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North East Counselling Services Has Mind Set for Success

ByEmily

Jun 20, 2017

In a move that anticipates the region’s ever growing mental health challenges, North East Counselling Services (NECS) has appointed two key members to their busy team.

The Gateshead-based social enterprise recently celebrated its tenth anniversary and offers free and affordable counselling to individuals, couples and young people across the region.

Chief Executive Officer, Marjorie Hunter said,

“Mental health issues are a rising problem for people in the north-east as they are across the UK.  Many people will experience a mental health issue in their lifetime, or simply need some time with a professional counsellor to clarify their feelings. We aim to improve access to help by offering counselling services delivered by a team of 50 professionally qualified therapists.

“Every person that comes to NECS has unique needs.  We pride ourselves on tailoring our service to meet every individual’s personal requirements.”

To help NECS deal with the continually growing demand for their services Marjorie believes that the time is now right to bring two new members of the team on-board.

The new faces at NECS are Business Development Manager Carol Walker and business consultant George King, who takes up the voluntary position of Chairman.

Carol, who’s been at NECS for 12 months, has a background in the chemical sales industry, she trained as a therapist for a national charity before moving into office management. Her commitment to helping people to help themselves has resulted in her now taking on the challenging role of NECS Business Development Manager.

Dunston-based George King, who runs his own business consultancy, Glengyle Consultants, will be developing new high level strategies to help move NECS forward. He spent 18 years in the Royal Navy and has recently made good use of his problem-solving skills working with small and medium-sized enterprises helping them to develop and maximise opportunities.  With a reputation for calm precision, George brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and dynamic thinking to NECS.

“I’m amazed at how much work NECS does and how effectively they change people’s lives,” said George. “Unfortunately, mental health issues are increasing across the UK but people are also more willing to discuss problems, such as depression and anxiety-related disorders, as traditional stigmas are removed. I can see a very busy future for NECS but we need to be focused on our way ahead so that we can deliver what our clients need without having to endure large waiting times or unreasonably high fees that frankly many people who need our services can’t afford.”

NECS has recently undertaken a customer satisfaction survey which showed that 91% of their clients said that they had benefited from counselling and a staggering 98% said that they would recommend a friend to use their services.

By Emily