Free Counselling Service Now in Calderdale and Kirklees

Two of the regions leading charities working with Gay, Bisexual and men who have sex with men - MSM at the Brunswick Centre and Yorkshire MESMAC - are working together to ensure that men across the whole of North and West Yorkshire have access to a free, flexible and professional counselling service.

John McKernagahan, manager of the Brunswick Centre said, ‘We are delighted that by working closely with our friends at Yorkshire MESMAC we are now able to offer a high quality counselling service to men in Calderdale and Kirklees, this is a great example of the voluntary sector working in partnership to bring benefits to our communities.’

The free counselling service, which is run by Yorkshire MESMAC in a variety of settings across the rest of North and West Yorkshire, is one the biggest of its kind in the country with 44 approved counsellors, offering a number of approaches including couples counselling and psychosexual counselling. The service is also able to offer counselling in a variety of languages including; French, German, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin Chinese, Farsi and British Sign Language.

Tom Doyle, Director of Yorkshire MESMAC, explained ‘In terms of its scope, professionalism, choice and access Yorkshire MESMAC’s Counselling Service is recognised as a leader in its field. We are proud of the fact that service users and referring professionals have almost universally praised the service and we are delighted to be invited to work with MSM at the Brunswick Centre which allows us to offer this service to local men.’

As part of the service’s development the organisation is keen to recruit qualified freelance counsellors, especially Gay men, practising in the Kirklees and Calderdale area. As well as being qualified to diploma level or above you will be required to undertake Yorkshire MESMAC’s induction and training.

For more information about accessing the service or to train as an approved counsellor for the service in Kirklees and Calderdale contact Pauline Brumwell, Counselling Organiser on 07771 931 327 or visit www.mesmac.co.uk/counselling

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