RNIB Counselling and Mental Health Service Working in Partnership with Our Sight Loss Sector Partners

In the next feature of our new series of interviews looking at how the RNIB is working in partnership with charities and organisations across the sight loss sector to make a more inclusive and accessible society for blind and partially sighted people, Connect Radio’s Toby Davey checks in with members of the Strategic Engagement Lead - Third Sector Team here at the RNIB, this time to focus on the work of the Counselling and Mental Health Service.

Toby was joined by Andrea Glover - RNIB Strategic Engagement manager and Amanda Hawkins, Strategic Lead for Counselling and Mental Health services here at the RNIB.

Andrea began by explaining to Toby how the Counselling and Mental Health Service fits within all the partnership work between the RNIB, other charities and our sight loss sector partners. 

Amanda then outlined some of the services that are available from the Counselling and Mental Health Service such as the individual well-being sessions and group counselling sessions facilitated by an RNIB Sight Loss Counsellor as well as the work with our partner organisations through the Mental Health Committee looking at the capacity of generic counselling that meets the needs of blind and partially sighted people. 

Amanda also explained how the Counselling and Mental Health Service has developed a real understanding from research with visually impaired people on how sight loss affects them which helped to develop a two day accredited  Counselling for Sight Loss Training course, to up skill generic Counsellors in all aspects of sight loss.  

The course is available to any Counsellor ensuring that they meet the needs of blind and partially sighted people and a list of accredited sight loss trained counsellors can be found by visiting the RNIB website.

If you feel that you might benefit from some of the services on offer from  the RNIB Counselling and Mental Health Service or if you know of someone who might benefit from any of their services, you can be referred or refer yourself to the Counselling and Mental Health service through the RNIB Helpline by calling 0303 123 9999 and more information, along with an online referral form and details about the Counselling for Sight Loss training course can be found by searching for Counselling services on the RNIB website - https://www.rnib.org.uk

(Image shows RNIB logo. 'RNIB' written in black capital letters over a white background and underlined with a bold pink line, with the words 'See differently' underneath)