Two qualified counsellors are offering counselling to those who spend their time giving to others.

Room 2 Talk is a new non-profit organisation set up in Jersey to support charity volunteers.

Directors Helen Morgan and Steve Ricou set up the organisation to support staff, volunteers and members of Jersey charities and non-profit organisations, who work hard to support their clients with a multitude of needs on the island. 

Helen, who is a Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner as well as a counsellor, recognised a lack of support for those who support others.

“It’s really important to me to do something that is beneficial to people in more ways than one. Rather than just working as a private counsellor, I wanted to be able to do something that made counselling more accessible to more people.

Our work is mainly person-centred, which puts the client and their autonomy, in what they talk about and the decisions they make, at the centre of the work.

Mental health is as important as physical health but is often overlooked and frequently has a stigma attached to it."

Steve Ricou and Helen Morgan, Directors of Room 2 Talk

It is common for many of the island's larger charities to employ their own counsellors, but their time is primarily spent providing help to clients and users of the service, leaving little to no counselling available for staff.

Steve, who also has worked with children and young people who need support with their education for many years, saw the importance of looking after your own mental health, especially if you are helping others care for their own.

“Caring for mental health is as important as caring for physical health and can also be hampered by waiting lists and/or limited sessions. By setting up R2T we hope to help more people, more quickly.

We wanted to set up R2T to provide low-cost counselling to those who themselves do so much for our island - #givingbygivingback if you like."

Room 2 Talk offers open-ended counselling, which means clients can have as many sessions as they feel they need.

You can find more information on Room 2 Talk here.