Counselling

Counselling gives you the opportunity to talk to someone outside your normal circle of friends and family about something that is causing serious emotional distress.

Meningitis Trust counselling is provided by an experienced professional who can offer a safe confidential place to explore your thoughts and feelings in confidence, without feeling threatened or judged.

Our counselling service has been operating since 1999 and now we have over 60 counsellors across the UK. There is no waiting list and the service is completely free. We are the only meningitis charity in the UK offering a professional counselling service to people who have been through an experience of meningitis, either directly or indirectly.

Why do we offer counselling?

Counselling can be a lifeline, as the trauma caused by meningitis can vary from person to person. Regardless of the outcome of the disease, the experience can be felt throughout families and can have an effect on many areas of your life. For this reason, we provide tailored support, whenever it’s needed.

Who can benefit from counselling?

If you are aged 16 and over and have had a direct or indirect experience of meningitis, you can be referred to our counselling service.

How do we provide counselling?

Counselling is provided free, throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. To be referred to a counsellor we will need to see written confirmation of the diagnosis of meningitis.  This can be a letter from the GP, or other health care professional involved in providing care or a hospital discharge note.

Our counsellors receive training and regular updates from the Trust and understand the impact of the disease and the problems it can cause. All our counsellors are members of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy or equivalent organisation and receive independent supervision to support their work.

Your counselling sessions will normally take place in the counsellor’s own practice room at a regular pre-arranged time, although telephone counselling and sessions in your home may also be offered if appropriate and possible. You will be offered an assessment session and then six more 50 minute sessions. More may be made available if needed.

How can I access the counselling service?

If you would like to talk to someone about the service please call our freephone 24-hour nurse-led helpline on 0808 80 10 388 or fill out an enquiry form. A member of the services team will call or email you back to discuss the service in more detail.

Joanne Stanley’s speaks about her daughter, Lily, who had pneumococcal meningitis:

“Counselling helped me come to terms with what happened to my daughter and what her needs may be in the future. It also helped explain what was happening to my son  who was two and a half at the time. Meningitis affects many more people than just the person who contracts it.”