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Black Women's Project Referral

Black Women's Project Referral

This referral route is currently closed while we focus on supporting the women already waiting for counselling. We understand this may be disappointing and truly appreciate your patience and understanding.

This referral route is for 1-to-1 counselling as well as group therapy and psychoeducation groups. When filling out the form below, please tick the option that best suits the service you’d like to access.

Who Can Access This Service

We welcome women who: 

  • Are from Black British, African, and Caribbean heritages
  • Are based in Islington
  • Are over 18 
  • Receive benefits-level income (with some exceptions, see ACCEPT Criteria below) 
  • Are not currently attending another counselling, psychotherapy service or being seen at an outpatient such as a psychiatrist

 

We prioritise inclusion and diversity and welcome women who: 

  • Have experienced domestic or sexual abuse, childhood sexual abuse, or harmful practices such as honour violence 
  • Are from minoritised communities and have faced racism, discrimination, or social exclusion 
  • Are from refugee backgrounds and have experienced trafficking or other human rights abuses 
  • Are from migrant backgrounds and may not have English as their first language 
  • Identify as LGBTQ+ 

Not an Islington Resident?

Although the Black Women’s Project is specifically for residents of Islington, our other services can be accessed by women who live in North London Boroughs; Barnet, Camden, Enfield (inc. Edmonton & Southgate), Hackney, Haringey & Islington.

When a Referral Might Not Be Suitable

Sometimes we may need to postpone or decline a referral, such as if a woman: 

  • Has a current substance use issue, severe eating disorder or severe mental health diagnosis (If you have a mental health diagnosis such as EUPD, schizophrenia, PTSD, from a consultant or psychiatrist – please include this on the referral form). 
  • Is seeking counselling for a court case or is court-mandated for therapy 
  • Is currently living with a perpetrator of domestic or sexual abuse 
  • Is attending therapy to obtain letters for things like PIP applications or other state benefits. Therapists cannot provide support letters except for confirming a client was in therapy and the related dates of the therapy   
  • Has not fully completed the referral form. Please try to complete every section, as this information helps us understand your needs, ensure your safety, and match you with the right counsellor.  

Closed Referrals

The Maya Centre is a charity funded service with limited resources. We therefore ask clients to respond to our communications and take up offered assessment appointments.
 
Your referral may be closed if:
  • You do not respond within one month of our attempts to contact you; or
  • You have not engaged with our services or communications for one year.
If your referral is closed after one year of no engagement, you will need to submit a new referral if you would still like support.

Please note

An assessment does not guarantee counselling, but we will work with you to find the best support, either at the Maya Centre or another service. 

If you have mobility or accessibility needs, please let us know in your referral so we can plan accordingly. 

We do not offer a weekend service; our service operates Monday thru Friday.

Please select Group Therapy or Psychoeducation Workshops when completing the referral form. Unfortunately, due to the high volume of requests and our current waiting list, any new referrals for 1-to-1 therapy received after 15 October will not be processed. Our group sessions remain available and are designed to provide welcoming, supportive spaces where women can learn, connect, and feel supported on their wellbeing journey.

Complete the referral form

FAQs

We are a charity, so we aim to keep therapy as accessible as possible.  

Sessions are free and length of counselling contracts depends on funding criteria. Though sessions are free at the point of service to the client, it costs the centre £95+ per session to deliver one counselling session. Therefore, cancellations and DNAs come at a great cost to the centre in terms of time, money and resources.

Once you get in touch: 

  1. We will arrange an initial assessment if you meet the criteria of current funding available 
  2. You can share what has been going on at your own pace 
  3. We will explore what kind of support might help 
  4. If we are the right fit, we will match you with a therapist 

If we are full, we will be honest about waiting times and help you look at other options if needed.  

That is okay. You may feel unsure at first and this is a normal feeling. If you think that after making the referral and when we contact you to offer an assessment appointment, you are not ready for therapy please let us know by responding quickly so that the space can be offered to someone else. 

If you do start sessions, you do not have to know what to say or where to start once you are in the room. Therapy can move at your pace, and you are always in control of what you share. 

Please watch our video on the home page ‘ What to Expect From Therapy at The Maya Centre’ as this will help you decide on whether to access therapy now or wait until you feel certain.

We will usually contact you by telephone or email, sometimes by post. We always try to provide alternative agencies for you to contact that might be able to help you if we cannot. If you were referred to us by your GP, social worker or other mental health support worker, we let them know too so that they can follow up with you.
 
We do not make follow on referrals for individuals.

We may contact you upon initial receipt of a referral should we have a query about the referral and/or where we feel we would not be a good fit for the client’s needs and refer them back to you. If the client has had an assessment appointment but cannot be offered sessions, we refer them onto their GP and/or back to you depending on the outcome. 

  • Reading the information on the website and limiting queries to our admin team for updates as this is a first come, first serve service 
  • Completing the referral form in FULL, with no omissions; completing the medication and reason for accessing therapy sections are especially important as it supports the process of matching a client with a counsellor 
  • Incomplete referrals e.g. no full address / no medications or mental health diagnosis declared or left blank etc., will delay your referral being processed.