From early 2020, Who Cares? Scotland, with support from the Scottish Government and a team of brilliant accredited counsellors, created a counselling service to improve the access to mental health support that people were able to access during the Covid-19 pandemic.

We worked with a range of counsellors from across Scotland who came from a variety of disciplines within the counselling sector. We provided at least eight sessions of counselling at no cost, to over one hundred Care Experienced people from across Scotland and four different languages.

We wanted people to get support quickly and to have choice over the kind of counselling that they could receive. The service ran over two different periods, with an extension of the service operating from January 2021 to May 2021.

We are currently working with an independent researcher to evaluate the service and the impact on the Care Experienced community. This research will be available soon and we hope it will allow for discussions on how we can improve mental health provision for Care Experienced people.

The service is now closed to new referrals. If you or someone you’re supporting would like support in accessing mental health support, we would suggest getting in touch with one of the following services.

The Tom Allan Centre - https://www.crossreach.org.uk/our-locations/tom-allan-centre
Future Pathways - https://future-pathways.co.uk
The Samaritans
Mind
Young Minds (For young people in the UK. For urgent help, contact the Young Minds Crisis Messenger by texting YM to 85258)
Breathing Space