City counselling charity looks back on 25 years of help

A GENERATION of accessible counselling is being celebrated in Dunfermline this year.

City charity TalkMatters are marking 25 years providing a safe space for people to speak to specialists about their mental health concerns.

They have offered services since 1997, having started out in a room rented from a church.

From there, they raised funds to train counsellors from within the Church of Scotland and, then named NCS-Fife, offered to help those with limited access to psychological services who would not be able to pay for private therapy.

During this time, Judith Cramb, service manager, says that she has not seen “major changes” in the issues clients approach them with, which can include depression, anxiety, stress, anger, or bereavement, though says this could change due to the cost-of-living crisis.

She told the Press: “We see people who predominantly cannot afford private therapy, which can range from £40 to £60 per hour, and as people move into fuel poverty as winter approaches, we may see more people who would traditionally have been able to go private, but only time will tell.

“Our clients do not present with any issues more predominantly in Dunfermline than elsewhere and the issues tend to cover a wide spectrum.

“Perhaps this is contrary to what people expect, but two-plus years of pandemic have not largely changed the issues people present with.”

The facility, which treats adults over the age of 18, has not been immune to its own financial troubles, having evolved into an independent charity under the name TalkMatters in 2008. Just four years later, they faced the task of relocating the administration of the charity to the service manager’s home for a period, while counselling continued to be provided from a single room in the city centre.

Since then, TalkMatters has moved three times, though say that with each change, they treated their clients as a priority.

During COVID, they continued to expand, beginning to offer phone and video calls on top of their face-to-face sessions, and are now able to reach people who are not able either financially, physically or psychologically to attend face-to-face for their counselling.

The charity receives funding from Fife Council and other grant-making bodies to make the service possible.

More information can be found on its website www.talkmatters.org and those who would consider serving as a trustee are urged to get in touch.

Judith added that they often have a long waiting list and are forced to close the list every three months for a few weeks.