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.  

• 50 minutes per session. The number of sessions depends on your needs, funding, and availability. This will be discussed during your assessment — there is no pressure to commit before you are ready.
• Sessions cancelled less than 48 hours in advance or sessions that you DNA ‘do not attend’ without notice, are counted in your allocated sessions, meaning, you will lose that session. We understand things happen however, if a counsellor needs to cancel, you do not lose that session. Please let your therapist know at your assessment appointment of any upcoming dates of unavailability as this may avoid your losing sessions.

Yes. Demand can be high and waiting times fluctuate. We aim to not exceed six months of waiting times -this is why we ask people to consider readiness for therapy and to support the referral process. By providing up to date availability, specific counsellor matching requests (if preferred and upon availability) and to not accept an offer of assessment or sessions if you feel you are not going to be ready when contacted after referring/being referred ensures that the waiting list moves quickly. See ‘What helps speed up the process of making a client referral?’ below.

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.

Self-refer here. We will guide you through the next steps and you can also watch our ‘accessing therapy at the Maya Centre’ here for more information before applying.

• Referrals are closed or referred on where a referral does not meet the criteria of our current funding pathways or where we are not a good fit for the client’s needs.  
• Clients who frequently DNA (do not attend) and/or cancel sessions or request multiple rescheduling of assessment appointments or counselling sessions will likely lead to as referral being closed.  

• Generally, two or more consecutive missed sessions or several within the first six sessions of therapy will often lead to referral closure. This is because the benefit of therapy is greatly reduced when too many sessions are missed and is an indication that perhaps the person is not ready for therapy.
• Only two initial offers of an assessment appointment are given, which must be confirmed and depending on funding, another appointment might be offered, which must be confirmed, as our funding is restricted. In the event that there are two cancelled and/or DNA’s, your referral will not be processed and automatically closed. Non-attendance and cancellation of assessment appointments and counselling sessions come at a cost to the service, reducing capacity for those wanting to access our services here. Counselling is an emotional and time commitment. See ‘What if I am not sure that I am “ready” for therapy?’ above. 
• We do not hold referrals open indefinitely. If you do not respond to communications after two attempts of contact via all permitted contact consent, decline or DNA assessment appointments, your referral will be closed. Priority on the waiting list will be given to those clients who readily engage with the service and actively respond to our communications. Returning clients will often have a longer wait depending on when they finished their previous therapy here.

Referrals are not processed if they do not match our current criteria and/or funding pathways. For example, some of our funding is only for Islington residents. We prioritise women who have been victims of and are survivors of violence against women and girls.