Featured Charity of the Month
The Cancer Counselling Trust
The Cancer Counselling Trust is the only national charity with the remit to provide free, specialist counselling for those affected by cancer and their family and friends. It provides face-to-face counselling for anyone able to travel to Islington. For those unable to come to their offices, they offer a telephone counselling service. They are a small charity but are passionate about the work they do and with only 3 paid part-time members of staff there is an emphasis on running the organisation efficiently.
A cancer diagnosis is a frightening and isolating experience. It can place an enormous strain on relationships, leading in some cases to family breakdown. Cancer issues regularly make the headlines and the general public assume that people suffering from cancer get all the help they need. This isn’t true. The World Health Organisation and NICE guidelines recommend that counselling should be part of the care package for patients and families facing cancer. However, the waiting list on the NHS, even for general counselling, is 6-9 months, which is highly inadequate when having to deal with the very pressing needs of those with cancer.
CCT has a highly flexible approach. Unlike most free counselling services, they can see all those who contact them usually within a week. All their counsellors have at least 15 years’ experience of working with cancer issues and they are proud to have been able to establish a reputation for excellence: They receive referrals from many different sources, not only from the main cancer charities but from oncology teams, individual Macmillan nurses, GPs, former clients, their website and recommendations contained in many recent publications.
They help people with terminal cancer, people undergoing treatment, and people who have recovered from the disease but need support to cope with the new challenges and fears of life after cancer. They can see couples, relatives and close friends, both before and after bereavement. At present, because of limitations on funds, they generally offer a maximum of nine sessions to clients, although they sometimes increase this where the client is clearly in need of additional support, particularly in cases of terminal cancer.
Counselling has a proven and significant role to play in helping people affected by cancer adjust to the new situation, enjoy better communication with health professionals and make difficult decisions in relation to their treatment and their families. All CCT clients complete an evaluation form at the end of their sessions and overwhelmingly they report a significant increase in well-being as a result of their experience at The Cancer Counselling Trust.
If you would like to support The Cancer Counselling Trust you can donate money via their website www.cctrust.org.uk or by going to www.justgiving.com/cancercounselling.
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