New projects focus on improving access to counselling
News from BACP

New BACP-funded projects will help to improve access and remove barriers to therapy.

Two of our organisational members have successfully applied for funding from our Third Sector Grant Scheme to deliver projects in collaboration with partner organisations which have expertise in working with people from marginalised and racialised community backgrounds. 

Collaboration

Based in Newcastle, Children North East will work alongside North East Solidarity and Training (N.E.S.T), an award-winning service which specialises in engagement and support to young people from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds.

In recent years this has predominantly been with children and young people from Syria and Afghanistan. The service is now beginning to see newly arrived young people from the crisis in Ukraine.

Luke Bramhall, Head of Youth Services and Poverty Proofing at Children North East, said: “We understand the complexities attached to lived experiences and cultural norms of the refugee and asylum-seeking community, and we want to be able to adapt the ways our counselling service works to increase its reach into this community. 

“We respect the depth of work delivered by N.E.S.T within our community to ensure the best possible outcomes for those who are at the most vulnerable points of their lives. 

“N.E.S.T is recognised for its outstanding collaborative working approach and resilience to inform and facilitate meaningful change, and this project is an opportunity to bring together our organisations’ expertise to add value to both.” 

The Metanoia Institute is being funded to deliver a project to develop an avatar-assisted counselling intervention for autistic people from minority ethnic backgrounds and to test its feasibility and acceptability to clients and therapists.  

Working with user-led charities Autus and 3DNovations, the project will explore perceptions and fears related to stigma associated with mental health with Caribbean, Asian and minority ethnic (ACAME) people with autism and work with them to co-design novel resources and approaches to accessing services and support.  

The project is being led by Dr Biljana Vanrijn, Faculty Head of Research and Doctoral Programmes, and Dr Ariana Jordan, Clinical Tutor and Senior Lecturer (Research).

Dr Jordan said: “Autus and 3DNovation are experts in engaging autistic people from BAME and ACAME communities and have had success in removing barriers to accessing work-related support.  

“At The Metanoia Institute, we’re excited to be working collaboratively on this project to apply their models and principles to improve access to therapy. 

“People from marginalised and racialised community backgrounds are less likely to seek help for their mental health; this may be due to cultural stigmas associated with seeking help and there is evidence that people from racialised backgrounds are less likely to be offered suitable therapies, and Black people in particular are more likely to be involuntarily hospitalised or over-medicated in UK mental health services. "

Improving equality, diversion and inclusion

Our Third Sector Lead, Jeremy Bacon said: “This pilot grant scheme, part of our priority strategic focus on improving equality, diversity and inclusion in the counselling professions, is a new initiative for BACP.  

“It’s provided opportunities to reach out and engage with organisational members interested in improving access to therapy for people from marginalised and racialised community backgrounds. 

“Applications to the grant scheme have given us valuable insights into the innovative and impactful work being delivered by third sector organisations across the UK and we’re grateful to all who submitted project proposals.  

“The two projects being funded will improve understanding of structural and cultural barriers to psychological support and provide evidence in support of increasing access to therapy.” 

The projects will be independently evaluated to capture and share knowledge and learning to inform further similar work and future BACP grant-making.