
Bedfordshire Open Door is a friendly and welcoming counselling service for young people. We are a registered charity and have been established for over 25 years supporting our local communities. We have a team of experienced counsellors who offer services from our counselling centre in Bedford and in a number of local schools, hostels and community venues.
We are registered and accredited with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).
NEW REFERRALS
We are now open to new registrations.
DROP IN / ONE OFF SESSIONS
If you would like a one off / drop in session then please call us or text to discuss availability of appointments.
