Our Services

WHY COUNSELLING FOR WOMEN?

Women often tell us that they feel alone, frightened, unsafe.

If this sounds like you, it may be that you have had an experience of abuse or violence in your past. 

It may be that you feel unequal or unheard as a woman in your home, in your community, or at work.

Whatever brings you to The Maya Centre, we can offer you a safe women-only space to talk in confidence about your life and your relationships.  Our qualified and experienced counsellors are trained to listen to you carefully, to help you understand what has happened to you and to find ways of being in the world that make you feel more confident and fulfilled as a woman.

WHAT WE OFFER

At the Maya Centre, we believe in a holistic approach to women’s mental health and wellbeing – helping you to recover from trauma or abuse, and to rebuild build your resilience, confidence and support networks.

With this in mind, we offer a range of support depending on your needs and interests. You can go straight onto our waiting list for Counselling, you may prefer to start with some Education around women’s mental health, or perhaps simply finding support for your everyday Wellbeing is important right now.

Click on the diagram below to find out more about the different services we offer:

 

Individual Counselling

Counselling at The Maya Centre is delivered by a team of qualified and experienced female counsellors who are trained in women’s mental health, and understand the impact of trauma, abuse and violence on women’s lives. This offer is best suited to you if you can attend weekly sessions for a period of at least 12 weeks and are ready to explore difficult experiences and feelings with the support of your counsellor.

Core Counselling

We offer counselling in over 12 different languages including Turkish, Bengali/ Sylheti, Somali, Farsi and Urdu. Counselling at The Maya Centre uses psychodynamic and intercultural approaches. This means your counsellor will be interested in your culture and belief system, your past life and present relationships as a woman in society. She will listen to your story, help you choose the main issue to work on and explore difficult feelings and experiences which may be affecting your wellbeing and confidence.

Special Services

We offer grant funded projects and services which help us to focus on a particular community of women who want to explore issues relating to their culture or heritage. These include:

  • Irish Women's Service (formerly the Irish Women's Project)
  • Black Women's Project (formerly the Black Women's Therapeutic Group)
  • Turkish Women's Therapy

Please state a preference for these projects on your referral form.

Accept

Commissioned by Islington Council and the North Central London NHS, we deliver counselling for women in Islington as part of the Accept Consortium, working closely with our partners Nafsiyat and CCiWBS. Women must have an Islington GP and have experienced either domestic abuse or childhood sexual abuse (CSA) to be eligible for this service. To find out more, please visit the Accept website and request The Maya Centre via your referral form.

Irish Women's Service

The Irish Women's Service (formerly the Irish Women's Project) is a specialist mental health initiative that helps Irish women and women of Irish descent to explore issues relating to their culture and heritage. As our longest-running specialist service, this support includes those from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Black Women's Project

Black Women's Project

The Black Women's Project (BWP) works specifically with women from African and Afro-Caribbean backgrounds who wish to share experiences and explore their identities within a safe space, facilitated by two of our most experienced Black women therapists.

With an emphasis on solidarity and healing, the BWP offers one-to-one counselling, psychoeducation workshops in 6-week cycles, Emotional Emancipation Circles (EECs) in 9-week cycles, and group therapy in 12-week cycles with a maximum of 12 women per group.
Education

At The Maya Centre, we see education and knowledge as the keys to women’s recovery. Learning about women’s mental health, what affects or harms you and how counselling can help, means that you have more voice, choice and control over your own life – and can help shape the community around you too.

Our educational activities include both Psychoeducation, where you can learn more about how counselling for women works, and our Women’s Forum, where you can take your learning and use it to help us improve our services, reach new women and inform the wider public.

Psychoeducation

Psychoeducation is a way of finding out more about mental health and wellbeing before deciding to have 1:1 or group counselling.

Psychoeducation groups are offered in 6 week programmes and can be delivered to a group of up to 10 women, in English or in community languages.

Group work can help you with feelings of isolation, learning to share with other women in a safe space. You will learn about how to access your feelings, how to stay safe and recognise signs of abuse, and when to reach out for more help and support.

Contact us for more information, or if you would like us to set up a group for your community.

Women's Forum

At the Maya Centre, we are creating a Women's Forum for Experts by Experience: women who have used our services and would like to help shape the direction of our organisation.

Check back for updates on our Get Involved page.
group of women together
Women's Hub

Looking after yourself is the most important part of your life as a woman and the Women’s Hub is here to support you on your recovery journey from depression or trauma. We provide activities designed by you, that can prevent women from sliding into unhealthy habits or relationships.

We will help you to rebuild your confidence, develop new skills, discover your voice, and join a social support network of friendly women. We focus on upward social mobility, empowering women to become leaders in their community.

The Women’s Hub caters to the wellbeing needs of the diverse communities of women in Islington, and is suitable for women who have received counselling, those thinking about, or waiting for counselling, and for those who simply want to meet other women in a safe space.

We offer:

  • Wellbeing activities
  • Weekly 1:2:1 and group advocacy sessions
  • Women’s Forum
  • Complementary Therapy sessions
  • A range of culturally diverse wellbeing workshops
  • Peer-Support Groups
  • Community events
 

 All of our activities are free, with light refreshments provided. 

We can reimburse your travel costs for a limited time only. 

Contact us: Women’sHub@mayacentre.org.uk  07724 027 976


Mind-Body Therapies

Mind-body therapies at The Maya Centre include Reiki, Holistic Massage and Reflexology.

Offered in 5 week blocks for women ending their counselling sessions, they are designed to help rebuild a positive connection with the body, helping with both physical and emotional recovery from trauma.

Wellbeing Workshops & Events

Our Wellbeing Workshops are one-off events designed by women for women in the local community.

Together we explore topics such as identity, resilience, relationships, safety, confidence, ages and stages, leadership and voice using arts and other creative resources.

Look out for details on our News Page.

We have a quota of referrals we can accept every month, and once met, the referral line will be closed to allow adequate time and attention to processing them. Referrals are currently closed to al except those applying for the Irish Women’s Service. Find out more details here.