The Scottish Government standard states that 90% of people should start their treatment within 18 weeks of referral to psychological therapies.  Public Health Scotland (PHS) provides an update on how long people of all ages waited to start treatment with psychological therapies in NHS Scotland for the past quarter. 

Waiting list for counselling

PHS reports that for the quarter ending March 2024:

·       79.3% of people of all ages started their treatment within 18 weeks of referral, compared to 80.6% of people for the previous quarter, and 80.0% of people for the quarter ending March 2023. The Scottish Government standard states that 90% of people should start their treatment within 18 weeks of referral to psychological therapies.

·       50% of the people of all ages starting treatment started within 4 weeks of referral.

Click here to see th full PHS report 

How long do I have to wait for counselling?

At HDS, there is currently no waiting list for our low-cost counselling service with final year psychodynamic counselling trainees. 

You can access our counselling service without a referral or waiting for an NHS psychological therapy service.

If you’re going through a difficult time for any reason, our counsellors are trained to help you explore your feelings and experiences in a safe, confidential and non-judgemental environment. HDS offers affordable counselling and therapeutic services with our psychodynamically trained counsellors. 

Our Clinical Co-ordinator will be happy to talk through how we can help.

Counselling in Glasgow

Some of our counselling and therapeutic services operate in Glasgow city centre where we have a dedicated counselling room. Our counsellors are also based throughout Scotland.

How much does counselling cost?

We offer two fee options, including an affordable option, which will be discussed with you during your assessment. 

• £50 per session if you wish to work with qualified counsellors in an open-ended way (with you deciding on when you’d like to finish therapy).
• £20 to £30 per session (based on what you can contribute) if you wish to work with trainees for a block of 20 or 40 sessions.  

We currently have appointments available with our low cost therapy service in Glasgow.

Counselling in Ayr

In addition to our services in Glasgow and throughout Scotland, we are now offering in-person sessions with qualified therapists in Ayr on Fridays.  Potential clients interested in counselling sessions in Ayr should complete our online counselling request form.

How do I get counselling?

The first step to booking an appointment is to complete the online counselling request form.  We will discuss with you what you are looking for and find the right counsellor for you.  We’ll send you an email confirming the appointment for your initial session and include a link to further information about what to expect.

Click here to find out more about our HDS counselling services 

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Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)

HDS also works with organisations, large and small, to offer counselling and psychotherapy as part of their Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).  Our counsellors and therapists have broad experience of working with employees in the public, private and third sectors across Scotland.  

Click here to find out more about our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) counselling service