The AoC (The Arts of Change)

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Talking Therapies and Creative Arts Therapies
Available for new clients
Available for new clients

This professional is available for new clients.

Dudley, West Midlands, DY1 1HA
Available for new clients
Available for new clients

This professional is available for new clients.

About us

Festive Season 2023 Update:

The Arts of Change Trust (The AoC Trust) will be closed for the festive season period and new year from Friday 15th December 2023 and will reopen on Tuesday 2nd January 2024. 

Please feel free to visit our website at:

https://www.theaoc.org.uk


or leave us an email at:

support@theaoc.org.uk

or voice message

01384 211168

during our closure period and we will get back to you upon our return.

Please remember to state clearly your name; contact number; and brief reason for reaching out to us.

Wishing all our current and future clients a wonderful festive season and exciting 2024!

The AoC Team


Who are The AoC?

We are a friendly, very experienced and professional creative therapy and counselling service based in Central Dudley, West Midlands. We offer creative modalities such as art therapy, dramatherapy, play therapy as well as traditional talking therapies either face-to-face at our lovely counselling/therapy rooms in Dudley town centre or online or by phone. Whichever feels right for you.

Who Do We Support?

We support individual clients, couples, families and run groups for either children, teenagers or adults who have problems they wish to overcome and heal. We see children from 3 years upwards to adults with no upper age limit.

What We Can Offer:

We provide three unique, creative services for either private clients or for organisations large or small:
a) therapy services,
b) education and training services
c) arts-based events services.

With over fifty years combined experience, our very warm and friendly staff team are highly skilled in a wide range of therapies from traditional talking therapies to creative arts therapies including: person-centred counselling; gestalt; CBT; integrative counselling;  art therapy; play therapy; dramatherapy; mindfulness; and we offer bespoke training workshops on a variety of self- development subjects including motivation, confidence building; team dynamics; public speaking; conflict management; introduction to creative arts and Skills-Based Training.

We provide online clinical supervision for professional counsellors and therapists and those in training all over the UK, and an accredited child contact centre in Central Dudley for low-risk families.

We can offer counselling and therapy sessions for individuals, couples, families or  groups both large and small. Sessions can be held face-to-face, via video call or even over the telephone or if local - and where appropriate in your home. We always put the client and their preferences first. Video calls can be held via Skype, Zoom, Teams and in some cases WhatsApp.

We also have both male and female therapists and counsellors too.

Telephone & Online Counselling

Telephone and online counselling is becoming more popular as people struggle to travel to venues when they have had a busy day at work or need to arrange for child care. Some of us have more hectic schedules which is why telephone and online counselling is perfect. We offer telephone sessions which are still 100% confidential. The therapist will take notes during and after the session and can also take payment over the phone prior to the session. Online counselling works the same way but you can see the therapist and chat via a video call. An account will be needed for the platform/application used and can be created for free. Your allocated therapeutic clinician (TC) will send you the meeting link via email.

Issues We Deal With:

Common problems we are skilled at assisting include: anger management, stress, anxiety, generalised anxiety disorder, depression, insomnia, abuse, weight problems and eating disorders including anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, low self-confidence, personality issues, relationship issues, emotional abuse, social obstacles, panic disorder, family issues, addiction(s), phobias, affairs and betrayals, separation and divorce, couples issues, offending behaviour, people living with dementia bullying and much more.

The AoC also support clients effectively with child-related issues, attachment disorder, children with emotional, social or psychological difficulties, poor concentration at home or at school, hyperactivity, abortion, low self-esteem, sexual abuse, drug abuse, alcoholism, sex addiction, Internet addiction, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), physical abuse and hearing voices.

Please get in touch and we will be more than happy to discuss your needs and the referral process with you.

Training, qualifications & experience

  • Relaxation & Mindfulness Diploma Training Course. SMART Foundations - 2014.
  • Dramatherapy Postgraduate Diploma training at The University of Hertfordshire - 1996.
  • The Guildhall School of Music & Drama Professional Acting Course - 1987.

Organisations worked with include:

  • The Royal Shakespeare Company.
  • MIND.
  • Riverside Mental Health Trust.
  • Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council.|
  • Aquarius Action Projects.
  • Hillingdon Hospital.
  • Charing Cross Hospital.
  • West Mercia Police.
  • The National Probation Service.
  • ArtSpace.
  • St Jude's Primary School.
  • Talent Match.
  • Gordon Moody.
  • Youth Offending Service.

Member organisations *

Registered / Accredited

Registered / Accredited

Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.

HCPC
Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)

The HCPC are an independent, UK-wide health regulator. They set standards of professional training, performance and conduct for 16 professions.

They keep a register of health professionals who meet their standards, and they take action if registered health professionals fall below those standards. They were created by a piece of legislation called the Health Professions Order 2001.

Registration means that a health professional meets national standards for their professional training, performance and conduct.

We have verified that at least one professional at this organisation is registered with the relevant professional body.

Areas of counselling we deal with

Other areas of counselling we deal with

We can deal with a wide range of issues and refer you to the best-suited therapeutic clinician based on your needs explained in the referral form.

If you cannot see your issue/difficulty listed, please contact us by email or telephone and we will be more than happy to discuss our support with you and how we can help.

Support@theaoc.org.uk / 01384 211 168.

Fees

£30.00 - £65.00

Concessions offered for

  • Low income
  • Students
  • Unemployed

Additional information

For Corporate/Business rates - please contact us to discuss your requirements.

Private rates:
All our rates have a sliding scale depending on personal income.

Consultation: £25.00 per hour.
Individual Therapy: £30.00-40.00 per hour.
Couple Therapy: £65.00 per hour.
Family Therapy (3-4 clients): £65.00 per hour. (£10:00 per extra family member added) i.e. 5 family members £75.00 etc.

When we work

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
Morning
Afternoon
Evening
Night

Admin hours - 8:30 am - 4:30 pm Mon-Fri

In-Person Mon - Fri 9:00 am - 5:15 pm

In-Person Sat 9:00 am - 3:30 pm

Online/Telephone are sessions available outside of these hours

Closed Sundays

Further information

Referring to The AoC

The AoC require all clients to complete our quick and simple referral form which can be found on our website or can be sent to you via email or in the post. The referral form gives us a little more information about you and why you are seeking our support. We use this to match you to the best-suited therapeutic clinician (TC).

All completed referral forms can be returned to us via email or post or if you have difficulty with the form we are happy to complete it with you over the telephone with your consent. Once we receive your completed form we allocate you to a TC right away. We have a minimal waiting list meaning you can begin your therapeutic journey with us sooner rather than later compared to other services. We aim to see each client within 1-3 weeks of receiving their completed form.

Your First Session - What to Expect:

In your first session, you will have an introduction between you and your allocated TC to share a little information about each other to make feel at ease. We will then go through the contract which will be signed to agree to confidentiality and session lengths. We will speak about some therapeutic goals and what you want to achieve in the sessions. The rest of the session will be to talk through you issue(s) and why you are seeking therapy including ways we can help.

Questions or Queries?

Please contact our friendly team to discuss your needs and how we can support you: 
01384 211 168 (cheap local rate number for landlines). Be sure to leave your full name, contact details, and a brief message outlining your request and we will get back to you if we don't pick up right away or if you call outside of admin hours. We also have a live chat function on our website if this is preferred.

Alternatively, you may also send us an email if you prefer to:
support@theaoc.org.uk

Please check out our website for more information and details of upcoming therapy offers, our current projects, and events,

You can sign up for free to our monthly newsletter at:
www.theaoc.org.uk or email us with this request.

We look forward to working with you.

The AoC (The Arts of Change) is also registered with Counselling Directory.

The Arts Of Change Trust, 27 Holloway Chambers, Priory Street, Dudley, West Midlands, DY1 1HA

Type of session

In person
Online
Phone
Home visits

Types of client

Children
Young people
Adults
Older adults
Couples
Families
Groups
Organisations
Employee Assistance Programme

Key details

DBS check

In England and Wales, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS, formerly known as CRB) carry out criminal records checks for individuals working with vulnerable groups, such as children. To find out more, visit gov.uk , or contact this professional directly

Wheelchair user access
Wheelchair user access

Wheelchair-accessible premises should have step-free access for wheelchair users and individuals who are unable to climb stairs. If a Counsellor's premises aren't step-free, they may offer alternative services such as telephone/web-based appointments, home visits, or meeting clients in different location, so you can choose the option that suits you best.

You can contact the Counsellor to discuss the options available.

Under the Equality Act 2010 service providers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that individuals with disabilities can access their service. You can read more about reasonable adjustments to help you to access services on the CAB website.

Wheelchair access is available at the back of the building. Wheelchair users must first call us or buzz us on the main door via the intercom to alert us to their presence. We will then direct you to the back of the building where we shall be waiting.

Additional languages

We can work with interpreters. Please contact us for more information.

Online platforms

Google Meet
Microsoft Spaces
Skype
Whatsapp
Zoom

Supervision

Online
Phone

My name is Christian Dixon and l am a qualified Clinical Supervisor. I work very creatively online with both professionals and also with students.

View supervision profile

Social

The AoC (The Arts of Change)
The AoC (The Arts of Change)