Counselling

Confidential, free, specialist and independent from the police or statutory bodies
Online and in our women-centred safe space
For women*, and nonbinary people who feel our woman-centred approach is right for them, aged 18 and over, who have experienced any form of sexual violence or abuse at any time in their lives (*by women, we mean both cis and trans women)

Referrals and Waiting List Information

Our waiting list for self-referrals will open again at 12pm on Wednesday 15 October 2025. We do not accept professional referrals – please read the information for professionals below.

Currently, the wait for an assessment for counselling is about 12 months.

Self-Referrals

You will be able to fill out the self-referral form
We recommend completing the form as close to the reopening date and time as possible because we can only accept a limited number of self-referrals each month
If you have any trouble with the form, please contact us directly at 0113 243 9102 or info[at]sarsvl.org.uk. We can help you with the self-referral process.
We can support you to submit self-referrals via email, post, in person, or over the phone when we are open.
Before referring yourself, it might be helpful to read our guidance document for self-referrers. This can help you decide if our therapy services are right for you at this time. If you have any questions after reading the guidance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. You can contact us at info[at]sarsvl.org.uk

Professional Referrals

We do not accept referrals from professionals without prior agreement. If you submit a referral without contacting us first, it will not be accepted.
Please reach out to us at least one week before the waiting list reopens to discuss any referrals.
If you are a professional working with a client who needs counselling, please direct them to our website for referral guidance. If you think a client may have difficulty self-referring, please contact us to discuss how we can support your client around self-referral ourselves.
Before contacting us, please read our guidance document for self-referrers and signposters. If you have questions about the guidance, please do get in touch with us on info[at]sarsvl.org.uk

What Happens Next?

When we receive your referral, we will contact you to confirm we have it and let you know if you have been added to our waiting list. We might also contact you to ask extra questions if we need to better understand your needs and whether our service is the right fit for you. We aim to contact everyone within 3 working weeks. If you haven’t heard from us within this time, please get in touch.

Once a counselling space becomes available, we will contact you to offer an assessment. Please note that we will be able to offer you up to 3 assessment appointments within the availability you gave us in the referral form.

We offer…

The SARSVL Counselling Service works from the empowerment perspective, encourages self-determination, is trauma-specialist, challenges the myths of sexual violence, and focuses on the individual needs of survivors. We offer a holistic approach to recovery and provide different strands of therapeutic support and counselling options:

Short Term Counselling – opportunity to develop well-being strategies through reconnecting with and developing internal and external resources over the course of eight sessions. This could minimise the impact of sexual violence on daily functioning and help you alleviate symptoms of trauma such as flashbacks, nightmares, intrusive thoughts, anxieties or relationship difficulties. Find out more here.

Pre-Trial Therapy – counselling tailored to those who are currently involved with the Criminal Justice System.

Twenty Sessions of Weekly Counselling – the space to explore your feelings and thoughts over a longer period of time and in more depth, processing traumatic experiences, and creating coping mechanisms to manage their impact. Find out more here.

Our Counselling service is a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and Rape Crisis England and Wales (RCEW) and adheres to their ethical framework and guidelines.

Other support available in Leeds for victims and survivors:

The Women & Girls Alliance – Leeds has a directory of Women Friendly support services: https://womenandgirlsallianceleeds.org.uk/directory/

MindWell also provides support with mental health in Leeds, please see the link here: https://www.mindwell-leeds.org.uk/services-directory/