St Vincent’s Counselling Service

 

St. Vincent's Counselling Service offers a lifeline of support for adults navigating mild to moderate mental health and emotional challenges. We provide structured, short-term counselling within a safe, community-based setting in Leeds, completely free of charge.

As part of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, we are dedicated to helping individuals find their path toward wellbeing. Through one-to-one sessions and potential group activities, we support you to explore anxiety, low mood, stress, and other life challenges.

We are here to help you take a step towards a more balanced and supported future.

St Vincent’s Leeds Counselling Service

St Vincent’s Leeds Counselling Service provides structured, short-term counselling support for adults experiencing mild to moderate mental health or emotional wellbeing difficulties.

The service is delivered within a supervised, community-based setting and is free of charge.

Eligibility Criteria

St Vincent’s Counselling Service accepts referrals for one-to-one counselling for:

  • Adults aged 18 and over
  • Individuals living within Leeds, with priority given to those in LS8, LS9, and nearby East Leeds areas (subject to capacity)
  • Those presenting with mild to moderate mental health or emotional wellbeing difficulties 

This may include concerns such as anxiety, low mood, stress, life transitions, relationship difficulties, or social isolation, where risk is assessed as stable.

We welcome referrals for people of all genders.

Referrals

Referrals can be made by recognised professionals and also by individuals wishing to refer themselves.

Referrals are accepted from:

  • Social prescribers 
  • GP practices 
  • Support workers 
  • Partner organisations 
  • Other statutory or voluntary sector professionals 
  • Individuals wishing to self-refer 

All referrals, including self-referrals, are subject to an initial screening process to confirm eligibility and suitability for the service.

Self-referral

We understand that reaching out for support can feel difficult, and you are welcome to refer yourself if you feel this service may be appropriate for your needs.

Self-referrals should reflect the same eligibility criteria outlined above, particularly in relation to mild to moderate mental health needs and stable risk.

To self-refer, please complete our referral form or contact us directly on 07979 109 077.

 

Referrals not suitable for this service

As a small, trainee-led service, we are unable to accept referrals where there is:

  • Active suicidal ideation or recent suicide attempts 
  • Ongoing or severe self-harm 
  • Acute mental health crisis 
  • Unmanaged severe mental illness or psychosis 
  • Active substance misuse without engagement in treatment  
  • Current domestic abuse where there is ongoing risk 

In these situations, referral to specialist or crisis-level services is advised.

What to expect next

We want you to feel clear about what to expect before getting in touch.

Our waiting lists vary in length, so the time you wait will depend on demand and current service capacity. You will receive a referral acknowledgement confirming that your request has been received and added to the waiting list.

We will contact you as soon as possible to complete an initial referral call. This is a brief telephone screening to discuss your referral and confirm whether we are a suitable service for you at this time. If appropriate, you will then be booked in for an initial appointment or 'suitabilty assessment’ before starting counselling.

We will always try to contact you more than once, so once you have submitted a request for service, please keep an eye out for missed calls and texts. 

Counselling offers a safe and confidential space to talk through issues and concerns with a trained counsellor. In order for it to be effective, building a trusting relationship through regular attendance and engagement is important.

From our experience, some issues and experiences can make it difficult for counselling to be safe or effective within a short-term, trainee-led service. If any of the following apply, counselling may not be the right approach for you at this time. In these cases, we would recommend contacting your GP or accessing more specialist support.

As a small service, we are unable to accept requests for support if:

  • You are actively suicidal and/or have attempted to end your life in the last six months 
  • You are regularly or severely self-harming and may require crisis or emergency healthcare support 
  • You are experiencing an acute mental health crisis 
  • You are experiencing unmanaged severe mental health conditions (such as psychosis, severe depression, severe OCD, or unstable bipolar symptoms) 
  • You have had an emergency hospital admission related to your mental health in the last six months 
  • You are currently working with a Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) or receiving secondary mental health services 
  • Your primary difficulty is substance misuse and you are currently using substances without support 
  • You currently pose a high risk of harm to yourself or others 
  • You are currently seeing another counsellor 

We recognise that these situations require more specialist or intensive support, and we would encourage you to seek help through your GP or appropriate services.

Get urgent help

If you feel at immediate risk or unsafe, please do not wait:

  • Call 999 for emergency services 
  • Call 111 for urgent NHS mental health support 
  • Contact your GP for same-day support 

If we are not the right service

If we are unable to offer support, we will aim to guide you towards more appropriate services.

You may wish to access:

Crisis & urgent support

Safety & specialist support

Ongoing mental health support

Client Referral Form

  

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