George Eustice, Member of Parliament for Camborne, Redruth, and Hayle recently visited the new Cornwall Counselling Institute based in Cornwall College to see their launch of training sessions for people seeking to develop a career in counselling.
During the visit, George met with Deborah Williams, the head of the Institute, and the rest of her fantastic team to discuss the crucial importance of mental health and well-being. Currently, Deborah and her team offer four counselling programmes that are stand-alone qualifications as well as other professional development training. Alongside doing the courses offered at the Institute, trainee counsellors have the opportunity to take on real cases. Through the Penhaligon Counselling Agency, students can gain work experience, which also offers a low-cost counselling service in the local community and Cornwall.
As shown by the Covid-19 pandemic, mental health is something that requires greater attention and taking care of it is sometimes key to healthier and happier communities. Every one of us will experience episodes in life that have a profound effect on us and it’s important that people work to help one another. For the elderly, it can often be linked to loneliness and for the young, teenage anxieties are exacerbated in the age of social media which can be needlessly cruel. Friendships and the company of others are important.
Following the visit, George commented:
“It was great to see such passion and enthusiasm and to hear about the work they are doing to support mental health charities in the area. What I really liked about the project is that part of the programme involves trainees taking on real cases and talking to people with problems in their lives through a Community Interest Company linked to the Institute. They are simultaneously training more counsellors while helping to deal with the immediate demand on the system.”
“Mental health charities and services in Cornwall have never experienced so much demand for their services after the pandemic. Since the end of lockdowns, people are socialising again, going out for a drink with friends and have returned to work but for those that are struggling, help is at hand and the CCI is a welcome additional resource for all.”
