Numbers
Clients who are being counselled elsewhere are not normally accepted, except after close consultation with the other party involved. Where the client is referred by a GP, psychiatrist, minister or other agency, the counsellor seeks to work in collaboration where possible. The centre has developed a clear internal and external supervision system and a solid administrative structure. There is no charge for the counselling service, although donations are encouraged, the Manna House estimates it costs a minimum of £15 for each session. All that is asked for is a £5 administration fee upon application for counselling. Financing the counselling department continues to be a challenge, but for the past nine years, the centre has received a grant from Northampton Borough Council. More recently the Northamptonshire County Council has granted funding which started in 2005. Other sources of funding include local churches, individuals, counsellee donations, charitable trusts, supervision and course fees and rent from the centre's flats.
The counselling project began with a "Godly coincidence" in 1984. The Manna House Management Committee were looking for help with training just as Crusade for World Revival (CWR) were preparing to run a trial of their new counselling course. Amazingly (the late) Selwyn Hughes and Trevor Partridge, then Directors of CWR, personally taught the first group of eight counsellors in Northampton. Each year since then the Manna House has trained new groups of potential counsellors, thus generating an ever-growing team with very different life experiences, areas of interest and skills to meet the wide range of needs that are encountered.
Over the last few years there has been a clear desire to make the service more accessible to people in the county. Therefore in 1995 the first satellite clinic was opened in Kettering, a town twelve miles to the north east of Northampton, and in September 1999 a second satellite was opened in Brixworth, a large village six miles to the north. Both have been developed in partnership with local churches and it is hoped that five or six others will follow in years to come.
The most recent opportunity for one of our counsellors has been to go one day a week into Her Majesty's Prison, Wellingborough. Looking to help long term inmates deal with some of the emotional and behavioural problems is challenging yet rewarding work. There is a possibility that this contract may be extended to two days a week. Some contract work is also ongoing in two GP surgeries and a number of schools in the County through the Stonewalls Project. The service also undertakes Child Protection Interviews for a relief agency in the area. Recently some Occupation Health counselling has been undertaken for a company in the area.