Cancer Support - Cancer Counselling Trust

The Cancer Counselling Trust continues to offer supervision and training. Don’t miss the opportunity to take part in David Wallin’s seminar and workshop on 23rd and 24th July which is going ahead.

IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR CLIENTS AND SUPPORTERS

It is with great regret that the Trustees, in consultation with the staff, have to announce their decision to close The Cancer Counselling Trust at the end of August. For the last ten years, we have provided a unique free specialist counselling service for cancer patients and those close to them, no matter where they live in the UK and at all stages of the disease. Although as a small charity, funding has always been an issue for us, we have enjoyed tremendous goodwill from the start - from our clients, from our medical advisors, our Friends, our volunteers and our supporters.

The charity is unusual in that the director, clinical services manager and co-ordinator are all part of the counselling team and so are closely aware of the issues that can arise. We are receiving many messages of appreciation and sadness about the unavoidable need for closure and want to take this opportunity to tell you all that it has been the greatest privilege for us to support you at some of the darkest times of your life but also some of the most precious.

It was hard at the beginning but slowly we were able to attract sufficient funding to increase the number of sessions we were able to offer. Hand in hand with this, our reputation grew. We were enormously proud to be chosen for a GlaxoSmithKline/King’s Fund IMPACT Award last year for our ‘outstanding contribution in one of the most distressing areas of the health community’. Unfortunately, this was not enough. In spite of the recommendations of NICE, cancer counselling support is low on the list of priorities for the Department of Health and so we are not able to look to government sources for sustainable income. Clients have helped us when they were in a position to do so with donations towards the cost of their sessions or by setting ups standing orders. For major funding, we have always relied on grant making trusts but the current financial crisis has impacted drastically on their ability to support charities like ours. 2008-9 were particularly hard years for us and although we have been able to turn things round somewhat over the last nine months, this has not been sufficient.

We will honour all existing contracts with clients and see everyone on our current waiting list. As far as the future is concerned, we have no alternative but accept the inevitable with the knowledge that over the last ten years we have helped many, many people to deal with all the problems and uncertainties that a diagnosis brings and that we have been true to our original intention to target areas of most need.

Whatever your connection with The Cancer Counselling Trust – as a client, a funder or a supporter - thank you all for your confidence in us over the years. If you have been making a financial contribution via direct debit and would consider continuing this until the end of August, we would be enormously grateful because it will assist us in meeting out commitments. We are all aware that together we have managed to provide a model of excellence that has been appreciated by users and all those who refer to us. We know that our service will be much missed.

David Wallin Lecture & Workshop

David Wallin, author of 'Attachment in Psychotherapy', is offering a lecture and workshop organized by the Cancer Counselling Trust. Peter Fonagy PHD FBA describes his book as "simply the best integration of key advances in attachment theory and research and their application to psychotherapy...". Read more about the lecture | workshop

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Many clients choose to come to us because we are not in a hospital setting. We have outstanding supervision from professionals experienced in working with serious illness. Because we offer a service which is free of charge we are able to meet the needs of a broad range of people, which is one of the reasons I really value working here at CCT."
Dilys Stinson: Counselling Co-ordinator