History
Harbour began in 2005 with a vision- to offer free professional counselling to the people of Perth and the surrounding areas. The name ‘Harbour’ was chosen to indicate a place of rest and being able to recharge.
We are founded on Christian principles which is to show the love of Christ by reaching out to people in their time of need regardless of their personal circumstances or identity.
In 2011 we moved into a new building on Shore Road, Perth (next to Perth Harbour!)
Our objectives
Counselling is defined as an activity which seeks to help people towards constructive change and growth in any or every aspect of their lives through a caring relationship and within agreed boundaries.
- That everyone in Harbour – counsellors, team members, clients, donors – will experience acceptance, respect and value as as a unique individual in a non-judgemental, loving and caring relationship.
That there will be an absence of denominational bias throughout the work of Harbour.
That the work of Harbour will always seek, according to clients’ needs, to express explicitly or implictly the love, grace and mercy of Jesus.
Our counsellors
We currently have 13 qualified counsellors. Most of them are members of Counselling and Psychotherapy in Scotland (COSCA), British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) or the Association of Christian Counsellors (ACC). All of them receive ongoing training and supervision, in compliance with the guildlines of the ethical framework of the governing body to which they belong. We also have 7 post graduate diploma students on placement who complete our counselling team.
Counselling models
Integrated
This is a blend of various models and allows the counsellor to use skills or techniques from a number of models.
Person-centered
This is a humanistic approach that seeks to forge a mutual relationship where the client is seen as expert and the counsellor seeks to journey where the client wishes to go.
- In the initial assessment session the presence or absence of spiritual content within the counselling relationship is agreed between the client and counsellor
Governance
Our activities are overseen by a Board of Trustees, all of whom give their services voluntarily. We are a charity registered with the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), (https://www.oscr.org.uk/). Our registered number is SC039942.
We are registered as a limited company at Companies House (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/companies-house). Our number is SC348982.
Our accounts are submitted to OSCR annually for approval and this ensures we mainatin our charitable status. You can view our latest accounts here.
The Board meets monthly with the treasurer and practice manager in attendance. The board is responsible for policy finance and legal matters and, based on discussions with the Manager, operational issues. A 3 year Stategic Plan is in progress which can be viewed here.
Complaints Policy
We are committed to providing a high quality counselling service to all our clients. If you are unhappy about any aspect of our service please let us know. It will be discussed with those concerned and you will be informed of the outcome. Our complaints policy can be downloaded here.
