Axis is very proud to announce that both our ISVA and Counselling Services have been awarded the Independent Accreditation Programme Quality Mark for supporting Male survivors of Sexual abuse from Lime Culture and the Male Survivors Partnership.
We have been supporting Male survivors for almost 3 decades, and working on this accreditation has helped us to review, refresh and improve on what we were already doing, as well as adding new dimensions such as starting focus groups to gain feedback from our male clients, which will help us to inform and improve our services for males.
Our work was appreciated by the Accreditation Team who wrote:
“Following our Group Interview Sessions with your service on 29th November 2021, I am delighted to confirm that Axis Counselling and ISVA service has been awarded the Independent Accreditation Programme ‘Quality Mark’ for achieving the Quality Standards for Services Supporting Male Victims/Survivors of Sexual Violence.
The awarding of the Quality Mark demonstrates the commitment of you and your team to improving the quality of support for male victims/survivors. This is a fantastic achievement for which you should be extremely proud.
Axis Counselling and ISVA service commenced the three year Quality Standards Accreditation Programme in November 2020, and therefore the Quality Mark will expire at the end of November 2023”
Our CEO, Becky Jones said “We incredibly proud to have achieved this accreditation. With 1 in 6 males experiencing sexual abuse in their lifetime, the numbers who seek support are only a fraction of that. I hope that this accreditation will demonstrate to any males who are thinking of seeking our support, that we understand that their needs, and are committed to providing them with the specialist support that they want and need.”
One of West Mercia Police’s Student Officers PC Shuan Blackshaw recently shaved his head to raise cash for Axis. Axis ISVA Manager, Becky Jones went to meet PC Blackshaw and his fellow Student Officers, to be presented with the donation of £115.00
Axis are extremely grateful to PC Blackshaw for raising this money for us. Any donations that we receive, or monies that are raised for us through sponsorship events, enable us to provide that little bit extra for our clients.
https://www.axiscounselling.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Becky.jpg19544021Irenehttps://www.axiscounselling.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Axis-White-final-resized-1-300x162.jpgIrene2019-08-09 13:11:172020-06-11 16:15:33Shaun is Shorn in aid of Axis
https://www.axiscounselling.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Laurie-1.jpg131143Irenehttps://www.axiscounselling.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Axis-White-final-resized-1-300x162.jpgIrene2019-07-09 10:54:152020-06-11 16:15:33New CEO welcomed
Crisis Counselling is a fast track service that is offered in the immediate aftermath of a sexual assault for clients who have attended and been referred by The Sexual Assault Referral Centre (S.A.R.C.) at The Glade.
For further information download the attached leaflet or contact us direct.
Axis Counselling have been providing specialist counselling & support to people affected by abuse for 30 years.
We will provide a safe, secure and confidential space where you will be listened to and supported in a respectful, empathic and non-judgemental way.
We understand how difficult it can be taking that first step and asking for help. Axis counsellors will work with you on a one-to-one basis tailoring our support to meet your needs, helping you to understand more about your own situation, how and why this is impacting on your life, and give you the tools to be better able to cope and recover.
Accessing counselling support
You are able to self-refer into our services by telephone of email:
Please note: if you are aged 5-17 please ask a parent or guardian to make the referral on your behalf
You are also able to ask a professional such as a GP / Support Worker to refer you to Axis Counselling. Referrals from other agencies must be made by letter / email and the referrer must have your permission to make the referral.
When we receive a referral or a self-referral, Axis Counselling Support staff will contact you to arrange an Initial Assessment.
Part of our eligibility criteria for trauma focused counselling is to consider the impact of potential stress in processing trauma memories where you may be undergoing other significant or difficult life experiences. Where this has been assessed, and with your agreement, we may offer alternative help to better support you or refer and/or signpost you to other sources of support to address your wider needs.
Where we cannot presently offer trauma focused counselling, you are invited to re-refer in the future.
Our Therapies – Video Presentation
Initial Assessment
The initial assessment helps us to establish what your needs are and what kind of counselling or support will be most helpful to you. It is also an opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have. It’s helpful to know that the initial assessment is not a counselling session, and we will not be discussing the past trauma in any detail.
If we feel that Axis Counselling is the right service for you, we will put you on our waiting list, however if we feel that Axis Counselling is not the right service for you, we will discuss this with you and will signpost/refer you to a more appropriate service.
We offer a range of support therapies including:
We have male and female counsellors to enable a choice about the gender of your therapist and delivery methods now include online, telephone and face to face.
Pre-Trial Counselling is offered to people who have reported sexual violence to the police and are currently pursuing a case through the criminal justice system. Our aim is to support you in developing coping strategies, building self-esteem and confidence while the investigation and court processes are ongoing. (Telephone/Online/Face to Face)
LINK Counselling Is a specialist counselling service for family members, parents, carers, partners and loved ones. Our aim is to help people to understand the possible effect of the sexual assault on the victim/survivor, but also to support family members with any difficult feelings that they may be experiencing. (Telephone/Online/Face to Face)
Trauma Focused Counselling is a longer-term therapy aimed at helping you to overcome the effects of the past trauma, and to understand how this may be affecting your thoughts, feelings and behaviours today; allowing you to take control of your life. Based on your assessment we may offer Short Term Trauma Focused Counselling (up to 10 sessions) and Long Term Trauma Focused Counselling (up to 17 sessions). (Online/Face to Face)
Fast Track Counselling is offered to people who have attended and been referred by the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (S.A.R.C.)We will work with you on a one-to-one basis, understanding the importance of taking time to build a trusting therapeutic relationship, and helping you to develop coping strategies so that you can engage in the counselling process safely. (Telephone/Online/Face to Face)
HEAR4YOU is a new listening service offering 4 sessions of compassionate listening to support you whilst you are waiting for trauma focused counselling to commence.
Groups and Workshops We are working on several groups and workshops and will provide more information soon.
Online self-help programme: Taste of Recovery with Axis (TORWA) TORWA is an online guided self-help programme that aims to help people aged 16+ to identify the effects of sexual abuse, to develop coping strategies and to improve emotional wellbeing. This is available to everyone, and you are able to self-refer via this link on our website, Taste of Recovery with Axis.
Training and Qualifications
All Axis counsellors are qualified and hold a professional qualification in counselling.Axis counsellors are specifically trained to work with sexual trauma via induction training and as part of our continued professional development programme (CPD).As well as specialising in working with sexual trauma, we also have counsellors who are specifically trained to work with:
Children & Young people
Males
People with Learning Disabilities
All counsellors receive regular clinical supervision, and line management supervision and hold a DBS certificate.
If you have any questions regarding Axis counsellors training and qualifications, please email info@axiscounselling.org.uk
All Axis counsellors are qualified and hold a professional qualification in counselling.Axis counsellors are specifically trained to work with sexual trauma via induction training and as part of our continued professional development programme (CPD).As well as specialising in working with sexual trauma, we also have counsellors who are specifically trained to work with:
Children & Young people
Males
People with Learning Disabilities
All counsellors receive regular clinical supervision, and line management supervision and hold a DBS certificate.
If you have any questions regarding Axis counsellors training and qualifications, please email info@axiscounselling.org.uk
Client Consultation
Could you help us to improve? At Axis, we are continually looking to improve what we do, and how we do it. We would like the help of people have used our services, to do that. Is this something you might be interested in? Click here to find out more.
We recognise that it can be extremely difficult to seek support following a rape or sexual assault. Our advisors will respect your wishes and give you the impartial advice and guidance so you have the most appropriate support as well as all the relevant information to make an informed choice which is absolutely right for you.
We also understand that the thought of pursuing justice through the courts may well be too much to cope with. Our detailed knowledge of the courts and criminal justice system means that if you do decide to formalise a complaint to the police we can support you throughout the whole of that process.
Axis Counselling welcomes Telford and Wrekin Council’s decision to hold an independent inquiry into child sexual exploitation (CSE) within the borough. We look forward to working with this inquiry in helping provide victims of CSE with the answers they are seeking, and doing whatever we can to help eliminate this abhorrent crime from our community.
Axis is actively supporting the Truth Project and will also be contributing to the national independent inquiry in every way possible.
The Truth Project have supplied a Truth Project – social media toolkit for use to get the word out to a wider audience and also a useful Copy of Truth Project booklet which if you are a victim of Sexual Abuse and have not talked to anyone about it, the booklet is a good use to gently help you tell your story, without shame or judgement, and where to get support.
Axis Counselling provides Independent Sexual Violence Advisor Services, as well as Counselling – covering the areas of Telford & Wrekin and Shropshire, free to anyone living in the area.
Axis is an entirely independent charity established specifically to help victims of child sex abuse, historic child sex abuse, sexual assault and sexual abuse. Axis is not part of the council, or the police, or any other public body it is a private not for profit company and a registered charity. Axis provided support to over 1,100 individual clients in the last year, over 690 were for counselling support and over 500 used our Independent Sexual Violence Advisory service. The support and services Axis provides are entirely free to the clients and every client is assured that they are given the absolute protection of our strict confidentiality procedures and protocols. This means that Axis is not able to talk in any way about specific cases, or divulge anything that may breach these rules. This makes it very difficult to challenge some of the statements that are being made in the media, or indeed some of the ‘facts’ that are being purported concerning certain individual victims.
To give some perspective, Axis has had 5 victims identified under Operation Chalice referred to us since 2011, most of these actually used and benefited from our support and services. Whilst one victim is one too many in our view, we must not lose sight of the many others we support and continue to support who are not connected with Operation Chalice. Our clients cover a wide age range from 11 to over 65, many have suffered in total silence for many years, and Axis continues to provide a vital support service to them and all victims of sexual violence and sexual abuse.
Axis is funded by a number of sources including the Police and Crime Commissioner, the Ministry of Justice, the Clinical Commissioning Groups in Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin, and we receive a small amount of private donations. It is a fact that without the support of the public sector we simply could not provide our services. Would we like more funding? Of course! but then again almost every charity would! In the meantime we must continue to do as much as we possibly we can with the resources we have.
Axis actually welcomes the increased media coverage of the issues not just around child sex abuse but also all other sex crimes as it helps encourage victims to come forward, not be afraid to speak out and know that they will be listened to, believed and supported. Increased awareness also helps authorities identify and prosecute perpetrators.
Axis also welcomes the visit of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse and the Truth Project to Telford, and will be a participant in that process.
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