Counselling Services

The Rainbow Project houses the only gay/bisexual-male-specific counselling service currently available in Northern Ireland.

All of our counsellors identify as gay/bisexual themselves.

Our services include:

• One-to-one counselling: for gay/bisexual men or men unsure about their sexual orientation.

• Counselling for young men: we have a Young Men's Counsellor who works with those aged 14 years and over.

• Couple Counselling: for male couples wanting to explore relationship issues and problems.

• Short-term family support and/or mediation: support for the parents/carers of a gay/bisexual child, or the spouse of a gay/bisexual man.

• Groupwork & workshops: we run a number of personal development courses, groups and workshops details of which can be found here.

How to make an appointment

You can make an appointment by calling our Belfast Office and asking to speak to one of the counsellors. Simple as that. Click here to contact us.

We actively encourage appropriate third parties (e.g. parents/carers, teachers, social workers, GPs, youth workers, etc) to facilitate referrals for young people under the age of 18 years.

Who are the counsellors?

All our counsellors identify as gay/bisexual themselves and hold professional qualifications in counselling/psychotherapy and have significant experience.

Counselling services at The Rainbow Project are not delivered by student or trainee counsellors. Moreover, we do not believe that being gay/bisexual in itself qualifies a counsellor to provide counselling. For that reason, we require our counsellors to have specific training and experience of working with sexual minority clients (i.e. lesbian, gay and bisexual people).

All of our counsellors are accredited, or working towards accreditation, with either the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) or the Irish Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (IACP). This means that they are required to be appropriately trained and experienced to provide counselling, that they adhere to a Code of Ethics that protects a client from harm, and that they are accountable for their practice to a professional body who has the power to impose sanctions if necessary.

Finally, our counsellors are fully insured to practice and receive on-going training and external, independent supervision.

How much does counselling cost?

It's free to anyone under the age of 18 years, or those who are unable to pay due to financial circumstances. For those who have a regular income, we seek a small donation for the counselling services provided.

Weekly Income	Fee	Weekly Income	Fee
£0.00 - £65.00	£2	£201.00 - £250.00	£15
£66.00 - £100.00	£5	£251.00 - £300.00	£20
£101.00 - £150.00	£7	£301.00 - £350.00	£25
£151.00 - £200.00	£10	£350.00 plus	£30

PLEASE NOTE: if you are unable to pay for counselling, we will still be able to offer you counselling at The Rainbow Project.

The money you donate for your counselling sessions is used to help us run other programmes for gay/bisexual men in the community.

What if The Rainbow Project is not for me?

Deciding to see a counsellor is a big step. Finding the right counsellor for you is extremely important. During your initial appointment with one of our counsellors, it is your opportunity to find out more about our service and whether it is suited to your needs. If you decide that counselling at The Rainbow Project is not for you, we will help you to access other counselling/support services that may be more appropriate to your needs.

Finding a counsellor who will be sexuality-affirmative can be made easier by checking out LGBTherapy - a site which lists gay/gay-friendly therapists. You can also check out PinkTherapy who have a directory of affirmative therapists.

You may find it helpful asking some of the questions listed here of your prospective therapist. The therapist may not always answer the question, but you will get a sense of how they respond to you, even if you don't get a direct answer.

*It was good talking to someone who knows where you're coming from."

"I can't really describe what I got from counselling, all I know is that I feel freer inside myself and a lot better and more calm."

"It helped me to feel good about being bisexual."