New ‘affordable counselling’ centre opens to support Croydon residents with their mental health

An “affordable and accessible” counselling service, Supporting Minds Croydon, opened its doors to customers this week.

With around 60 per cent of people in Croydon reporting that their mental health and wellbeing was affected by the pandemic, the counselling service located at Christopher Wren Yard Freedman House, is set to be a “welcome addition to the local community”.

Founded by counsellor and psychotherapist Jenine Butroid in 2014, Supporting Minds has trained over 450 counsellors and supported over 4,000 clients. The new facility aims to make therapies accessible through a range of “affordable, quality” services and will be the third location to open in the UK following the organisation’s success in Lincoln and Cardiff.

Jenine commented: “It’s really exciting that Supporting Minds has been launched in Croydon this week. I believe that counselling is for everyone, and we strive to do this by making talking therapies affordable whilst maintaining the highest quality of support.

“At Supporting Minds, we truly believe that counselling and psychotherapy should be available to everyone, not just to resolve problems but also to explore who we are. Only by getting to the core of our being through self-exploration can very real, lasting change occur where we are free from the pressures and expectations of others.”

The new Croydon centre offers a space in which people can work through their emotional issues with counsellors in a confidential environment.

Specialising in talking therapy, Supporting Minds offers face-to-face and online counselling to individuals, couples and families from the age of four, covering bereavement, addiction, anxiety, depression, stress and relationship problems and more.

Jenine added: “Recently, it has become more and more difficult to face the complexities and challenges that occur in day-to-day life, especially with the pandemic having such a negative effect on people. In fact, 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem of some kind each year in England.

“So, enabling the people of Croydon to take back control and improve their emotional wellbeing is incredibly exciting.”

As well as delivering quality therapies for individual and group clients, Supporting Minds Croydon will also be offering accredited training to trainee therapists, including a complete BTEC syllabus in Therapeutic Counselling. The centre will also look to bring its award-winning workshops into the region’s schools.