Most of our therapists work from a humanistic perspective. This includes approaches such as Person-Centred Therapy, Transactional Analysis (TA), Gestalt Therapy, and Existential Therapy.

Many of our therapists work integratively, which means they draw on ideas and techniques from several approaches rather than following one model exclusively. Some therapists also incorporate psychodynamic ideas, such as attachment theory and exploring how past experiences may influence current thoughts, feelings, and relationships.

In practice, this means therapy at Offload tends to focus on helping you understand yourself more deeply, explore your experiences, and develop greater self-awareness and self-acceptance. Whilst therapists may offer challenge, insight, psychoeducation, or practical strategies where appropriate, the relationship between you and your therapist is usually at the heart of the work.

At present, we do not offer specialist therapies such as EMDR, DBT, psychoanalysis, or "pure" CBT. That's not because these approaches aren't valuable – many people find them incredibly helpful – they're simply not the areas in which our service specialises.

If you're looking for a particular therapeutic approach, feel free to discuss this with us at your assessment and we'll do our best to help you determine whether Offload is likely to be a good fit.

Waiting times at Offload vary and depend largely on your availability, preferences, and the type of support you're looking for.

At present, the average waiting time is around 3 months (87 days). However, this is an average rather than a guarantee. Some people are matched much sooner, while others may wait longer depending on factors such as their availability, whether they would prefer online or in-person sessions, and the level of risk or complexity involved in their support needs.

One of the biggest factors affecting waiting times is when you're available:

• Daytime appointments are generally matched more quickly and may become available within a matter of weeks.

• Evening appointments are our most in-demand slots and typically involve a significantly longer wait.

Because our therapy is open-ended, we can't always predict exactly when spaces will become available. Unlike services that offer a fixed number of sessions, clients can continue attending therapy for as long as it remains helpful and appropriate. Whilst we believe this makes therapy more meaningful and accessible, it does make waiting times less predictable.

We know waiting can be difficult. While you're on our waiting list, we'll stay in touch with regular updates so you know your referral remains active and where possible we'll share information about any relevant groups, workshops, or additional support options.

As a small, community-based non-profit, we're continually working to increase capacity and reduce waiting times in a way that is sustainable and allows us to maintain the quality of support we provide.

If you're hoping to start therapy sooner, it may be worth considering whether you have any flexibility to attend during the daytime. Some employers offer flexible working arrangements or wellbeing policies that make this possible, and being available during the day can significantly increase the likelihood of being matched more quickly.

Yes. Right now, The Offload Project is largely ran by volunteers who kindly donate half a day of their time or so per week. This means that we can’t accommodate scheduling in sessions ad hoc. We know that this is going to be a barrier for those who can’t commit to a particular time slot each week. Apologies if this means we’re not able to help you right now.

We do - we offer appointments at 6pm and 7:15pm every weekday, and hope to offer Sunday morning appointments in the near future. It should be noted though, out of hours appointments are often subject to a little bit longer of a wait time, so if you do have any flexibility at all, it might help speed things up a little for you.

Unfortunately not - we do need you to choose either online or in person. Whilst occasionally in person therapists might be able to accomodate an online session if for example, you’ve got an injury or you’re away from Notts for the week, this is more of an exception than the rule. We also sometimes get asked if you can start online then come in if you feel up to it later down the line. Unfortunately this isn’t possible, as our remote therapists are often not even based in Nottingham. The only way we could accomodate this, would be to switch your therapist, which most people are unlikely to want after they’ve built a rapport with somebody already.

No, we work with adults aged 18+

Ah. A slightly more complex question. Importantly, you are not a broken washing machine. You are a human. Maybe you’ve been through some bad things that make you feel like you are broken, but you are NOT defective. It is not an inherent failure to react to your environment and experiences.

That aside, it’s crucial to note that therapy is not a passive process. You can turn up every week for 3 years and talk and talk and talk, but ultimately it’s up to you to reflect on the things you have learned or processed in the therapy room and begin to implement any changes you wish to make in your day to day life.

For some people they just need a couple of months of therapy. For others, they might enjoy the process of challenge and development and stick to it for years. It really is an individual journey.

Yup! The things you say in your sessions will be kept confidential within the parameters of the service. There are some legal exemptions to this. For example, where child safeguarding is concerned. Your therapist will talk you through our full confidentiality policy so you know exactly what you can expect.

If you’re a student of UoN or Nottingham Trent who doesn’t live here during term time that’s not a problem. You can still utilise the service until you graduate. If you choose to not stay in Notts after graduation, we’ll have to part ways, but we’ll make sure to help you out with referrals for a new therapist wherever you’re heading.

It’s really up to you. We don’t provide a guide based on income because we recognise that income isn’t always indicative of how much disposable income you have. Pick a figure between £12.50-£30 that you can afford each week.

Appointments are once a week :)

Most of ‘em. That’s why we’re able to offer therapy at such a low price. Each Offload trainee is (if we do say so ourselves), bloomin’ marvellous and come from highly respected training institutes. Most have worked in some capacity with people long before they began their counselling journey, with many being in support roles already.

Ah, it happens from time to time, doesn't it? The truth is that somebody could be the best therapist in the world and still not be the right therapist for everybody.

If you're feeling unsure about your relationship with your therapist, we'd encourage you to talk to them about it first if you feel able to. Therapists understand that they won't be the right fit for everyone, and they're usually very open to having honest conversations about how therapy is feeling for you. Sometimes, a conversation about what's not working can lead to a positive change in the way you work together.

If, after discussing it, you still feel that the relationship isn't the right fit, just let us know via email and we'll happily look at arranging a change of therapist. Depending on availability, this may mean going back onto our waiting list for a short period while we find somebody suitable.

Most people find a therapist they connect with first time, but occasionally it can take a couple of attempts. We can usually offer up to three therapist matches. If you've worked with several therapists and still don't feel that therapy is helping, we'll have a conversation with you about what might be getting in the way.

Offload is primarily a humanistic and psychodynamic service, so sometimes the difficulty isn't the individual therapist but the type of therapy itself. If that's the case, changing therapist is unlikely to make a significant difference, and we may suggest alternative approaches or services that could be a better fit for your needs.

Nope! We do advertise ourselves as low cost, long term counselling and psychotherapy, but that’s just because it’s very difficult to find this available elsewhere. But if you just want therapy for a couple of months or so that’s absolutely fine too!

I've been rejected from other services. Does that mean you'll reject me too?

Not necessarily.

We work with people experiencing a wide range of mental health difficulties and life challenges, and it's not uncommon for someone to come to us after being turned away from another service.

That said, every service has different criteria, different levels of resource, and different ways of working. During your assessment, we'll consider whether Offload is the right fit for your needs and whether we believe we can safely and effectively support you. We truly believe that having therapy that doesn’t meet your needs properly can be more harmful than having no therapy at all, which obviously we want to avoid.

Our therapists are trainees who are supported by qualified supervisors and an experienced management team. Because of this, there are times when we may feel that somebody would be better supported by a more specialist service, a more intensive level of support, or by focusing on stabilisation before beginning longer-term therapy.

If we don't feel that Offload is the right service for you at this point in time, we'll always explain why and, wherever possible, suggest alternative sources of support.

Being declined by another service does not automatically mean we'll decline you too. Equally, being accepted elsewhere doesn't automatically mean we'll be the right fit. Our decision will always be based on what we believe is safest and most helpful for you.

Heck yeah we are. To our queer Notts community - we love you, we are you, we support you.

We understand that life happens. If you're unwell, have a holiday planned, or something unexpected comes up, please let us know as soon as possible.

Appointments cancelled with more than 24 hours' notice are not charged.

Appointments cancelled with less than 24 hours' notice, including cancellations due to illness, are charged at your usual rate. As a small, largely unfunded non-profit, we rely on therapy fees to cover the costs of running the service, and short-notice cancellations rarely leave enough time for us to offer the appointment to someone else.

Because our therapy is designed to be attended weekly, we also ask clients to commit to regular attendance wherever possible. If you cancel three or more appointments within any six-week period, you may be discharged from the service and invited to re-refer at a later date when you feel more able to commit to weekly therapy.

This policy helps us make the best use of our limited resources, reduce waiting times, and ensure that therapy appointments are available to the people who need them.

We offer therapy in person at our offices in Nottingham city centre (NG1), and we offer therapy online via MS Teams. Where special circumstances apply, we may also offer therapy via telephone.