Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Hopefully this list of FAQs should answer any questions you have about our counselling service. If your question is not answered here, please get in touch.

Counselling

What is BACP/IACP and why are they important?
BACP is the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy, and IACP is the Irish equivalent. All Rainbow Project counsellors are registered psychological therapists with either BACP or IACP which ensures that our counsellors are appropriately qualified and experienced, and adhere to a Code of Ethics that protects the public from harm.

What is Counselling?

Counselling offers an opportunity to consider issues that concern you, in confidence.  It is a therapeutic approach that seeks to help you to explore and understand current difficulties and to make choices in your life.  Counselling aims to help individuals take responsibility for their own decisions, become more aware of their personal resources, more skilled at coping with difficulties and thus more self reliant.   

What is the purpose and aim of The Rainbow Project's Counselling service?

The service provides an opportunity for all men who identify as gay, bisexual, unsure, or non-heterosexual to access professional therapeutic counselling so that they may better develop and fulfil their personal, academic and professional potential. The service is sexuality-affirmative, promoting a positive view of homosexuality and bisexuality, valuing non-heterosexual orientations as equally positive to heterosexual orientations.

Why might I need counselling?

Young people and men use the Counselling Service for a range of reasons. Often they bring issues that friends, family or colleagues are not best able to help with and when thinking/talking with someone outside their immediate network may be useful. It can be difficult to define what issues people bring to counselling - broad 'headings' include: self-esteem problems; depression; relationship difficulties; problems around eating; unhealthy coping mechanisms; anxiety and stress around personal or academic issues; loss and so on. Sometimes people talk about coming out, what it is like being gay/bisexual, concers or fears about sex, homophobic bullying at school or work, etc. It is also important to remember that it is not necessary to have an "issue" or "problem" to attend counselling. In fact, many gay and bisexual men use our counselling service for personal development reasons.

How does counselling work?

Counselling can enable you to make sense of events or experiences and explore options for change by providing a specific opportunity where you will be respected. Working with a counsellor differs from, for example, seeing a GP or other professional, who you can expect to advise, instruct or direct you.  In counselling much time is spent helping you to understand how you experience life. Through reflecting, clarifying, elaborating you can gain a clearer awareness of who you are and what you do; if you have a clearer understanding of yourself and your patterns, you can live more choiceful, realistic and satisfying lives, taking responsibility for your feelings and behaviour. Counselling helps raise your awareness to patterns, themes and feelings that recur from your early days that may be impacting on your present. Counselling can help you to focus on and understand more clearly the issues that concern you. By respecting your values, choices and lifestyle, the counsellor can work together with you towards making choices or changes that you feel are right for you.

What kind of counselling do you do?
We offer counselling on a one-to-one basis, group work, couples, and family counselling. We use a range of approaches, including person-centred, psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioural, and integrative, which will be discussed at your initial session.

Can I refer myself?
All our services are self-referral. We encourage young people under the age of 18 years to inform an appropriate adult that they are attending counselling.

Can I make an appointment for someone else?
No. It is important that clients make the voluntary personal choice to attend. For young people, under the age of 18 years, self-referrals are accepted but we proactively encourage appropriate third parties (e.g. parents/carers, social workers, teachers, GPs, etc) to facilitate a referral on behalf of a young person.

How much choice will I have regarding which counsellor I see?
We have a small team of counsellors who work for The Rainbow Project. Your counsellor will be a gay or bisexual man. It is not possible to see a counsellor whom you know personally. You can change or see a different counsellor at any time and we will try as much as possible to get you an appointment with a counsellor trained in the model of your choice.

What will happen at the initial appointment?
The initial appointment is an opportunity for the counsellor to learn more about why you have decided to come for counselling, and for him to make a decision about whether or not he can help. It is also your opportunity to find out more about counselling at The Rainbow Project, and to decide whether or not it is for you. If you make the decision that counselling at The Rainbow Project is not for you, the counsellor will help you access other support services that might be more appropriate.

How many sessions will I get?
If, after an initial consultation, you decide that counselling at The Rainbow Project is right for you, you will be offered initially six 60-minute sessions on a weekly basis. However, you and your counsellor many decide to continue working on a medium- or longer-term basis depending on the reasons why you are seeking counselling.

What is your theoretical orientation?
Our counsellors come from a range of theoretical backgrounds and orientations. If there is one that you would particularly like to work with, please mention this when making your initial appointment. All of our counsellors work from a sexuality-affirmative model of therapy.

Can I have counselling in the evenings or weekends?
Counselling sessions are available during normal office hours (Monday-Friday, 10pm - 5pm). We may be able to offer some evening appointments. In exceptional circumstances, weekend appointments may also be available.

Am I too young to use your counselling service?
We work with young men aged 14 years and over, and have a Young Men's Counsellor with whom you can make an appointment with.

Will I become dependent on a counsellor?
No. The types of counselling used by the service encourage clients to take control of their own lives. You may choose to rely on the counsellor for a bit, but you will not be encouraged to become dependent. Counsellors aim to make the client independent of them; the aim is for you to become self-motivated and empowered.

Are your services confidential?
We have a confidentiality policy that will be explained to you when you first come to The Rainbow Project. Anything that you talk about will remain between you and your counsellor, however, there are some exceptions to this which we will explain at your first appointment.

Will counselling help?
There are no guarantees that counselling will help everybody, but it does seem to offer help to the majority so is worth a try. Feedback from clients indicates that they find counselling useful. We currently monitor the effectiveness of counselling using a recognised research tool known as CORE, the result of which shows that clients' wellbing improves significantly with counselling. Your counsellor will always review your sessions with you every so often to make sure that counselling is helping, and if you decide that it no longer is helpling, we will assist you in finding alternative support which may be more appropriate.

Volunteering, Practice Placements & Trainee Counsellors

Do you offer clinical practice placements to trainee counsellors?
No. Because of the specialised nature of our work, we are unable to offer trainees counselling placements.

Can I volunteer to do counselling work?
Anyone wishing to become a volunteer counsellor with The Rainbow Project must meet our selection criteria which is exactly the same for full-time members of staff. Further details are available from the Counselling Manager.