Gifts & Donations
Individual counsellors cannot accept gifts from women they are working with.  However, you can make a donation to the Agency.  These are always welcome, as we are a Charity reliant on outside fund holders.
Information for women having face to face counselling at the RASA Centre.
Our Approach
We are here for you, to support you, to listen to you.  The aim of counselling is to help you explore your feelings & to enable you to work towards making positive changes in your life.

We are very aware of how hard it may be for you to talk about your experiences & your counsellor will not push you to talk about issues you do not feel ready to explore.
About the counsellors
The women who work as counsellors for RASA have all had training within the agency.

Some of them have professional counselling qualifications, all have previous counselling experience & knowledge of the effects that sexual violence can have on women's lives.

Each counsellor has monthly supervision with a supervisor from outside the agency.  This ensures that the counsellors are working according to guidelines & that the quality of service
is maintained.

If you have any problems with the counselling sessions don't feel afraid to let the counsellor
know this.  She will not be offended.  It is very important that you feel comfortable talking to
the woman you are working with.  If you feel you need to change counsellors, for any reason,
this can be arranged for you (although there may be some wait for a new counsellor to become
available).

RASA is affiliated to the British Association of Counsellors and follows their code of ethics & practice.  A copy of this code can be made available on request.
How long will counselling last?
This can vary - it may be a couple of sessions, it may be more.  As a general guide, 18 sessions are offered, with reviews after every six sessions.  Extra sessions can be arranged if a survivor wants them.

You can come weekly, fortnightly or monthly. according to what you want.

Each session will last just under an hour.  Your counsellor will let you know when the session
is drawing to a close.

Where will the counselling take place?

The RASA safe house is in Wirral.  It is a women only house, and has wheelchair access on the ground floor.

Confidentiality

Everything you tell us is kept within the agency & at no time will any information about you be given to someone else without consulting you first.  Our child protection policy is available on request, and states that we have a moral and ethical responsibility to report when a minor is at risk of on-going abuse, but again, we would always talk to you about the best way forward
for everyone concerned.

The women who work for RASA will discuss some issues in supervision, but be assured that this is done in such a way that you will not be identified.

We keep details of your name, telephone number & address while you are using our service.
In accordance with the British Association of Counselling, records are destroyed after ten
years.

Your rights when using the service
You have the right to confidentiality - thios means that all you tell us is kept within the agency and is only discussed within supervision, or after consulting you.  For issues of Child Protection, please request a copy of our policy.

You have the right to a free service, although we always welcome donations.

You have the right to be treated equally and in a non-judgemental manner.  RASA pro-actively encourages equal opportunity for all women.  If you would like a copy of our Equal Opportunities Policy, please ask.

You have the right to terminate the counselling relationship at any time.

You have the right to see all RASA policy documents on request.

You have the right to use the RASA grievance  procedure.  If you have any complaints with the  service provided, you should raise these with your counsellor.  However, if this does not resolve the situation you can use the grievance procedure, a copy of which can be provided on request.