WHAC, 1, Council Road, Ashington NE63 8RZ. Tel: 01670 853977. e-mail: counselling@whac.uk.com

Women’s Health Advice Centre

Counselling Evaluation

2010

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The counselling provided at WHAC is a free, confidential service for women and girls 14+. Thank you to all the staff and volunteers who are committed to providing clients attending WHAC with a professional, high quality service. Thanks also to the clients who attend and then take the time to complete the questionnaires. This helps us to ensure that we continually improve our services and that we are meeting their needs. This is a free service to clients, but is not free to deliver. It is available thanks to the continued support of our funders.

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I could open up and talk about everything that was troubling me without being judged. It felt good to talk and work things out. Made me a stronger person and I could see the benefits after a week or two.

I was totally satisfied with the help I was given, I now feel that I have „me‟ back. I have gained confidence made major life changes and feel confident for the future, scared yes but that‟s ok. I have passed my driving test at last. I was always too scared to even try it. I have been on a break to Dorset with a group of Ladies I barely knew and had a great time; not bad for a woman who was scared to get on a bus from Morpeth to Ashington for my first sessions. Thank you so very much N, you changed my life, no! You gave me back my own life.

I thank you all for your support and professional service. You have made me realise that I have had a hard life, but I am a good person.

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WHAC uses a number of methods to evaluate the impact and the process of its counselling service. The information in this report is taken from data collected between January – December 2009

In order to measure the impact of the counselling on clients we are using the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Health Wellbeing Scale, which is a measure of mental well being focusing entirely on positive aspects of mental health. The questions help obtain a snapshot of how a client is feeling at the first assessment, at the end of their counselling and then three months later. We have an ongoing system of evaluation to measure the counselling process in place for a few years now. Clients who have finished their counselling are contacted and asked to complete a client satisfaction questionnaire. There is no way of identifying the client from the returned forms. Clients sign a consent form giving us permission to contact them for evaluation purposes, so only those that agree are sent out forms.

We only send forms to those that have attended their counselling sessions offered after the assessment appointment and do not write to clients who have chosen not to take up their counselling appointment. During the past year we have sent out 46 forms and have had 29 returned. The aims of this evaluation are:

To identify strengths and weaknesses of the counselling service

To assess whether clients perceive the service to be of a high standard.

To maintain good working practice

To obtain information for reporting purposes Some clients missed questions out and all were asked to comment or give additional information on some of the questions. On rating the counselling service overall:

22 said Excellent 7 said Very Good

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The WEMHWBS forms were completed by clients at their first appointment, again in their last counselling session and a form was posted out 3 months after the last session. A low score would indicate poor mental health and well being and a higher score would demonstrate good mental health and well being. The lowest possible score is 14 and the highest is 70. An average score for most people not suffering from poor mental well being would be around 51.

Results from forms completed since January 2009

The scoring is based on average scores dividing the total scores by the number of clients. The graph demonstrates that clients attending their first appointment have a low score which increases dramatically by the end of their counselling. We were pleased that the people who returned forms after three months, showed that their score had continued to increase. “Indulgent time to reflect. Opportunity to focus, time out to re think, re adjust future”

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Clients are also asked to complete a ‘Flower Power’ sheet which is used by them during the counselling as a measure of how in control they feel of different situations. If the client wishes the wording can be changed on the individual petals to reflect their own situation. The numbering is 1– 5 with the higher score demonstrating more control.

KEY: PH – Physical Health FI – Finance EM – Emotions CS – Current Situation FU – Future RE – Relationships SN – Support Network AL – Activity/Leisure EMP – Employment ED – Education NE – Neighbourhood The graph above is an example of the sheets completed by a client; most of the areas asked about did show improvement and the flower chart itself is an excellent visual aid for the client to see their own progression. “It helped me to re gain my confidence and identify my strong points.”

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CLIENT SATISFACTION QUESTIONNAIRES

The first questions asked clients how they felt about being referred for counselling and also what they perceived as being their main issues. Clients were asked: What was your first reaction to being referred to the counsellor?

Most clients approached counselling with a positive attitude, but some did have anxieties.

“Very professional but friendly atmosphere, made me feel at ease.”

“Very good knowing I could open up to someone”

“A lot easier than I expected. Thought I might have been judged or not listened too.”

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What do you think your main issues were at the time?

This graph demonstrates some of the issues that are presented at assessment. Mental Health issues continue to be the main reason for women attending counselling. We do have a high proportion of women contacting us who experience domestic violence however, in many cases these women can’t or don’t want to be contacted for evaluation purposes due to personal safety reasons. “Very good, helped to form better relationships and bring problems to the surface, where I could deal with them successfully” “I learned about myself, my problems were not as big as I thought” “All staff were very welcoming and non judgemental. Very understanding counsellor and staff went out of their way to help and support me.”

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We asked whether clients were offered anti depressants by their GP or were they on anti depressants before or during their counselling. 21 answered yes and were asked how they felt the counselling helped.

For many of the women, counselling offered an alternative to taking medication, but for others it added additional support to that gained by prescribed medication. “The help I received was instrumental in addressing some very difficult issues. The ethos of WHAC and its method of operation in being open to all in need and accessible regardless of personal circumstances is impressive.” “Very good – helped to sort my feelings out and made me focus on resolving my issues.”

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We asked clients about the waiting times. The first graph demonstrates how long clients waited for their first assessment appointment.

The early part of the year showed a marked improvement in the waiting times, for both assessment appointment and counselling, however these are creeping up and we will be monitoring the situation closely “Only issue is waiting time. Although I understand shortages in counsellors available. It would be helpful to be kept updated about timescales, having said that I am extremely satisfied with the services provided by WHAC”

The second graph shows the waiting time for clients for their first counselling appointment following their assessment.

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Clients were asked whether they felt that the counsellor understood their problems and feelings. One indicates that the counsellor was very understanding and five indicates that the counsellor had no understanding.

“Is a very comfortable, calm place to be where you are not told what to do or say, but are listened too. The counsellor is not judgemental in any way.”

The graph below demonstrates how satisfied the clients were with the counselling they received. One indicates that the service was good.

Client satisfaction is marked very high, which reassures us of the high quality service WHAC provides to clients.

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Following assessment clients are offered 6 sessions; these can be extended when necessary. Assessment and counselling sessions usually last for 1 hour. The average amount of sessions attended by clients over the past year is 8. Clients were asked whether they felt that the number of sessions they had was adequate.

The majority felt that the number of sessions was just right. Sometimes clients feel they would like more sessions; it is agreed between the counsellor and client when it should end.

It was my chance to air all my problems freely without being judged or criticised. Talking really helped me and it also allowed me to explore different coping mechanisms.

I could open up and talk about everything that was troubling me without being judged. It felt good to talk and work things out. Made me a stronger person and I could see the benefits after a week or two.

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CONCLUSION

This report helps to demonstrate the high standard of counselling support offered to clients at WHAC. This is achieved through the hard work and commitment from the staff and volunteers involved in delivering this service. We are grateful to the clients who have taken the time to complete questionnaires and value their comments immensely as there can be no greater affirmation that we are ‘getting it right’. We find the data from the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Health Well Being Scale invaluable in demonstrating the impact counselling can have on clients and gives us a way of showing these benefits for reporting purposes, but also to clients and volunteers as a way of measuring progress. The flower power chart is used mainly for clients to map their own progress, but is also used a s a measure in the overall evaluation. Due to feedback from clients regarding being updated whilst on a waiting list, we have set up a system of informing them of the current situation regarding waiting times. We are addressing the waiting times, through the recruitment of more counsellors which will be completed by summer 2010. This is a constant issue and whilst we are fortunate to have very dedicated volunteer counsellors many of them do obtain paid employment and find themselves unable to give their time. We are also fortunate to have the service of psychotherapy students who enhance WHAC’s counselling service. Appropriately the last word of this document should go to the clients that have accessed WHAC’s counselling service. “”Invaluable in helping me to come to terms with events beyond my control. Stopped me from blaming myself and find closure and be able to move forward with new skills to help me with the pressures of life.” “”Although it took me sometime to first contact WHAC about my situation, I am extremely pleased I made the decision to use the service. Being able to talk, helped put my life back into perspective.”