Connections Core Values
Client-centred values
Counselling should be accessible to everyone, but it isn’t always. So, what are the barriers that people face?
Accessible to everyone
Financial: It is well known that we are in a mental health crisis in the UK, it is also known that the lowest socioeconomic sector of society has the poorest mental health. This means that those who need access to this service the most, are those who face challenges in being able to afford it. While we cannot remove this barrier, we intend to build bridges over it through funding, providing a free and/or pay what you can access to help. If you are unable to pay the counsellors going rate, please let us know and we can discuss our access program with you.
A missed session is a no-show or cancellation within 24hrs of the scheduled time. We feel that charging you for a missed session is outside of our ethical values of helping you. Sometimes life can just get in the way and you might just simply be unable to face a session, or something happened last minute, or you simply forgot. We will not penalise you for this. We do however need to emphasise the importance of the commitment to the therapeutic relationship and should this happen more than twice, we will discuss with you whether or not this is the right time for you to be in this mutually committed relationship.
Physical: We are inclusive, not normative. Not everyone can access the traditional counselling room and Connections provides online access. We understand that even working online can be problematic for some and plan on offering a range of access, such as home visits and walk-and-talk after we have become established fully next year. When our in-person counselling space has opened, it will be fully accessible for people who have mobility challenges.
Nurtured Connections
Circumstance: Should you choose to disconnect from our services, we will endeavour to make sure that this is by choice as apposed to challenging circumstances. If you do not attend any appointments, we will attempt to make contact with you to see how we might remain of help.
Stigma: Whilst more of society is accepting of mental health support, there are still some big hurdles, particularly for men and stigmas surrounding counselling being for people who are broken or weak. The truth couldn’t be further from this lie. Not only is it a sign of strength to actively seek change for personal development or from a place of suffering but it is a self-serving responsibility to look after ourselves, physically, mentally and emotionally. Seeking counselling is a proactive and strength-based action and considered part of your overall self-care, just like physical health practices.
Holistic and Tailored Approaches: Connections aims to offer flexible, personalized therapy with diverse modalities (e.g., CBT, somatic therapy, person-centred approaches) to cater to individual client needs. This will allow you to co-create your therapeutic plan, ensuring counselling is adapted to your preferences and circumstances.
Relational values
Accessible to everyone
Counselling is for everyone: At Connections, we believe that everyone benefits from therapeutic relationships. Whilst many seek change and growth from a place of rupture (through repair and into growth), growth can also come from a place of neutrality, like a seed being watered. We understand what is known as the actualising tendency – a natural desire within us all to fulfil our potential – and are here to help you engage with yours.
Nurtured Connections
Mutual commitment: Relationships take work and are built over time with communication. We will be authentic, empathetic and hold you in positive regard to help create an environment where you feel safe enough to bring every part of yourself, ensuring mutual relational growth.
Transparency and Collaborative Feedback: We will nurture a transparent therapeutic process and emphasize collaborative feedback between clients and counsellors. You are encouraged to provide feedback and counsellors to adapt based on that feedback, ensuring the process is co-created and responsive.
Engagement with the Local Community: We will also build community connections by offering peer support groups, workshops, and outreach programs to reduce isolation and foster a sense of belonging. Counsellors and clients both benefit from being part of a larger, supportive local community that reinforces mental health outside the therapy room.
Blended power balance
As counsellor, also client: We work to maintain as much as possible a power balance in our relationships and demonstrate that in various ways. For example, having our own counsellors so we are both counsellor and client, understanding the full sphere of the therapeutic relationship and a and a shared experience of the therapeutic process. We are not experts and do not give out advice.
Compassion & Empathy
Creating a safe space: We will work together to create an environment where you feel safe enough to be able to bring anything that you are dealing with into conversation. We will be with you, listening and accepting of what challenges you are facing.
Counsellor-centred values
Nurtured Connections
Always actively listening: Connections is here to listen and help you create change in your life by providing a supportive, professional relationship. All connections received responded to, we will always answer within 2 business days and never let an attempt go unanswered.
Active self-care
Counsellor self-care: To be there for you, we must also be there for ourselves. We recognise there can be longer term complexities in working in mental health and make sure that we look after our counsellors, so that they can help you. We make sure each of our counsellors engages in an active self-care plan and takes time off where necessary.
Professional Development
Continual Professional Development: We all commit to regular continual CPD, including specific training in trauma, suicide awareness, and cultural competence.
Supervision: We have regular supervision where we bring our client work into conversation as another tool of help for you, our client. This helps us to not only reflect on our practice but stay updated on best practices.
Trauma Informed practice: All CC’s are suicide and trauma aware, having undertaken CPD specific to these areas.
Systemic Care: Trauma-informed care will be central to the practice, recognizing how social, cultural, and systemic factors impact mental health. We will create a safe and empowering place for those who have experienced trauma, taking into account societal and systemic inequalities.
Social Awareness
Anti-discrimination practice: We aim to create an inclusive, safe, and equitable environment for all clients by actively addressing biases and ensuring respect for diverse identities. This includes ongoing cultural competence training, using inclusive language, and adapting therapeutic approaches to clients' backgrounds. Counsellors follow ethical guidelines that forbid discrimination, ensure accessibility and recognize the impact of social inequalities on mental health. We adopt a client-centred approach that empowers individuals, integrates trauma-informed care, and remains open to feedback, ensuring that marginalized clients feel respected and supported.
Sustainability and Environmental Consciousness: Connections will be run in an environmentally sustainable way by adopting eco-friendly practices such as reducing waste, using energy-efficient resources, and integrating sustainability into the day-to-day operations of the practice.
Our Core Values — Therapy Rooted in Experience and Ethics
Connections Counselling was created not just in response to a need but from lived experience.
As clients ourselves, and as counsellors, we’ve experienced both the healing potential and the limitations of the wider therapeutic industry. Through reflection and collaboration, we came to believe there were better, fairer, more compassionate ways to offer support.
Connections is built upon the real-world insights of our counsellors and clients alike. At the heart of our work is a commitment to ethical, values-led counselling offered both in Edinburgh and online across the UK. These values guide every relationship we hold and every choice we make.
Please click the headings below to explore what each value means to us:
Financial:
We are currently facing a mental health crisis in the UK, and those in the lowest socioeconomic groups are often the most impacted, yet the least able to afford support. At Connections Counselling, we believe affordable counselling in Edinburgh and online should be a reality, not a privilege.
While we can’t remove every financial barrier, we aim to build bridges through our Tier 1 programme: funded and pay-what-you-can counselling for those in need. If you’re unable to pay a standard fee, please reach out to discuss our access programme.
A missed session is a no-show or a cancellation within 24 hours of the scheduled time. We believe that charging for missed sessions reinforces power imbalances and goes against our ethical values. Life happens, sometimes you're simply unable to attend, something comes up, or you just forget. We won’t penalise you for this.
However, we also honour the importance of mutual commitment. If sessions are missed more than twice, we’ll explore together whether this is the right time for you to be in a therapeutic relationship.
Physical:
We are inclusive, not normative. Traditional counselling spaces aren’t accessible to everyone, and so we offer online counselling across the UK as a flexible and inclusive option.
In future, we hope to expand access further through home visits and walk-and-talk sessions, especially for those who face physical or emotional barriers to in-person therapy. When our Edinburgh counselling space is fully open, it will be designed to be accessible for individuals with mobility challenges.
Counselling is for everyone:
At Connections, we believe everyone can benefit from therapy, not just those in crisis. Many people seek counselling for healing after rupture, but growth can also begin from a neutral place, like a seed being gently watered.
We’re grounded in the understanding of the actualising tendency, the innate potential within each of us to grow, heal, and flourish. We’re here to help you connect with yours.
Circumstance: Should you choose to disconnect from our services, we will endeavour to ensure this is by choice, rather than due to difficult circumstances. If you stop attending appointments, we’ll attempt to reach out, not to pressure but to see how we might remain of help and hold the door open. This is part of our commitment to nurtured, ethical therapeutic relationships.
Stigma: While society has become more open to mental health support, significant stigma still exists, particularly for men, and for anyone taught to believe that counselling is only for people who are broken or weak. The truth couldn’t be further from this lie. Seeking counselling is a strength-based proactive act, a form of self-responsibility and care. Just like going to a doctor or a gym, therapy is a way to nurture our wellbeing. At Connections Counselling in Edinburgh and online, we aim to normalise emotional support as an everyday part of human life.
Holistic and Tailored Approaches: Connections offers flexible, personalised counselling rooted in diverse modalities (for example person-centred therapy, CBT, somatic approaches, and more). You are invited to co-create your therapeutic plan so that the process honours your preferences, identity, and lived experience. Our goal is to provide individualised counselling that evolves with you.
Mutual commitment: Relationships are built over time through honesty, effort, and care. We will show up authentically, with empathy and unconditional positive regard, to help foster a space where you can bring every part of yourself. This mutual investment is the foundation for meaningful, relational growth.
Transparency and Collaborative Feedback: We value open dialogue and collaborative feedback. You’re encouraged to share how therapy feels for you, and your counsellor will adapt in response. This ensures the process is co-created, not something done to you, but with you.
Engagement with the Local Community: Connections Counselling is committed to building a wider sense of connection beyond the therapy room. We are exploring offering workshops, outreach programmes and peer support groups in Edinburgh to help reduce isolation and strengthen local mental health support networks. Clients and counsellors alike benefit from being part of a larger, supportive community.
Always actively listening: Whether you're reaching out for therapy or simply curious about our work, your message will always be met with care. We respond to all enquiries within two business days, because connection begins with listening and we believe that every attempt to connect matters.
As counsellor, also client: At Connections, we are both counsellors and clients. This is not a contradiction, it is a commitment to integrity, humility, and understanding. We aim to maintain a balanced, relational power dynamic in our therapeutic work and demonstrate this in practice. One way we do this is by engaging in our own counselling, so that we understand, from lived experience, both sides of the therapeutic relationship.
We do not position ourselves as experts, and we do not give advice. Instead, we co-create a space of ethical counselling where your insights, emotions, and choices are honoured. Healing is not something done to you, it’s something we walk alongside you in.
Counsellor self-care: To be fully present for you, we must also be present for ourselves. At Connections, we recognise the long-term emotional complexity of working in mental health and take active steps to support our counsellors’ wellbeing. Every counsellor working with us commits to a personal self-care plan and takes time off when needed. We believe this is essential to offering sustainable, ethical therapy and to modelling what genuine self-care looks like within a relational space. When mental health professionals are supported, clients receive deeper, safer care. This isn’t just policy, it’s part of how we nurture the whole system of care we’re building together.
Continual Professional Development (CPD)
At Connections, all counsellors commit to regular CPD with a particular focus on trauma-informed counselling, suicide awareness, and cultural competence. This ensures our practice remains responsive, safe, and informed by the latest thinking in mental health and relational care.
Supervision
We engage in regular counselling supervision, where we reflect on client work in a confidential and ethical space. Supervision isn’t about judgement, it’s about growth, support, and enhancing our work for your benefit. It helps us stay aligned with best practice in therapy and navigate complex dynamics with care.
Trauma-Informed Practice
All Connections Counsellors are trained in trauma awareness and suicide response. This isn’t a checkbox, it’s a living, ongoing practice. We strive to meet each person with presence, sensitivity, and understanding of the many ways trauma can shape experience.
Systemic Care
Our work is grounded in an awareness of how systemic, cultural, and societal forces impact mental health. We recognise that trauma doesn’t happen in a vacuum — and neither does healing. We aim to create a safe, empowering therapeutic space that honours your story within its full social context.
Anti-Discrimination Practice
At Connections, we are committed to creating an inclusive, safe, and equitable therapeutic environment for all clients. This means actively addressing bias, using inclusive language, and adapting our counselling approach to each client’s identity and lived experience.
Our counsellors engage in regular cultural competence training, follow ethical guidelines that prohibit discrimination, and remain aware of how social inequality impacts mental health.
We offer client-centred, trauma-informed counselling that honours difference, invites feedback, and actively supports those from marginalised backgrounds. Our aim is to ensure that everyone who enters this space feels respected, empowered, and heard.
Sustainability and Environmental Consciousness
Our care extends to the world we live in. Connections is committed to environmentally conscious counselling practice, guided by sustainability principles in our day-to-day operations. This includes reducing waste, using energy-efficient systems, and integrating eco-awareness into how we run our space.
We see this as part of our ethical responsibility, creating a healthier environment for our clients, our communities, and the planet we share.
Creating a safe space:
At Connections, we work alongside you to create a space where you feel safe enough to bring whatever you're carrying into the room, without fear of judgement. Together, we build a relationship rooted in trust, compassion, and care. We’ll be with you, listening, attuning, and accepting the full range of your experience. Whatever you’re facing, you don’t have to face it alone. We offer compassionate counselling that honours your pace and meets you exactly where you are.
The therapeutic relationship is one where two people meet for the benefit of one but it only works when both show up with presence and care. For change to happen, we both need to commit to the work. These values are our shared foundation.
“The actuality of life tends to transcend the binary of black or white; it’s often more an intricately layered balance and blend of both. Deep within this rainbow of grey, we can discover the richness of experience and opportunities in life, which is unique to every individual on their journey. This is where we will connect, where change begins and growth occurs.”
Ian Nicholson-Kapasi