Our counselling service is here to support you; whether you’re currently serving, a veteran, or an immediate family member over the age of 16. When your mental health has been affected by the unique challenges of policing, we have several ways we can help.
You might find counselling helpful if you’re dealing with things like:
- Processing and coping with traumatic incidents from your policing role
- Coming to terms with being injured on duty
- Adjusting to physical or psychological changes after an injury
- Police work-related stress
- The ongoing impact of the experiences you’ve had while serving
What this means for you: You’ll have a safe, confidential space to talk things through with a trained professional who understands the impact policing can have and who is there to support you without judgement.
Understanding How Counselling Can Help
Support for You and Your Family
Counselling can also support you with:
- Navigating the ill health retirement or injury on duty process
- Helping your partner or adult children understand what you’re going through
- Supporting your family if they are experiencing the impact of your policing role, including vicarious trauma
- What this means for you: You don’t have to carry this on your own — support is available for both you and the people close to you.
How Counselling Fits with Other Support
Our service is designed to work alongside support already available through the NHS, your force’s Occupational Health team, or Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).
You may be asked whether you’ve accessed these services, and if you’re still serving, you might be guided to use your force’s support first.
What this means for you: We aim to complement existing support — making sure you get the right help, in the right place, at the right time.
If Your Needs Aren’t Linked to Policing
Our services are focused on supporting harm caused by your policing role.
This means we’re not able to provide support for:
- Issues unrelated to policing
- Psychiatric treatment
- Residential or private treatment programmes
- Individual counselling reports
What this means for you: If your situation isn’t linked to policing, we’ll do our best to help point you towards other services that may be more appropriate.
Types of Support we offer
We offer different types of counselling depending on your needs, which you can discuss with us in confidence.
Guided Self-Help
A structured approach often used for anxiety, depression, and panic.
What this means for you: You’ll work with a therapist to understand what’s going on and learn practical tools you can continue using long after the sessions finish.
Counselling (Talking Therapy)
Counselling is a space where you can talk openly with a trained professional who will listen, support you, and help you make sense of what you’re experiencing.
What this means for you: You’ll be heard without judgement, supported at your pace, and helped to find your own way forward.
Looking for more information?
If you’re unsure what support might be right for you, or you’d like to talk things through, we’re here to help. What this means for you: You don’t need to have everything figured out, you can simply reach out and have a conversation.
Call us on 0300 012 0030 and ask to speak to the welfare team or Click the button to complete the form.
Types of Therapy
You can find more information about the different types of therapy available on our dedicated pages.
