Stuck Waiting for a 'Straight' Counselling Service?

Unfortunately, for many therapy services a waiting list is to be expected, but a long waiting list is unfortunate.

Whether you’re waiting for a local charity that offers couple counselling (many do not), an organisation that specialises in couple relationships (such as Relate, etc), or an NHS service that are taking on referrals from our local GPs, all of them cater their service to as many people as possible; unfortunately this can also mean that their service waiting list grows and grows while there are insufficient couple counsellors available to work with all clients.

You may be wondering what are the waiting lists like for counselling for gay couples. Although it’s your choice to wait for a generic couple counselling service, there are (hint!) relationship therapy services that specialise in gay, lesbian, bisexual, asexual, aromatic, trans, queer, monogamous, non-monogamous and poly relationships.

Welcome to LGBTCoupleCounselling.co.uk 👋🏻 

Unpaid Volunteer Counsellors

If you take a look at Social Media (Twitter, Facebook etc) and business recruitment advertisers (Indeed etc) you’ll notice many counselling organisations advertising for more counsellors to work with their growing waiting lists. You’ll also notice the word “volunteer” used a lot (along with encouraging phrases such as “splendid opportunity” and “career experience” etc).

Charitable-founded organisations have based their business model on using qualified therapists who are not being paid for their time nor their skills. There’s a growing reaction in the counselling community to encourage all organisations to pay their qualified counsellors (try this Google search for “pay your counsellors” for example). Could skilled counsellors declining to work for free be having an impact on organisations’ waiting lists: i.e. insufficient qualified staff?

Of those on a waiting list waiting for mental health treatment, two-fifths of patients are forced to resort to emergency or crisis services, and nearly two thirds (64%) wait more than four weeks between their initial assessment and second appointment (ref).

Have you considered choosing Gay Couple Counselling from an Actual Gay Couple Counsellor?

It’s not an unusual question as several of Dean’s clients over the years hadn’t through there’d be a specialist counsellor for their particular relationship.

With over 24 years of counselling therapy experience, 14 years of which working specifically with gay & lesbian couples as a speciality, plus 16 years of actual Internet Video Therapy experience, Dean Richardson is an actual British Gay Couple Counsellor and an online therapist that LGBT/QIA+ relationships trust.

In the end… why would you be on a waiting list to a straight counselling service when you could be working with an LGBT focussed service by next week?

Dean’s professional therapy services are centred in Hampshire, but reach gay couples across the whole of the UK via video conferencing technology. You don’t have to be a gay couple seeking therapy locally within the UK to work with Dean. As long as you’re a UK citizen or live in the UK, Dean’s practice covers the therapy work we have to do together.

Why go straight when there’s a local Gay Relationship Therapist right here! A therapist specialising in gay men, lesbian woman; all sorts of mixed sexuality partnerships and gender identity partners. Plus he’s within reach to UK residents.

This is not just about any relationship. It’s about your distinct relationship.

Hi 👋🏻 – I’m Dean Richardson MNCPS (Accred/Reg), a fully qualified & experienced gay therapist with over 24 years counselling expertise (14 years in relationship counselling & 16 years in telecounselling Zoom, Skype etc). 👍🏻

TL;DR: as a private practice, I regularly have appointments you can choose from right away. So let’s get you started on some information about my therapy services… then we can talk:-

Dean understands the unique needs and challenges that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender couples and polyamorous groups face in a heteronormative society. Furthermore, in therapy, he will concentrate on your relationship needs (rather than try to apply a kind of magical “standard” for happy couples).

His goal is to become redundant; literally! Unlike some therapists who suggest future “top-up” sessions being booked after your work is completed, with Dean when you no longer require his services you can say goodbye for good (or “for now” if you prefer: it’s up to you). This means that you’ll leave couple counselling with ways to manage your relationship both now and in the future.

Dean employs a therapeutic approach with LGBT/QIA+ relationships (aka systemic neutrality) that means there doesn’t need to be more than one counsellor in the room with you, neither. (Yes, some services engage your relationship with two counsellor, simultaneously).

Plus, bonus: Dean is quite down-to-earth and “non-counselley”. He can use swearing/blue language and everything (meaning: he’s quite happy to use language & colloquialisms that you recognise in your everyday life).

This can greatly help you to become at-ease with the counselling process, and with Dean.