Grief Counselling Storrington RH20 - Shame after loss

Grief

Grief is not a sign that you loved too much. It is proof that you loved at all.

C.S. Lewis A Grief Observed

“No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.”

Grief moves at the speed of the heart.

Nobody gets to tell you how long this takes. Grief moves at the speed of the heart. And the heart does not wear a watch.

Everything the missing brings with it.

It is not the missing that hurts most. It is everything the missing brings with it.

Some grief arrives late

Some grief arrives late. It waits until the house is quiet. Then it knocks — patiently. It has been waiting a long time to finally be let in.

Grief can be the garden of compassion.

“Grief can be the garden of compassion. If you keep your heart open through everything, your pain can become your greatest ally.” Rumi Poet and mystic

You do not have to be ready.

You do not have to be ready. You simply have to be willing to sit with someone who will not ask you to be further along than you are.

Grief does not end

Grief does not end. It changes shape. And slowly — in its own time — it becomes something you carry rather than something that carries you.

Grief Counselling in Storrington RH20

Grief counselling in Storrington RH20 can help when loss brings feelings you do not know how to share. Many people expect grief to look like sadness. Yet, in real life, bereavement can also bring silence, anger, numbness, relief, envy, resentment, or emotional shutdown. When these feelings appear, shame can quickly follow. You may ask yourself why you are not grieving “properly” or why your heart feels so complicated.

This type of grief can be lonely. Around other people, you may say very little. You may smile, keep busy, or act as if you are managing. However, inside, you may feel deeply unsettled. Shame often makes people hide the very feelings that most need kindness. Therefore, counselling can offer a private and steady space to speak without pretending.

Eleos Counselling supports adults who are grieving in Storrington and across West Sussex. The work is gentle, respectful, and paced around you. As BACP members, the therapists at Eleos Counselling offer a professional space where your grief does not have to be tidy, impressive, or easy to explain. Instead, it can be real.

Black and white rose with grief quote — grief is not weakness it is love — grief counselling West Sussex Eleos Counselling

When grief becomes something you hide

Shame after grief often begins in secret. You may feel ashamed because you did not cry at the funeral. Alternatively, you may feel ashamed because you cried too much and could not stop. Some people feel numb and worry they are cold. Others feel angry and worry they are cruel. In addition, some people feel relief after a death and then feel frightened by what that might mean.

These reactions can be especially painful when other people seem to know how grief should look. Family members may expect certain behaviour. Friends may avoid the subject. Workplaces may give practical sympathy, then expect normal performance. As a result, you may start editing yourself. You may only show the acceptable parts of bereavement and keep the rest hidden.

Grief counselling in Storrington can help you stop carrying that hidden weight alone. Counselling does not judge your grief by how it looks from the outside. Instead, it helps you understand what your feelings may be trying to express. Sometimes numbness protects the mind from overload. Sometimes anger points to pain. Sometimes relief reflects exhaustion, not lack of love.

No Expiry Date on Grief — Bereavement Counselling West Sussex at Eleos Counselling

Shame after grief and complicated relationships

Bereavement can be particularly hard when the relationship was not simple. You may be grieving someone who loved you but also hurt you. Perhaps the person was critical, distant, controlling, unpredictable, dependent, or emotionally unavailable. Because of this, their death may bring a confusing mix of sadness, loyalty, anger, duty, and unfinished longing.

People often feel pressure to speak well of the dead. Although this may come from respect, it can also silence the truth. If your relationship included pain, pretending everything was perfect may feel impossible. However, speaking honestly may feel disloyal. This is where shame can take hold. You may feel trapped between protecting the person’s memory and protecting your own reality.

In counselling, the relationship can be explored with care. You do not have to idealise the person who died. Equally, you do not have to reduce them to what was painful. A fuller story can include love and hurt, tenderness and disappointment, gratitude and anger. Over time, this honesty can make grief feel less split inside you.

Why grief can feel different from what you expected

Many people are surprised by their own grief. They may expect tears and sadness, but instead find themselves organising paperwork, clearing rooms, caring for others, or feeling strangely detached. Later, grief may arrive in sudden waves. A smell, song, road, photograph, or ordinary household task can open something painful without warning.

There is no single correct timetable for bereavement. Some people feel the loss immediately. Others feel it months later, once everyone else has moved on. In addition, shame can delay grief because it makes people push feelings down. You may tell yourself to cope, stay useful, or avoid making a fuss. Yet your body and mind may still be carrying the loss.

Grief counselling in Storrington RH20 can help you listen to these delayed or unexpected responses. Instead of asking, “Why am I like this?” therapy may help you ask, “What has this loss meant to me?” That question is often kinder. It allows grief to be understood, rather than judged.

How Eleos Counselling can support shame after bereavement

Eleos Counselling offers a compassionate space for people who feel burdened by shame after bereavement. Sessions may help you explore the private story behind your grief. This could include family roles, old wounds, complicated bonds, cultural expectations, or the pressure to appear strong.

The work may also help you recognise how shame affects the body. Shame can make people look down, withdraw, freeze, or feel small. It may tighten the chest, disturb sleep, or create a constant sense of unease. Therefore, counselling may include gentle grounding and pacing, especially if the loss connects with trauma or long-term stress.

As therapy develops, you may begin to relate to yourself differently. Rather than seeing your grief as wrong, you may begin to see it as meaningful. Difficult feelings are not always signs of failure. Sometimes they are signs that the heart is trying to tell the truth after a painful or complicated loss.

Local grief support near Storrington RH20

Storrington is close enough to Billingshurst for Eleos Counselling to offer accessible support for people across this part of West Sussex. Some clients prefer face-to-face counselling because it creates a clear place to bring grief. Others prefer online sessions because they offer privacy, flexibility, and less travel. Both options can provide a calm setting for bereavement work.

People seek grief counselling at different points. Some come shortly after a death. Others wait years, especially when shame has kept the grief hidden. There is no failure in waiting. However, support can be helpful when private pain begins affecting sleep, relationships, confidence, work, or daily routines.

Grief counselling in Storrington RH20 may be especially useful if you feel unable to talk openly with family or friends. Sometimes loved ones are grieving too, which means they may not have the emotional space to hear your experience. Counselling gives you somewhere separate, confidential, and steady.

Signs shame may be shaping your grief

Shame may be shaping your grief if you often criticise your own emotional response. You may think you are too cold, too dramatic, too angry, too relieved, or too stuck. These thoughts can become harsh and repetitive. Moreover, they can make you feel as if you are failing at something no one ever taught you how to do.

You may also notice avoidance. Perhaps you avoid certain people, places, photographs, belongings, or conversations. Avoidance can be understandable, especially when grief feels raw. However, when shame is present, avoidance may become a way of hiding from yourself as well as others.

Another sign is emotional loneliness. You may be surrounded by people yet feel unknown. You may feel that no one has heard the real version of your grief. Counselling can help bring that hidden version into the light carefully, without forcing you to share more than feels manageable.

Tony Larkin MBACP Accredited Psychotherapist and founder of Eleos Counselling West Sussex

Tony Larkin FDA, BA (Hons), MBACP (Accredited) — Psychotherapist, Counsellor, and founder of Eleos Counselling, Billingshurst, West Sussex. With over 15,000 hours of clinical experience, Tony offers compassionate, professionally informed therapy for adults across West Sussex.

 

 

 

About Your Therapist

Tony Larkin FDA, BA (Hons), MBACP (Accredited) Psychotherapist and Counsellor | Founder of Eleos Counselling

Tony Larkin is an Accredited Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. He has worked with clients over many years, offering steady support through grief, trauma, addiction, relationship difficulties, and complex emotional pain.

In bereavement work, Tony understands that loss rarely follows a neat path. Grief can bring sadness, guilt, anger, numbness, shame, relief, or unanswered questions. His approach is gentle, grounded, and compassionate, helping clients speak about their loss at a pace that feels safe.

Tony is also a member of EMDR Europe, a Fellow of the ACCPH, and a member of Addiction Professionals. His work is integrative and trauma-informed, drawing on person-centred counselling and compassion-focused ideas from Dr Paul Gilbert and Dr Kristin Neff. Rather than offering quick answers, Tony aims to provide a thoughtful therapeutic space where grief can be explored with care, honesty, and respect.

A kinder way to carry grief

A kinder way to carry grief does not mean pretending everything is peaceful. Instead, it means making room for truth. You may have loved the person and still felt hurt by them. You may miss them and still feel angry. You may feel relief and still feel sorrow. Human grief can hold more than one feeling at a time.

Counselling can help you develop a more compassionate inner voice. This matters because shame often speaks in cruel absolutes. It may say, “You are selfish,” “You are heartless,” or “You should be over this.” A kinder voice may say, “This is painful,” “This is complicated,” and “I am trying to understand.” That shift can be powerful.

Grief counselling in Storrington RH20 offers support when shame has made loss feel private, confusing, or hard to speak about. At Eleos Counselling, you can begin where you are. There is no need to arrive with a polished story. Your grief is allowed to be human.

Online Bereavement Counselling

Grief does not confine itself to convenient times or places, and neither should access to support. Eleos Counselling offers online bereavement counselling via video call for people who find it difficult to travel, whose caring responsibilities make attending in person hard, or who simply feel more comfortable in the privacy of their own home.

Online sessions carry the same clinical depth and human quality as face-to-face work. Many people find that the familiarity of their own surroundings actually makes it easier to open up. Wherever you are in West Sussex — or beyond — support is available.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is regret in grief normal?

Yes — entirely. Regret is one of the most common emotions in bereavement, particularly where the relationship was complex, where communication was imperfect, or where circumstances prevented adequate contact or closure before the death. It is also one of the most underacknowledged. You are not alone in carrying it.

Can therapy help with regret specifically?

Yes. Therapy provides a space in which regret can be spoken aloud, examined carefully, and held with compassion rather than ongoing self-punishment. Over time many people find that the regret does not disappear but changes — becoming something they can carry more lightly and understand more clearly.

Do I need to have experienced a recent bereavement to seek grief counselling?

No. Regret in grief frequently surfaces long after a bereavement — sometimes years later. There is no time limit on when it is appropriate to seek support. If the regret is present and affecting your daily life it is worth bringing into a therapeutic space regardless of when the loss occurred.

Can grief counselling help with grief that is not about death?

Yes. Grief is not limited to bereavement. The end of a significant relationship, the loss of a career, a miscarriage, the loss of health, the loss of a life that was expected but did not materialise — all of these involve grief that is real and deserving of support. At Eleos Counselling we work with loss in its broadest sense.

Is online grief counselling available?

Yes. Eleos Counselling offers both face-to-face and online sessions, making therapeutic support accessible regardless of your location within or beyond West Sussex. Online sessions can be a particularly helpful option for people whose grief makes leaving the house difficult or for those with caring responsibilities that limit their availability.

How do I get in touch?

Simply contact Eleos Counselling by telephone or through the website. An initial conversation is free, informal, and carries no obligation to proceed.

Crisis support if grief feels unbearable

If grief feels unbearable, or you feel at risk of harming yourself, please seek urgent help. You can contact emergency services, NHS 111, your GP, or Samaritans on 116 123. Counselling can support grief over time, but immediate help is important when safety is uncertain.

Contact Eleos Counselling

If you would like to ask about grief counselling in Storrington RH20, you are welcome to contact Eleos Counselling.

Phone: 01403 900079
Mobile: 07854 602050
Email: info@eleoscounselling.com
Address: Eleos Counselling, Little East Street, Billingshurst, RH14 9NP
Website: www.eleoscounselling.co.uk

lling.co.uk Website: www.eleoscounselling.co.uk

Bereavement Support Organisations

Cruse Bereavement Support — the UK’s leading bereavement charity offering support, advice, and counselling to people affected by grief. www.cruse.org.uk

Mind — Bereavement — clear and accessible information on grief and how to find support.www.mind.org.uk/information-support/guides-to-support-and-services/bereavement

Winston’s Wish — specialist support for bereaved children and young people and the adults supporting them.www.winstonswish.org

Samaritans — available 24 hours a day for anyone in distress. www.samaritans.org — Phone: 116 123

Eleos Counselling is not affiliated with any external organisation listed above. These are provided for information and signposting purposes only.

References

British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. (2018). Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions. BACP.

Cruse Bereavement Support. (n.d.). Understanding grief. Cruse Bereavement Support.

NHS. (n.d.). Grief after bereavement or loss. NHS.

Samaritans. (n.d.). Contact us. Samaritans.

All external links are provided for informational purposes only. Eleos Counselling accepts no responsibility for the content of third-party websites.

Tony Larkin FDA,BA (Hons) MBACP (Acc)

Disclaimer: The organisations listed below are provided for information and additional support only. Eleos Counselling is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or responsible for the content, availability, or services offered by external organisations or third-party websites.

I’m Tony Larkin, a qualified psychotherapist and counsellor based in West Sussex. As the founder of Eleos Counselling, I provide a safe, supportive space for people facing challenges such as anxiety, addiction, perfectionism, trauma, and relationship difficulties. With years of experience, I combine professional knowledge with compassion, helping clients find new perspectives, rediscover confidence, and build healthier connections. My approach is rooted in empathy and the belief that lasting change comes through understanding, self-compassion, and support

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Office

Eleos Counselling Ltd    The Workshop, Little East Street, Billingshurst, West Sussex RH14 9NP

Phone Number

01403 900097

 

Policy owner: Eleos Counselling
Applies to: Directors, counsellors, psychotherapists, student counsellors, associates, administrative staff, volunteers, clients and visitors
Current organisation size: One practitioner
Planned organisational size: Up to two student placements and a maximum of approximately seven people in future
Premises: Eleos Counselling, Little East Street, Billingshurst, RH14 9NP
Review date: Annually, or sooner if the organisation grows, premises change, incidents occur, or legal/professional guidance changes

1. Purpose of this policy

Eleos Counselling is committed to providing a safe, respectful and well-managed environment for clients, practitioners, student counsellors, staff, associates and visitors.

This policy sets out how Eleos Counselling will manage health and safety in a way that is proportionate to a small counselling practice. The policy recognises that Eleos Counselling is currently a one-person organisation, but may take on up to two student placements and grow to a maximum of approximately seven people over the next few years.

The aim of this policy is to protect the health, safety and welfare of clients, staff, students and visitors. It also aims to identify and manage risks within the counselling environment, ensure students and future staff understand health and safety arrangements, provide clear procedures for emergencies, accidents, incidents and concerns, support safe face-to-face and online counselling practice, and maintain a safe and professional working environment in line with legal, ethical and professional responsibilities.

2. Scope

This policy applies to all Eleos Counselling activities, including face-to-face counselling sessions, online counselling sessions, student placement activity, clinical supervision and case discussion held on site, administrative work carried out for Eleos Counselling, client arrivals and departures, use of counselling rooms, waiting areas, toilet facilities and shared spaces, and emergency situations involving clients, students, staff or visitors.

This policy should be read alongside Eleos Counselling’s Safeguarding Policy, Client Safety and Risk Policy, GDPR and Data Protection Policy, Confidentiality and Record-Keeping Procedure, Lone Working Policy, Student Placement Policy and Practice Framework, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy, and Complaints Procedure.

3. Statement of intent

Eleos Counselling will take reasonable and proportionate steps to provide a safe environment for all people using or working within the service.

Eleos Counselling will provide a safe and suitable counselling environment, identify and manage foreseeable risks, review health and safety arrangements regularly, ensure students and future staff receive appropriate induction, maintain appropriate first aid and emergency arrangements, keep counselling rooms and shared areas safe, clean and fit for use, record accidents, incidents and near misses, respond promptly to health and safety concerns, ensure that health and safety responsibilities are understood, and seek professional, legal, insurance or specialist advice where needed.

4. Legal and professional context

Eleos Counselling recognises its responsibilities under UK health and safety law and relevant professional standards.

A health and safety policy should set out the general approach to health and safety and explain who does what, when and how. For a small organisation, this policy should remain practical, proportionate and easy to follow.

Eleos Counselling also recognises that health and safety is connected to ethical counselling practice. Health and safety within a counselling service includes physical safety, emotional safety, clinical risk awareness, confidentiality, safeguarding, and the safe use of premises and systems.

5. Responsibilities

5.1 Overall responsibility

The owner/director of Eleos Counselling has overall responsibility for health and safety within the organisation.

This includes responsibility for maintaining this policy, carrying out or arranging risk assessments, ensuring the premises are suitable for counselling work, maintaining emergency procedures, providing induction to students, associates or future staff, recording and reviewing accidents, incidents and near misses, taking reasonable steps to reduce risk, ensuring insurance arrangements are reviewed, and seeking advice where specialist input is needed.

5.2 Responsibilities of student counsellors, associates and future staff

All student counsellors, associates, employees, volunteers or future staff must read and follow this policy. They must also take reasonable care of their own health and safety and take reasonable care of clients and others who may be affected by their actions.

They are expected to report hazards, incidents, accidents or concerns promptly, follow fire, first aid, safeguarding, lone working and emergency procedures, keep counselling rooms safe and professional, avoid blocking exits or creating trip hazards, use equipment safely, attend induction or training where required, and work within Eleos Counselling’s professional and clinical policies.

5.3 Responsibilities of clients and visitors

Clients and visitors are expected to use the premises respectfully and safely, follow any emergency instructions, inform Eleos Counselling of any relevant access, mobility or health needs, avoid bringing hazardous items onto the premises, respect the safety and privacy of others, and inform Eleos Counselling if they notice a hazard or safety concern.

6. Risk assessment

Eleos Counselling will carry out proportionate risk assessments to identify hazards and reduce foreseeable risks.

Risk assessments may include general premises safety, fire safety, slips, trips and falls, lone working, client distress or crisis, aggression or threatening behaviour, student placement activity, online counselling safety, manual handling where relevant, display screen equipment where relevant, infection control and hygiene, and accessibility considerations.

Risk assessments will be reviewed annually, when the organisation grows, when students are introduced, after any accident, incident or near miss, when the premises or room arrangements change, when new activities are introduced, or if a health and safety concern is raised.

7. Premises safety

Eleos Counselling will aim to ensure that the counselling environment is safe, clean, private and suitable for therapeutic work.

This includes checking that entrances and exits are clear, walkways are free from obvious trip hazards, lighting is adequate, furniture is safe and suitable, electrical equipment appears safe and undamaged, rooms are ventilated where possible, toilet facilities are safe and hygienic, client privacy is maintained, emergency exits are not obstructed, and the environment is emotionally and physically appropriate for counselling.

Any hazards identified should be addressed promptly. Where the hazard cannot be resolved immediately, reasonable steps should be taken to reduce risk until it can be addressed.

8. Fire safety and evacuation

Eleos Counselling will maintain clear fire safety arrangements suitable for a small counselling practice.

Arrangements will include ensuring exits are kept clear, knowing the evacuation route, informing students, staff and associates of fire procedures during induction, ensuring clients can be safely guided out of the building if an alarm sounds, not storing combustible materials unnecessarily, reporting or addressing fire hazards promptly, and checking that any fire safety equipment provided by the building or premises is accessible and not obstructed.

In the event of fire or suspected fire, the session should stop immediately. Everyone should leave the building by the safest available route. No one should stop to collect belongings. Emergency services should be contacted if required. No one should re-enter the building until it is safe to do so. The incident should be recorded afterwards.

If a client has mobility, sensory or access needs, reasonable steps should be taken to consider evacuation arrangements before or at the start of therapy.

9. First aid arrangements

Eleos Counselling will maintain proportionate first aid arrangements for a small, low-risk counselling setting.

Eleos Counselling will ensure that a suitable first aid box is available, the first aid box is checked periodically, students and future staff know where the first aid box is located, emergency services are contacted where needed, accidents or medical incidents are recorded, and first aid arrangements are reviewed as the organisation grows.

If Eleos Counselling grows or the risk profile changes, first aid arrangements will be reviewed and may include appointing a trained first aider.

10. Accidents, incidents and near misses

All accidents, incidents and near misses should be recorded and reviewed.

This may include slips, trips or falls, injury to a client, student, staff member or visitor, medical emergencies, fire or evacuation incidents, threatening or aggressive behaviour, damage to property affecting safety, environmental hazards, significant emotional or behavioural incidents affecting safety, or any incident involving a student counsellor that raises safety concerns.

Records should include the date and time, the person involved, a brief factual description, immediate action taken, whether emergency services were contacted, whether safeguarding procedures were triggered, follow-up action required, and the name of the person completing the record.

For clinical incidents, records should also be made on WriteUpp where they relate to client care, risk or safeguarding. Incident records should be stored securely and handled in line with GDPR and confidentiality requirements.

11. Lone working

As Eleos Counselling is currently a one-person organisation, lone working is an important part of health and safety.

The Lone Working Policy should be followed whenever a practitioner, student, associate or staff member is working alone on site.

Lone working arrangements may include ensuring someone knows when the practitioner is on site, checking the room and exit route before sessions, keeping a charged mobile phone available, having emergency numbers accessible, using professional judgement around client suitability, ending or not starting a session if safety concerns are present, ensuring students do not work alone without an agreed arrangement, using check-in and check-out procedures where appropriate, and reviewing any client behaviour that creates concern.

Students should not be left to manage high-risk or unsafe situations without clear access to support.

12. Client distress, crisis and clinical risk

Counselling may involve emotional distress. Health and safety therefore includes psychological safety, not only physical safety.

Eleos Counselling will manage client distress and risk through appropriate assessment, clear contracting, client suitability screening, ongoing risk review, safeguarding procedures, clinical supervision, clear emergency escalation, accurate WriteUpp records, and referral or signposting where needed.

Where a client presents with immediate risk to self or others, the practitioner or student should follow Eleos Counselling’s Client Safety and Risk Policy and Safeguarding Policy.

If a client becomes physically unwell, highly distressed, threatening, disorientated or unsafe to leave alone, appropriate action may include contacting emergency services, a GP, safeguarding services, an emergency contact, or another appropriate professional service.

13. Aggression, threats or unsafe behaviour

Eleos Counselling aims to provide a calm and respectful therapeutic environment. However, the possibility of aggression, intimidation or unsafe behaviour must be considered.

Examples of unsafe behaviour may include threats, intimidation, harassment, stalking, sexualised behaviour toward staff or students, damage to property, refusal to leave the premises, attending under the influence of alcohol or drugs in a way that creates risk, or bringing weapons or dangerous items onto the premises.

Where safety is at risk, the practitioner or student may end the session, leave the room or building if safe to do so, contact emergency services, contact the placement lead or supervisor, decline further sessions, record the incident, and review client suitability.

Students must report any threatening, sexualised or unsafe behaviour immediately to the placement lead.

14. Student placement health and safety

Before beginning placement activity, student counsellors must receive induction into relevant health and safety procedures.

This should include fire evacuation procedure, first aid arrangements, accident and incident reporting, lone working rules, client arrival and departure arrangements, use of counselling rooms, emergency contacts, client distress and risk escalation, safeguarding procedure, WriteUpp record-keeping expectations, confidentiality and GDPR, and how to contact the placement lead.

Students must not see clients until they have completed the required induction and confirmed they understand relevant policies.

Students should only see clients who have been assessed as suitable for student placement work. Clients should be reviewed by a senior member of Eleos Counselling before allocation.

15. Online counselling health and safety

Where Eleos Counselling provides online counselling, reasonable steps will be taken to support safety.

This may include checking that online work is clinically suitable, confirming the client is in a private and safe location, confirming the client’s location at the start of the session where clinically appropriate, obtaining emergency contact details where appropriate, having a plan if the online connection fails, ensuring the practitioner or student works from a private location, using secure and appropriate technology, and recording relevant risk or safety concerns on WriteUpp.

Students may only offer online counselling if this has been approved by Eleos Counselling and their training provider, and if appropriate supervision is in place.

16. Infection control and hygiene

Eleos Counselling will maintain basic infection control and hygiene procedures appropriate to a counselling setting.

This may include keeping rooms clean and tidy, maintaining hand hygiene, ensuring tissues and waste disposal are available, ventilating rooms where possible, encouraging clients, students or staff not to attend in person if they are significantly unwell or infectious, offering online sessions where clinically appropriate and practical, cleaning shared surfaces where needed, and reviewing infection control arrangements if public health guidance changes.

17. Electrical equipment

Electrical equipment used by Eleos Counselling should be safe, suitable and in good condition.

This may include lamps, chargers, computers, printers, routers, and heating or cooling equipment where used.

Any damaged equipment, exposed wires, overheating plugs or unsafe electrical items should be taken out of use immediately and repaired or replaced.

Cables should be positioned to reduce trip hazards.

18. Manual handling and room setup

Counselling work is usually low risk for manual handling. However, care should still be taken when moving furniture, files, equipment or supplies.

People working with Eleos Counselling should avoid lifting items that are too heavy, ask for help where needed, use safe lifting principles, avoid creating trip hazards when moving furniture, and ensure chairs and room layout remain safe for clients and practitioners.

19. Display screen equipment and administrative work

Where staff, students or associates undertake regular computer-based work, Eleos Counselling will encourage safe and comfortable use of display screen equipment.

This may include appropriate chair and desk setup where possible, regular breaks from screen work, safe positioning of laptop or monitor, awareness of posture, eye strain and repetitive strain, and reviewing arrangements if administrative roles increase in future.

20. Confidentiality and physical safety of records

Health and safety also includes safe handling of confidential records.

Eleos Counselling uses WriteUpp for clinical records. Students, staff and associates must not leave identifiable client information visible or unattended.

Physical documents, if used, should be kept to a minimum, stored securely, not left in counselling rooms or public areas, disposed of securely when no longer needed, and handled in line with Eleos Counselling’s GDPR and Data Protection Policy.

21. Visitors and contractors

Visitors and contractors should be managed in a way that protects client privacy and safety.

Where contractors attend the premises, Eleos Counselling should consider whether clients are present, whether confidential conversations could be overheard, whether access to therapy rooms or records is restricted, whether work creates trip, noise, fire or other risks, and whether sessions need to be rearranged.

Contractors should not have access to confidential client information.

22. Emergency contacts and procedures

Eleos Counselling will keep emergency contact information accessible to relevant practitioners, students and staff.

This may include emergency services, NHS urgent help, local safeguarding contacts, building or premises contact, placement lead contact, supervisor contact where appropriate, client emergency contact where clinically appropriate and consented, and student emergency contact where appropriate.

In an emergency, immediate safety takes priority. Confidentiality may be breached where necessary to prevent serious harm, in line with Eleos Counselling’s safeguarding, risk and confidentiality policies.

23. Insurance

Eleos Counselling will maintain appropriate insurance arrangements for its work.

Before taking on student placements, Eleos Counselling should confirm with its insurer that the policy covers student counsellors, client work undertaken by students, face-to-face work, online work if offered, premises-related liability, public liability, professional indemnity, and employer responsibilities if relevant.

Insurance arrangements should be reviewed if the organisation grows or changes.

24. Training and induction

Health and safety training will be proportionate to Eleos Counselling’s size and risk profile.

For students, associates or future staff, induction should include this Health and Safety Policy, fire evacuation procedure, first aid arrangements, Lone Working Policy, Client Safety and Risk Policy, Safeguarding Policy, incident reporting, GDPR and confidentiality, WriteUpp use, emergency contacts, and room use and premises safety.

Induction should be recorded and signed by the student, associate or staff member.

25. Monitoring and review

Eleos Counselling will monitor health and safety through annual policy review, review of incidents and near misses, feedback from students, clients or staff, supervision and reflective practice, review of risk assessments, premises checks, insurance review, and updates in law, HSE guidance or professional guidance.

This policy will be reviewed sooner if an accident or serious incident occurs, a student placement begins, a new staff member or associate joins, the premises change, the organisation reaches five or more employees, new services are introduced, or health and safety concerns are raised.

26. Proportionate approach for a small organisation

Eleos Counselling recognises that it is currently a very small organisation. Therefore, health and safety arrangements should be clear, practical and proportionate.

At the current stage, the priority is to ensure that risks are identified and reviewed, clients are seen in a safe and suitable environment, student counsellors receive clear induction, emergency procedures are known, first aid and fire arrangements are clear, incidents are recorded, lone working is managed carefully, and client distress and safeguarding risks are escalated appropriately.

As Eleos Counselling grows, this policy should become more formalised, especially if the organisation reaches five or more employees. At that point, a written health and safety policy becomes a legal requirement under HSE guidance.


Separate printable forms

You can keep the following as separate tick-box documents for each student file:

Appendix 1: Basic Health and Safety Induction Checklist
Use this as a signed induction record for each student, associate or future staff member.

Appendix 2: Simple Premises Safety Checklist
Use this as a practical room/building safety check. This could be completed weekly, monthly, or before student work begins.

26 May 2026 Eleos Counselling Ltd All Rights Reserved.