Counselling Service FAQs

Our Community Counselling Service is funded through the NHS, which means we have a legal obligation to collect and submit certain data related to you. However, we want to reassure you that none of the content of your sessions is disclosed to NHS England.

We are legally required to share the following information with the NHS:

• Date of Birth
• Gender (if stated)
• Ethnicity (if stated)
• Postcode
• Your GP Practice
• Referral Date
• Dates of sessions and whether you attended

We can assure you that any data we hold as a result of you accessing our services does not go onto your medical record.

Additionally, we do not share any details about what you have discussed in your sessions.

For more information on how we collect, store, and share your data, please see our Privacy Policy.

If you wish to opt out of your data being used for research and planning purposes once it reaches NHS England, please visit National Data Opt-Out.

Different therapies work for different people at different times.

Community counselling can work well for children and young people who feel able to open-up to a trained counsellor about things that may be quite personal or difficult for them to talk about, including their feelings and behaviour. Creative therapies may be more suitable for those who find it easier to understand and express themselves through creative art forms, such as play or drama with a trained therapist. 

If you’re still unsure, please don’t worry! As part of their assessment process, Hertfordshire Mind Network (community counselling provider) and Signpost (creative therapies provider) will consider which type of therapy would be most suitable for a child or young person’s needs.

Make a referral for:

• Community counselling from Hertfordshire Mind Network.

Make a referral

• *Creative therapies from Signpost 

Make a referral

*Creative therapies is a newly funded service in Hertfordshire from 1 April 2025, with a limited number of funded spaces available for children and young people who might benefit from it.

Hertfordshire’s CYPMHS system will be closely monitoring demand for creative therapies against Signpost’s capacity, as well as the outcomes for the children and young people who use this new service.

Please bear with us during this information-gathering period and please also ensure that children, young people and families are aware of and using the wide range of other Herts CYPMHS whilst they are waiting: www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/youthmentalhealth

Hertfordshire has developed some guidance for young people, parents and carers about reasonable adjustments. It encourages them to speak to services about how small changes might help children and young people to gain the most benefit from mental health services.

The guide, which is available at the HertsHub and as a PDF includes information about what reasonable adjustments are, the law and some ideas about the types of changes that might be helpful and questions to ask.

The guidance has been developed in partnership with system partners, parents/carers and young people. Colleagues at the Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust SEND MHST kindly allowed their friendly character “Pandy” to be used throughout the guide on a journey with a service, from before their first appointment to moving on from a service.

You can read the guidance in the Reasonable adjustments topic at the HertsHub here. 

How we can support you

We want everyone to feel comfortable accessing our services and to get the greatest possible benefit from the support we provide.

If you are thinking about using our services – or are already receiving support from us- please get in touch if there is anything we could do differently to support you. We would be happy to talk with you about any adjustments that might help, whether before your first appointment or at any point while you are using our services.

You do not need to know exactly what adjustment you require before contacting us. We can discuss your needs and preferences with you and explore together what might be helpful.

Please contact us to talk about how we can support you.