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Counselling

What is the counselling service?

We are a specialist domestic and sexual violence service offering counselling to women age 16 + who have been affected by domestic/sexual abuse. Through counselling women have the chance to work through their issues around domestic and/or sexual violence that might be causing anxiety and holding them backin their lives.

Counselling provides a space to explore issues in order to find a more fulfilling way of living. Once things are looked at in counselling and are brought into the open in a safe way they often become more manageable and have less power to negatively influence or hurt.

 Who is it for?

 We work with women who have experienced domestic/sexual abuse now or in the past as children. We offer an assessment session followed by up to 16 free weekly sessions of 50 minutes each.

As well as providing face to face counselling we offer a range of group work options:

Confidence Building Workshops - these run over 5 weeks and are delivered regularly four times a year. Confidence Building allows women to come together as a group to make friends, share experiences and start to re build their confidence and self esteem in a supportive environment.

Therapeutic Group - this group enables women to take a more in-depth look at their issues in a supportive and safe therapeutic space.

The Counselling Team

The counselling service is run by the Counselling Manager, the Counselling Coordinator and a team of volunteers who are all either qualified or in their final year of training. The service offers a valuable placement opportunity to new counsellors providing supervision and training. In turn we can then draw on a diverse and varied pool of counsellors. The service is currently available in the following languages: Farsi, French, Swahili, Kikuyu, Dutch, Patois, Konkani, Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi.

How do I contact the service?

The service is based in Islington and we deliver the services from a variety of bases in Barnet, Enfield, Haringey, Islington and Newham. There is a referral process and an assessment prior to starting with a counsellor. We see women within 2 weeks of receiving their referral for the initial assessment appointment and then operate a waiting list.

For further information or to make a referral please contact :

Tel: 020 7619 1360

or email: counselling@solacewomensaid.org

North London Rape Crisis

What is Rape Crisis

North London Rape Crisis is a new service that provides counselling, support and advocacy to women and girls aged 14 years and older who have experienced any form of sexual violence at any time in their life. All services are free and are available to women who live, work or study in Islington, Camden, Westminster, Haringey, Kensington and Chelsea, Barnet and Enfield, whether they have reported the incident to the police or not.

We will work with you at your own pace and in a way that suits you. We will never make decisions for you or share information about you with anyone else, unless you or someone else is in danger.

What is Sexual Violence

Sexual Violence includes child sexual abuse, rape, sexual assault, sexual exploitation, prostitution, forced marriage and female genital mutilation.

Rape is never a woman's fault and sexual abuse is never a child's fault. All sexual violence is an abuse of power and trust and is a violation of a woman or a child's human rights.

If you have experienced sexual violence, you may be feeling angry, scared, ashamed, embarrassed, guilty or numb. Or you may be overwhelmed by a whole range of emotions and reactions. Whatever you feel and however you react is entirely normal-everyone reacts to sexual violence differently and there is no 'right' way to respond, feel or behave.

Who is this service for?

North London Rape Crisis is for women and girls aged 14 years and older who have experienced any form of sexual violence at any time in their life. You do not need to have reported it to the police to access any of our services.

All services are free and are available to women who live, work or study in Islington, Camden, Westminster, Haringey, Kensington and Chelsea, Barnet and Enfield.

What kind of support?

We provide counselling, advice and support, holistic therapies and group support. You can access all of them or only one of them,depending on what is right for you.

- Counselling

One-to-one counselling takes place weekly in a safe and confidential space. It should be your decision to attend counselling - it is a personal journey and should always be a matter of personal choice.

Each session will last 50 miniutes and will be with the same counsellor in the same place each week, for up to six months. All Rape Crisis counsellors are fully trained and experienced in working with sexual violence.

We work from an Empowerment Model, where you and the counsellor will work together to explore issues and find new ways of being and looking at your life. You are the expert on your life and experiences - the counsellor will not tell you what to do and you will never be forced to talk about anything you are not ready to.

-Support and Advice

Advocates provide emotional and practical support and can assist in gaining access to safe and appropriate accommodation, legal adivce, immigration advice, welfare benefits, medical assistance and specialist services such as drug and alcohol or mental health support.

They can support you if you choose to report the abuse, including through the police and courts. However, reporting sexual violence is a very personal choice and the Advocates will never force you to report or judge you if you choose not to. They can also accompany you to one of the London Havens, where you can receive specialist medical care and assistance after a recent attack.

You can access advocacy support whether or not you are seeing a Rape Crisis Counsellor.

-Group Based Support

If you feel it would be beneficial to talk to other women who have also experienced sexual violence, you can join one of our therapeutic or confidence- building groups.

Groups are facilitated by a counsellor and are an opportunity for women to gain support from other women.

- Holistic Therapies

Our holistic service is provided by a team of qualified volunteer Body Therapists.

Body therapies include relaxation techniques, reflexology, aromatherapy, and head massage. If you feel you would benefit from body therapies, please discuss this with your counsellor or advocate.

How do I contact the service?

To contact North London Rape Crisis, please call us on 020 7619 1369 or email us at rapecrisis@solacewomensaid.org

The Administrator will take your initial call and will take some details from you which she will then pass on to the Rape Crisis team. One of the team will then call you back within 2 working days.

Monday-Friday 10am to 4pm

You can also call the National Helpline, 7 days per week, 355 days per year on

0808 8029999. The hours of operation are 12 noon-2.30 and 7 pm-9.30 pm.

Remember in an emergency call 999.