At a certain point in our lives we all get a little bit weighed down by the problems we face and…read morecounselling is a great way to combat that. I attended the Leicester Counselling Centre for just over a year starting in April 2007 until mid spring of 2008. Basically you are either referred to the service by your GP or of your own accord. The centre itself is situated in a rather small building right at the west entrance to Victoria Park and is a five minute walk past the train station on London Road. The centre is a voluntary organisation running solely on contributions from its clients. Nobody working there receives any sort of pay at all except the Administrator. Upon entering the reception staff are always nice and friendly and make you feel relaxed and confident about the whole experience. You can chat to them about anything from the weather to your clothes - you also have to pay some form of contribution for each session. I paid 5.00 a time but it differs depending on your financial circumstances. You then take a seat in the waiting area. Considering its a voluntary organisation you shouldn't really expect it to be all glamour and upmarket but there is water at hand and some old magazines whilst you wait. Toilets are also available for both disabled and non disabled users. The centre has about 6 individual rooms where the counselling itself takes place. There is nothing intimidating or Freud-esque about the way the process works. There are two chairs and a table whilst the room is nicely decorated to make you feel calm. You just sit and talk to the counsellor as if you were having a normal conversation with a friend and from my own experience the service is extremely helpful. There's nothing bad about the service at all unless of course the counselling disturbs you in any shape or form but the downside is that between your registration and initial assessment interview you may have to wait a while to bwe see nregulary due to the heavy intake the centre has.