Welcome to our Perinatal Counselling and Therapy Service, Edinburgh

CrossReach Perinatal Counselling is in its 4th decade of delivering specialist counselling support to new and expectant mothers, fathers and carers.

Our dedicated team of therapists offer weekly counselling and art therapy both pre and postnatally from our central Edinburgh base. Clients can refer themselves or through a health professional from pre-birth to their child being 3 years old.

Our specialist counsellors support the perinatal mental health and well-being of the whole family and have years of experience in working with anxiety, depression, birth trauma, bonding, isolation, loss of self and the stress of transitioning into parenthood.

Click here to view our leaflet. 

Office hours

9.00 am - 5.00 pm (Monday - Friday)

Arrange a visit

Call 0131 538 7288

Contact us

pnd@crossreach.org.uk

Managers

Miriam Coutts, Counselling Manager / Dawn McMechan, Créche Manager

Services offered at CrossReach Perinatal Service

  • Perinatal Counselling and Therapy
  • Perinatal Therapy for new and expectant parents
  • Perinatal Counselling and Therapy
  • Specialist care inspected creche for your little one while you are in counselling
  • 1:1 Prenatal Counselling for expectant parents
  • 1:1 Postnatal Counselling and Therapy
  • Invitation to our parent and infant groups (Infant Massage, Stay and Play...)

How to refer
We accept either self-referrals or referrals from a health professional. To refer yourself or someone else, please email us at pnd@crossreach.org.uk with the details below and our team will get in touch.

  • Your full name
  • If you are referring someone else, their full name and your relationship to them
  • If you are interested in our donation-based or fixed-fee service
  • A brief description of why you are looking for support

What to expect?
To make sure that we are the right service for you we offer you an 'Initial Appointment’ discussion where you will be able to meet with one of the team to tell us a little more about what has brought you to counselling and to explore what service might be good for you. This is an opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have. If the service is suitable and you would like to go ahead you will then be offered a weekly 50 minute one to one session with a Counsellor or Art Therapist.

Both the counselling and crèche are located at our perinatal base at 8a Palmerston Place, Edinburgh.

Your appointment with us:
Appointments are weekly and last around 50 minutes. We will discuss the day, time and frequency of these sessions with you when we first meet. We consider different types of support that might suit you, from one-to-one psychotherapy or counselling, to art therapy and group therapy. 

What pathways do we offer?
We offer both a Donation and Self-Funded pathways into the service. When referring we ask you to specify which route you wish to take.Ability to pay will never be a barrier to accessing support.  Our Donation pathways has an estimated waiting time of around 4 – 6 months from referral. With our Self-Funded service, one of our team will contact you within 7 working days from referral to arrange an appointment. 
 
Additional specialist perinatal groups for those accessing the service:

  • Infant Massage: Our baby massage programme is well respected, well researched and has been endorsed to be a high quality parent education programme. Click here to find out more.
  • Stay and Play: Offering play experiences in different environments, our stay and play group supports parents to meet others as well as enhance infant relationships and child development. Click here for more information.

How do we ensure quality service?
We make sure that our counsellors have the right qualifications and registrations so that you get the best possible service. We follow the guidelines set out in the COSCA Statement of Ethics and Codes of Practice and the BACPE Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy, as well as our own Operational Policies and Complaints Procedures.

As well as being registered with the Care Inspectorate, our childcare workers are all registered with the Scottish Social Services Council and follow the Codes of Practice. Our workers and volunteers are all registered with the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme, through Disclosure Scotland. A copy of our most recent inspection report can be accessed on the Care Inspectorate website.
 
Volunteer with us
If you would like to know more about volunteering with our counselling or crèche services, please contact us for more information.

Questions about funding, referrals or availability? 
Call us on 0131 538 7288
Email us at pnd@crossreach.org.uk

COSCA