For organisations
Counselling support for your team
A registered counsellor available to your staff each month, in English or Afrikaans, online or in person in the Western Cape.
Working with one counsellor
Most employee support services go largely unused. In my experience the reason is familiarity. It is difficult to phone an unfamiliar number and explain yourself to a stranger, particularly when you are already struggling.
Working with one counsellor changes that. Your staff meet me first, in a workshop or an introduction session. When they need a session later, they are contacting someone they have already met.
What a retainer includes
You set aside a number of hours each month and use them as your organisation needs. The mix can change from month to month.
Counselling sessions for staff
Confidential one-to-one sessions, booked directly by your staff, online or in person. Sessions are drawn from your monthly hours, so there is no claims process and no per-session admin.
Workshops and talks
Psycho-educational sessions on stress management, burnout, communication, conflict, and work-life balance. Practical and conversational, and shaped around what your team is dealing with.
Support for line managers
Short sessions for line managers on noticing when someone is struggling, approaching the conversation, and knowing when to refer on.
Support after a difficult event
After a death, a retrenchment, or a serious incident, I can provide individual counselling support to the staff affected.
How it works
- A short conversation. Twenty minutes to understand your organisation and what has prompted the enquiry. There is no charge for this conversation.
- A proposal. A written recommendation of monthly hours and services, with a fixed monthly fee.
- An introduction. Usually a workshop or team session, so that your staff meet me before they need a session.
- Ongoing support. Sessions booked directly by staff, together with any group work you have planned. You receive monthly usage figures.
Fees
Retainers are quoted to your organisation, based on the hours you would like available each month. Most are between R6,000 and R15,000 per month, on a monthly basis with a month's notice on either side.
Workshops and talks can also be booked on their own. These are quoted separately, according to the length of the session and the number of people attending.
Confidentiality, stated plainly
What an employee discusses in a session stays between us. Your organisation receives the number of sessions used each month, and nothing else. No names, no content, no attendance lists.
There are three exceptions, which apply to all counselling in South Africa and which I explain to every client at the start: an imminent risk to someone's life or safety; a child at risk of harm, which I am required by law to report; and a court order.
I hold client records as an independent practitioner, not on your organisation's behalf. I do not take part in disciplinary processes or grievance investigations, and I do not act as a designated contact for complaints. Where an employee raises something of that kind, I support the person, and your own process runs separately.
What I do, and what I refer on
I am registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa as a Registered Counsellor. I offer supportive counselling, psycho-education, screening, and containment.
Where someone needs psychotherapy, a psychological assessment, a diagnosis, or psychiatric care, I refer them to a psychologist or psychiatrist. I have a referral partner in place for this.
Questions organisations ask
We already have an employee assistance programme. Why would we add this?
Many organisations do, and most find take-up is low. The difference here is familiarity. Your staff will have met me in a workshop or an introduction session, so booking a session means contacting someone they already know. Some organisations keep both, and use each for what it does well.
Will our staff actually use it?
Usage builds slowly, and depends a great deal on how the service is introduced. A workshop or team session early on tends to help more than internal communication does. I cannot promise particular numbers, and would not want to.
What does the company get told?
Nothing that identifies anyone. You would receive usage in aggregate — how many sessions were used in the month — and nothing about who attended or what was discussed. There are narrow limits to confidentiality that apply to all counselling in South Africa, and I set those out in full below rather than promising an absolute I cannot keep.
What does it cost?
Retainers are quoted to your organisation, based on the hours you would like available each month. Most are between R6,000 and R15,000 per month. Workshops and talks can also be booked on their own, and are quoted separately according to the length of the session and the number of people attending.
What if someone needs more help than counselling can provide?
I am a Registered Counsellor, which means I work with the everyday difficulties people face and provide support, psycho-education and containment. Where someone needs psychotherapy, a formal assessment, a diagnosis or psychiatric care, I refer them on to a psychologist or psychiatrist. That referral pathway is named and in place before any contract starts.
How long is the commitment?
Arrangements are monthly, with a month’s notice on either side. Many organisations start with a single workshop and decide from there.
Start a conversation
Tell me a little about your organisation and I will be in touch within one business day to arrange a short call. There is no cost to that conversation.
If you prefer to email directly, my contact details are here.
Send an enquiry
I reply within one business day.