Relationship Support

Our relationship support service is for couples who are experiencing difficulties in their relationships. Below are just some of the challenges that can have an impact on couples:

• communication issues
• sexual difficulties
• parenting
• blended families
• infertility
• personal loss
• retirement
• redundancy

Sometimes issues can be resolved within the relationship, and other times, it can feel more difficult to find a way forward. We are here to help you understand what may be affecting your relationship, so you can decide if you want to make changes.

No matter what your circumstances, we can help you individually, together, or both. If you choose to seek counselling as an individual seeking relationship support, please visit our Individual Counselling page.

Please note that our relationship support service does not extend to family therapy. If you are looking for family therapy, please visit The Association for Family Therapy and Systemic Practice for more information.

How counselling can help your relationship

Counselling takes place in a safe, confidential environment in our offices or can be offered remotely via Teams. We will do our best to meet your preferences, but please note that remote sessions are subject to availability at the time.

These sessions can provide space to reflect, together with your counsellor, on the relationship difficulties you are currently experiencing.

Our counsellors

Our counsellors are trained to listen and respond in a non-judgmental and unbiased way. You will see your counsellor for regular weekly sessions and the relationship you build is an important part of your work together. The confidential space they offer creates the opportunity for you to feel safe to explore what has brought you to counselling.

Our team of relationship counsellors all hold a counselling qualification alongside a further qualification in couples work. All of our counsellors undergo a rigorous selection process and receive regular clinical supervision.

Professionalism

We are an organisational member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). As a member, this means that Basingstoke Counselling Service is a regulated, professional organisation whose work is within an ethical framework for good practice.

The counselling process

It is important that this is a joint process and therefore both of you need to be committed to enter into relationship counselling. Just reaching this stage can, of course, take time.

Once you are both comfortable with moving forward with relationship counselling, and have sent in your application form, you will be allocated a counsellor for your sessions. Relationship counselling takes place on a weekly basis for 50-minute sessions for as long as you and your counsellor together think is beneficial.

You may find at times that relationship counselling can be difficult or uncomfortable. It is not always easy to know what to expect or how to proceed when you are given time to talk about your relationship. Let your counsellor know how you are feeling and raise any concerns you have, so your counsellor can help to address these.

Fees and appointments

The fee for relationship counselling sessions is based upon both clients’ annual income. Income comprises all financial interests including salary, pensions and income from investments. This fee is discussed and set in the initial counselling session, but clients are asked to detail this information on their initial application form.

Fees are set using the following parameters:

• For couples with a joint annual income of up to £60,000, the minimum fee of £60 per session applies.
• For couples with a joint annual income of between £60,000 and £120,000 the fee would mirror the couple’s income, e.g. a joint annual income of £75,000 correlates to a fee of £75 per session.
• For couples with a joint annual income above £120,000, the maximum fee of £120 applies.

To get the most from your sessions, continuity is important. Therefore, once your counselling sessions have begun, a commitment is made by both counsellor and couple to attend on a regular basis. In light of this, payment is required for all planned sessions, whether or not you are able to attend.

We are a registered charity (no. 1197373) and do not receive any Government funding, so we rely on the fees our clients pay to continue providing this valuable service.