Charity four months away from using reserve funds

Terri Collins is a co-founder of The Counselling Partnership

The co-founder of a counselling charity says the group has four months before it will have to dip into its reserve funds.

Terri Collins, co-founder of The Counselling Partnership in Surrey, says the charity has not received as much grant funding recently as she had expected, but she does not think the organisation will have to shut.

She hopes getting more people to use the charity's paid counselling services will help boost their finances to support those who cannot pay.

"It's incredibly important," said Ms Collins. "Mental health is right up there as one of the main concerns within the community."

Clients currently pay what they can for the charity's counselling, but £35 is the recommended amount.

"At the moment, the people who are referring themselves to us or being referred are very financially stretched and the majority are paying less than £20 and quite a lot are paying £5 and £10," Ms Collins said.

Despite the the financial concerns, Ms Collins said the charity would not turn anyone away.

The Counselling Partnership, which estimates it has helped thousands of people over more than 20 years, currently offers face-to-face sessions in Walton-on-Thames and Woking as well as online sessions.