Face to Face

How do I book an appointment?

• You can book an appointment for face to face counselling by contacting us here.
• Your initial appointment will be a telephone assessment, this lasts for around 40 minutes, where we will take some information and find out how things have been.
• A text or email will be sent to offer your initial appointment. Please respond to agree this. It may go to junk mail so have a check there.

Initial appointment

• During the initial appointment we will ask you some questions about how you are coping at the moment. We will discuss with you if face to face work is the best for you.
• We will ask you to complete a support contract with your name, contact details, date of birth, and G.P name and number. If we feel you are at risk of harm to yourself or someone else we will use this information to contact those who can help you and let them know that you are in need of extra care. We will always try to talk to you about this first. See our privacy notice.

What happens next?

• After your assessment appointment you will be assigned a counsellor. This will be the same person every week.
• They will contact you by text to arrange your first appointment.
• At the moment there is a wait of around 2 months after an initial appointment to begin working with a counsellor
• If you need to cancel or rearrange a session, please inform your counsellor by text message 24 hours in advance where possible. This is important as some of our counselling team are volunteers and come in especially to see their clients.

Where do I go for face-to-face appointments?

• Alternatives are based in Number 10, 10 Constitution Road, Dundee, DD1 1LL. Please see below an image of the front of the building
• Our counselling rooms and office are based in a building alongside other services so please notify reception when you arrive of the name of your support worker you are away to see and that they are from Alternatives.

What should I expect when I come for a face to face appointment?

You will arrive in the reception area, where you will be asked to sign in and sign out.

• If you are not well before your appointment please text your counsellor, don’t arrive if you are unwell in any way.
• Please arrive on time for your appointment.
• When you arrive your counsellor will come up to reception to meet with you.

Between session contact and cancellations

• You can contact your counsellor through text to arrange appointments and they will reply during working hours.
• We understand that there are times when appointments need to be rescheduled, however out of respect for those on our waiting list we ask that you attend whenever possible. If you reschedule frequently we will discuss this with you and this may affect the number of sessions you can receive.

Our Rescue Package has some links to apps which can also be helpful after a session.

Your voice

My counsellor was very supportive and understanding. I can’t express how much support she gave me.

April 2020