START COUNSELLING

START COUNSELLING

Welcome to the home of counselling in Gloucestershire

1,100+ people supported 2025 | 12,000+ counselling sessions delivered 2025 | 96% found counselling helpful

For more than 40 years, GCS has supported people across the county. Our charity provides high-quality, accessible counselling to help you navigate life’s challenges.

Voices of Our Clients

“I have felt unheard and abused all my life: always in fight mode and just angry. With that amount of trauma comes a huge amount of questions and explosive reactions. My counsellor basically sat with me amongst the daisies while we went right back and addressed each thing. They allowed me to find ways to explore my own feelings, but most of all they listened. As I walk through the empty battlefield now, all I see is bluebells and dragonflies and her voice guides me to the calm.”

Voices of Our Clients

“It has changed my life completely. It took me ten years to seek help and guidance, and is the best thing I did for myself.”

Voices of Our Clients

“It has helped me to manage my own emotions and recognise/communicate my needs to others. My resilience was suffering a lot when I started counselling and since attending, I feel much better equipped to bounce back and tackle challenges in life.”

Voices of Our Clients

“It has given me a sense of consistency of support that I have really needed for my mental health. It has really helped being able to talk honestly in a safe place when I have felt alone. Without it, I would have struggled so much more with my emotions and thoughts. And now I have a better understanding of where my struggles began, so I can keep working on them from there.”

Voices of Our Clients

“It has changed my view of myself quite fundamentally and given me a sense of self-worth. I am only 12 weeks in, but I see that once I have processed what it means for me it will also have beneficial impacts on my relationships with others. A huge thank you to all of you running an invaluable service.”

Voices of Our Clients

“I’m no longer brushed under the carpet: I have a voice and an opinion, which I now have the ability to use. My counsellor was amazing: she really helped me find myself and who I am. I’m still learning but compared to where we started, I know a lot more about myself. So many aspects to my life and with counselling, I learnt how to cope and understand them and why I felt them. I can’t thank my counsellor enough for the help she has provided me with. I will have her on my shoulder during any difficult times ahead.”

Voices of Our Clients

“I found the service invaluable in helping me navigate a really tough time in my life and subsequently explore underlying factors that affect my thought processes and behaviours. My counsellor was always understanding and helped me immensely in exploring whatever I brought to the table.”

Voices of Our Clients

“I feel less blown about by the wind of life. I am more sure of myself, of who I am becoming and of the relationships I want in my life. I listen to myself. I am not afraid to be me or to make choices and decisions which others may not approve of. I realise the shallow depth of many of my relationships, and while accepting these relationships for the way they are, I hope to also move on and connect more meaningfully with new people. I don’t feel as fearful or as desperate to find answers. It’s okay to rock up each day and count my blessings.”

Voices of Our Clients

“Made me feel safe and not alone with thoughts in my mind. Able to feel more confident with how I approach scenarios. Made me feel like I can do things myself without worrying all the time.”

Voices of Our Clients

“Having that calm, safe, comfortable space and being seen, listened to and cared for, gave me strength at a difficult time and more understanding of what l was going through.”

bacp-scaled

Fundraising Regulator badge

cpd Workshop Images (7)