Third Sector Solutions has spent many years building up knowledge and expertise in delivering support services of different types to different groups of people. We have a strong team of practitioners available to help.
Access to some of our support services is free through public funding while some types of service and some groups of people fall outside of the scope of our funding.
We are now launching our READY TO TALK service.
Personal Support – counselling, mentoring, coaching and mental health support.
Employer/Employee Support – counselling, support for employees who are off sick, job retention, mental health support, specialist assessments and Equality Act compliance audits.
Personal Support Counselling
People often ask ‘do I need counselling’ or ‘do you think I need counselling?’ If someone tells you “you need counselling” it can make you feel that your problems must be really bad. The decision to see a counsellor is always a matter of personal choice rather than something you ought to do
‘Might I benefit from trying counselling?’ is maybe a better way of looking at it. Many people find counselling helpful and a positive experience. It will be more effective and useful if you have made the choice yourself
Counselling might be beneficial for you if…
- Something has been troubling you over a period of time and you’re having difficulty finding a solution on your own
- Things are getting on top of you, and affecting your well being, such as causing depression, anxiety or stress
- You find it hard to talk to friends or family because they are directly involved in the issues
- Issues from the past are having an impact on your day to day life
- Things that are troubling you are having a negative impact on your relationships or work
- You have experienced a loss, bereavement or trauma
- Counselling can help you reflect and make sense of difficult life events and find a way to move forward
Some of the benefits are…
- Talking to someone neutral, outside of your immediate situation, can show you a different perspective and help you find a way forward
- Talking with a trained counsellor who is skilled at listening can help you to process difficult thoughts and feelings
- Sharing your worries helps you feel less alone with the problem
- You can gain a better understanding of yourself and a clearer sense of what you want and need
- You can practice communicating more clearly and honestly in the safety of the counselling relationship
- Counselling can help improve your relationships and your ability to communicate
If you’re still not sure then you can book an initial session with a counsellor. That way you can find out more about how counselling works and the counsellor can help you decide if it would be useful for your particular situation
Our counselling service is completely confidential, and is delivered by fully trained and accredited practitioners with many years experience
Mentoring
We provide you with personal one to one support, guidance and advice. Through regular contact we get to know you, help you to understand what it is you want to achieve through your goals, how you can improve your performance, and share our own experiences to help you to achieve your goals
“Mentoring is to support and encourage people to manage their own learning in order that they may maximise their potential, develop their skills, improve their performance and become the person they want to be.” Eric Parsloe, The Oxford School of Coaching & Mentoring
Mentoring is a powerful personal development and empowerment tool. It is an effective way of helping people to progress in their life goals and careers and is becoming increasing popular as its potential is realised. It is a partnership between two people (mentor and mentee) normally working in a similar field or sharing similar experiences. It is a helpful relationship based upon mutual trust and respect
A mentor is a guide who can help the mentee to find the right direction and who can help them to develop solutions to personal and career issues. Mentors rely upon having had similar experiences to gain an empathy with the mentee and an understanding of their issues. Mentoring provides the mentee with an opportunity to think about her/his choices and move forward
Mentoring is not the same as counselling; don’t expect a shoulder to cry on or therapy. A Mentor will act to: ask questions and challenge, suggest networking opportunities, boost confidence and encourage, offer advice (though decisions belong to the mentee!) and nudge rather than nag
The success of a mentoring relationship depends to large degree upon your attitude and your commitment. Mentees are expected to take the lead in the partnership, to be proactive and work in order to achieve success. The most successful relationships are those in which the mentee was most active and the mentor least active
The principles our Mentor Support relationship are
- Person focused > It has to work and fit in for the mentee and their wider circumstances. We match mentors and mentees carefully
- Confidential > Issues between mentor and mentee are confidential
- Mentee driven > The mentee must take the initative and participate in the relationship. The final responsibility for actions taken, as a result of mentoring, lies with the mentee
- Off line > A mentor should not be someone who is involved in other areas of your life – and in particular should not be someone involved with the management of your work!
- Low-bureaucracy > We work with people, not organisations or institutions. We try to keep paperwork to a minimum and keep it real
How does contact take place?
We usually invite potential mentees to meet us, talk about what they need, discuss what is on offer and see if we can agree how to move ahead. Part of this process involves identifying the right mentor
Contact takes place face to face, by phone, Skype or webcam. Face to face sessions are only possible in areas of the UK where we have a local presence
To take your interest further you can send a message through this site or phone on 0117 9415318
Please note that for certain clients or customers of this service we receive funding to provide mentoring free of charge. For all other clients this is a fee paying service.
Employer/Employee support
- Support
- Assessment
- Coaching
- Job Retention
- Mediation
- Counselling
Third Sector Solutions is proud to make available its Specialist Support Service for employers and employees in the public, private and independent sectors.
You can call on our team of highly-qualified and experienced counsellors, coaches, mediators, mentors and assessors to help you in the following areas:
Employee in Crisis
Do you have employees you’re responsible for who, due to ill health, crisis or breakdowns in interpersonal relationships or communication can no longer perform their duties?
Job Retention
We can provide specialist supervision and support, mediation, co-ordinated case management, and advice on Equality Act 2010 compliance (includes previous DDA compliance) and redesigning job roles.
Mental Health Support
Specialist support is available for employees suffering from stress, depression, anxiety and many other conditions
Specialist Assessments
Behavioural problems such as anger management need specialist intervention. We can run contact sessions for your staff members providing one-to-one assessment and counselling. This service can also be used to respond to the need for court or tribunal reports.
No organisation can afford to lose vital members of its workforce to problems like these, and minimizing sick-days is an investment in the future. Third Sector Solutions offers a programme of one-to-one sessions and specified meetings. Staff for whom an employer has a responsibility or duty of care will be offered a safe strategy designed for their individual needs.
Identifying what you really need can be the most difficult step – but you can talk to us! We’ll work with you to assess what’s best for you and your staff, then provide a set of recommendations and a quotation for the services you require.
Our services are delivered by fully-qualified and accredited practitioners who are members of a professional body and work to a strict Code of Practice and ethical guidelines.
If you’d like professional help and advice about any of these problems, please contact:
Steve Forge, Director, Third Sector Solutions, Unit 23 Easton Business Centre, Felix Road, Easton Bristol BS5 0HE
Tel: 0117-9415318
Mobile: 07768-318215