The Arbours Association - London

Giulia G.

I contacted the Arbours Association for the reduced fee theraphy (£5 to £15 a session). On the telephone I was told I was going to have to pay a fee of £40 for the assessment. On the day of the assessment, I talked about my personal problems to the therapist Laura Forti for about an hour. It was only after having gone through this intense hour that I was told that I was ineligible for the reduced fee scheme : the therapists are all trainees and require a commitment of 18 months. Now, the fact that I wasn't able to commit to 18 months of therapy came out quite early during the assessment session, as I should be abroad in a year time, but the therapist didn't mention it until the end of the hour. Secondly, on the website there is no mention of this 18 months commitment requirement and on the phone, when I filled in the form to be seen by a therapist and agreed to pay the £40 assessment fee, the operator did not mention this quite important detail either. Finally, after having expressed these facts to the therapist and my inability to afford psychotherapy sessions that start from £30/£40 per session I was met with a total lack of empathy. At the end of the day, I lost £40 and I went through an emotionally tiring hour for nothing.

Cath S.

2008 I am still appalled by the financial exploitation, psychological abuse and lack of confidentiality that passed for therapy here. Extremely damaging should have walked out during the initial assessment ....beware.

Jxz

I wish I could give zero stars.

Laura P.

Stella S.

Ash S.

Alexis K.