SOUTH BUCKS COUNSELLING
Registered charity number 1095554
Registered company number 4491415
Beport and financial statements.
for the year ended 31 December 2023

Directors, Reportfor the year ended 31 December 2023
The Directors present their report together with the accounts of the Company for the year ended, 31
December 2023. The accounts comply with current statutory requirements.
Registered Charity Number
1095554
Registered Company Number 4491415
Reglstered Charity Address..
The Cottage behind The Hub, 7 Easton Street. High Wycombe. Bucks,
HPII INJ
Directors:
Clare Wyatt
Chris Bushnell
David Farmer- resigned 31 July 2023
Pene5ope Holmes
Scott Walkinshaw
Secretary & Treasurer
Chris Bushnell
Bankers
Natwest Bank, 22 Market Square, Aylesbury, Bucks HP20 ITR
Governing D¢xument
Memorandum & Articles of Association (22 July 2002)
Independent Examiner
P l Brogden
Publlc Benefit
Having regard to the Charity Commission's guidance, the Trustees consider that the charity provides a
pu blic benefit through the provision of a counselling service to the public by professionally trained and
supervised counsellors.
Objettives
The charivs objectives are-.

(al To provide a professional, confidential, and affordable counselling service to persons seeking help for
emotional and psychological difficulties, in order to help them to cope with and work through problems
and issues and to make positive changes in their life.
Ibl To offer training and development opportunities to qualified and trainee counsellors and to provide
forums for those wishing to explore an interest in counselling.
Review of Activities
Our work in 2023 has focused on the following key area5:
We aim to respond to our clients, requests, promptly, personally, and generally within 24 hours.
Benefiting from the extensive work undertaken since 2021 to improve our systems and processes, the
ongoing use of a Practice Management System, as well as other internal systems, has enabled the
agency to effectively manage its existing clients and new applications. In general, the agency has
operated without a waiting list.
We continue to:
Fully track and manage the clienys experience from the moment a client contacts the agency to
the completion of counselling.
Improve and optimise our internal processe5.
Ensure secure GDPR compliance.
Improve the financial infomiation, including rolling 12-month forecasts provided to the
Management and Trustees
We continue to find that more clients present themselves with complex psychological needs. This mav
be because of the local NHS provision, where it can be difficult to access robust psychological help and
long waiting lists exist. Following the resignation of our Clinical Director in May 2023, the Trustees have
moved quickly to strengthen our management team to ensure that we have sufficient skills and
resources to manage the increased complexity of the issues we are presented with. To that end we have
appointed-
Clinical Director:
Julia Appleton - Integrative Counsellor
Cllnlcal Lead:
Cath Muston - Psychodynamic Counsellor & Cllnical Supervlsor
Intake & Allocations Co4)rdinator:
Jo Inskip- Psychodynamic Counsellor
Lead for Clinical Risk:
Toni Harvey- Psychoanalytic Counsellor & Clinical Supervisor
Psychtatry Advisor:
Dr John Baruch - Retired Consultant Psychiatrist
Safeguarding Advlsor:
Andrew Broome- Social Worker & Family Group Conference
Manager
A Platform for developlng careers: A key part of the agency's work is to provide a supportive
environment to further the education and growth of it5 counselling team. We continue to maintain

strong connections to training organisation5, ensuring we work collaboratively to meet placement
training requirements and attract a high standard of trainees. Our new management framework,
commitment to delivery of high quality Continuing Professional Development and expanding assessment
team, fully supports the growth and development of all our team members. It is important to the
agency that we continue to offer opportunttie5 for all to gain valuable knowledge and experience of the
multiple aspects of the clienf s journey. All of this whilst providing the highest level of care to our clients
in a safe and stable environment.
Time Limited Counselling The move to fime Limited Counselling began in 2020 and is now a well-
established way of working within the agency. We have continued to apply the overall objective of
offering time-limited counselling of up to 24 weeks (6 tnonths) to individual clients in the community. In
some circumstances, it is possible to extend this time, following discussion, if it is felt to be clinically
indicated. Continuing to work within this new, time-limited frame means that we can ensure a regular
flow of clients being able to access our counselling services. Simply put, we can reach more people
struggling with mental health difficultie5 in our community.
In 2023 a total of 155 {2022-. 1531 clients attended counselling either at our dedicated counselling rooms
in the Cottage in High Wycombe or online, depending upon individual requirements. Contrary to the
trend noticed in 2022, in 2023 the age of our clients has generally increased with the number of clients
under 30 years of age reducing from 41% in 2022 to 25% in 2023 and the number of clients over 40
increasing from 28% in 2022 to 38% in 2023.
51
The Gender of our clients has remained roughly the same with the following split.
2022
2%
Notto*
61%
fiIMaSe
Plosthn*y
&TOth
Prefw NAtoS•T
As a natural result of counsellors and supervisors moving on, the number of active counsellors was
reduced slightly during the year under review. We still have a steady flow of trainee counsellors applying

for placement positions at our agency from well-recognised and robust training colleges. In addition, we
have made progress in connecting with additional training institutions, to further strengthen our links in
the educational sector and support future recruitment of trainees. Our plan for the coming year is to
recruit an additional supervisor, re-establish a full complement of 5 supervision groups and 20
cour15ellors, 50 increasing our capacity to offer counselling service5 to more people in the local
community. As of February 2024, we have made adjustments to our trainee counsellor contracts so that
the expectation is for all trainees to eventually hold a caseload of 4 clients instead of 3. It is expected
that these increases will enable the agency to return to offering More 5e55ions to more clients going
fonNard. In 2023 the agency was able to help 155 clients12022.. 153) delivering a total of 1.562 sessions
12022: 1,5361.
Affordable Coun5elling remalns a key objective of the agency. As previously reported in 2022, we
increased our standard fee to £50 per session however it became clearthat this was beyond too many
of our clients in the current economic environment and the standard fee was returned to the previous
level of £45 per session with effect from I September 2023.
An Important part of the Client Assessment process is to assess and agree an individual client rate with a
view to ensuring the Counselling services are made available at affordable rates. Whilst we do not
perform formal means testing an attempt is made with the client to understand the ability of clients to
afford the services provided. As a direct result of this assessment, the average fee charged changed
during the year to £31.06 per session in 2023 compared to £32.84 and £30.33 per session in 2022 and
2021 respectively.
In July 2023 the Agency received the second installment of a three-year commitment to donate £10,000
per year for a period of three years from the Rothschild Foundation designed specifically to fund the
provision of low-cost counselling. This July 2023 donation funded the difference between the fee paid
and standard for 623 sessions through to December 2023. The remaining donation is scheduled to be
received in July 2024.
The Trustees and Management have taken active steps to minimize the impact of the increased
inflation. By carefully managing agreements and renegotiating with key suppliers, important savings
have been achieved in many expense categories.
The assessment fee was increased from £15 per assessment to £30 with effect from l February 2023
and will increase again to £40 from l March 2024. The work involved in offering assessment session5,
writing up a clinical report and allocating a client to a counsellor for ongoing sessions is a skilled and
time-consuming process for those counsellors on our designated assessment team.
Outlook
As noted above, the Trustees are very pleased to have appointed our new Clinical Director as well as
strengthening the team to now include an experienced Clinical Lead, 3 Lead for Clinical Risk, an Int3ke
and Allocations Co-ordinator and a specialist, External Advisory Panel. As well as retaining our highly
experienced team of superviso￿, our extended professional framework will continue to build on the
progress we have made during the last few years to further develop the organization.

Our Intake Assessment team is an integral part of maintaining the rhythm and flow of clients accessing
our service. Giving our counsellors the opportunity to train in and develop these skills is viewed as an
important part of supporting their training. Since October 2023, our intake assessment team has
doubled in size to 10 members, the largest group SBC has ever had. Being in this position means that we
can ensure sustainability of workload in this demanding area of our work. The quality of our 5UPPOrt and
training through every aspect of the assessment process means that we can retain counsellor's expertise
once they naturally move on from the agency. Counsellors wish to remain connected to our
organization, and we can facilitate this by offering formal Independent Contractor Agreements. They
continue to attend monthly Intake Assessment Group meetings and training, as well as being able to
access any Continuing Professional Development we offer.
Continuing Professional Development is an important part of ensuring we continue to maintain high
clinical standards and our aim is to grow this aspect of our service and offer regular training. In February
2024, we were able to offer mandatory Safeguarding training to all our team members with our External
Advisor, Andrew Broome. In May. we have scheduled further in-house training with our External
Psychiatric Advi50r, Dr John Baruch. Dr Baruch will run an interactive workshop related to Mental Health
Issues in Counselling as part of our response to clients presenting with increasingly complex
psychological needs. Further training is planned throughout the year.
Due to the very successful fundraising attivities in 2021 and 2023 together with the committed funding
from the Rothschild foundation, the Agency was well funded for the year under review. However, the
Trustees have historically considered that the Agency should always carry reserves sufficient to cover
operating expenses for 6 months. Our forecasts suggest that whilst we have sufficient funds and
committed donations to cover activities for the whole of 2024, we do need to raise additional funds to
maintain the 6-month funding requirement. To that end, fundraising remains critical to the agency, and
we continue to seek support from both local and national grant and fund awarding bodies; the pressures
on funding providers and the numbers seeking fundraising remains a challenge within a difficult
environment.
The provision of our counselling services would not be possible without the great efforts of all our staff,
most of whom are volunteers. Although we offer training placements for students to gain their clinical
experience, we have some counsellors who continue to work with us long after they have gained their
professional qualifications and give their time freely. Others such as the Trustees 311 work without
payment. Also, we recognize that members of staff work considerably more than their paid hours on a
regular basis, due to their dedication to the Agency, and our intake team and supervisors play a critical
role in ensuring the quality of our clinical services. We are indebted to them all for providing a first-class
service to our clients. The work of the ManagementTeam has been critical to the ongoing growth of the
Agency. The increasing complexity of the cases presented to us together with the pressures to maintain
funding will continue to place significant demands on our whole Team. The Trustees are grateful for
their ongoing dedication and support.
Reserves Policy and Risk Management
The trustees are currently reviewing their strategic risk register and are actively managing all clinical,
operational and financial risks facing the service.
The Trustees have noted the increased complexity of client cases presented to the agency. To mitigate
this risk, the agency has put in place the extended management structure and specialist Advisory panel,

described in this report. The Trustees believe that this new structure enables the agency to carefully
consider the levels of client risk presentation and the appropriateness of onward referrals to other
services e.g. NHS Complex Needs/Addiction services This has resulted in an increase in costs,. however,
the Trustees believe the increase in costs are necessary to protect both our clients and our counselors
and supervisors.
The Trustees consider that, for the Agency to meet its long-term objectives and be able to undertake
specific projects and take advantage of other opportunities as they arise, unrestricted reserves should
be SLtfficient to cover six month's total expenditure. With the charitable donations received during the
year and the income received from our clients, this level of reserves was maintained again at the end of
2023.
The Trustees consider that current reserves are sufficient in the short to medium term but continue to
focus on the initiatives outlined in the review of activities, which it is hoped will contribute to an
increased level of reserves in future years.
Fundraising remains a key risk to the Agency and the Trustees and other senior member5 of the team
are fully engaged in fundraising activities to actively generate funds to mitigate this risk and to ensure
the Agency is adequately funded into future years.
Trustees Responsibility in Relation to the Financial Statements
The law applicable to charitable companies in England and Wales requires the directors to prepare
financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the Company'5 financial
activities during the year and of its financial position at the end of the year. In preparing those financial
statements the Trustees are required to:
Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently.
Make judgements that are reasonable and prudent.
State whether applicable accounting standards and statements of recommended practice have
been followed subjert to any departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements.
Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless tt is inappropriate to presume
that the charity will continue in business.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at
any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements
comply with the Charities Act 2011. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the
company and for taking reasonable steps for the prevention of fraud and other irregularities. The report
ha5 been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006
relating to small companies.
Approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by Clare Wyatt, Chair.
LOL
CM Wyatt
Date

Independent examinerfs report to the trustee5 of South Bucks Counselline
I report to the charity trustees on my examin*ion of the accounts of the company for the year ended 31
December 2023, whSch are set out on pages 5 to 8.
Responslbilities and basls of report
As the charit¢s trustees of the Company {and also its directors for the purposes of company lawl you are
responsible for the prep3r3tion of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies
Act 20061'the 2006 ACVI.
Having satlsfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16
of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examin3tion. I report in respect of rny exarnination of
your charitf5 accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Chartties Act 20111'the 2011 Act'}. In
carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions 8iven by the Charity Commission under
section 145151 {bl of the 2011 Act.
Independent examinerfs report
I have completed my ex3rnination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection
with the examination giving me Cause to be15eve-.
accountlng records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by 5eciion 386 of the 2006 Act-
or
the accounts do not accord with those records.. or
the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 21￿6 Att other than
any requirement that the accounts give a ttrue and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of
an independent examination- or
the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of
Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charrties applicable to charities preparing their
accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of
Ireland IFRS 102).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which
attention should be drawn to this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be
reached.
Peter Brogden
Date

South Bucks Counselling
Statement of Financial Activities
For the year ended 31 December 2023
Unrestricted
funds
2023
Unrestricted
funds
2022
Notes
Income and endowments from:
Donations
12.071
31,785
Charitable activitles
Counselling
Assessment Fees
Conference and training courses
Total for charitable activities
43,705
2,790
50,478
15
46,495
50,493
Income from investments:
Bank interest
430
103
Total income and endowments:
58,996
82,381
Expenditure on:
Charitsble activitie5:
Counselling
Conference and training courses
Govern?nce costs
Total expenditure on charitable artivities
74,713
84,606
350
75,063
350
84,956
Net income (expenditure) for the year
Total surplus brought forward
Total surplus carried forward
116,0671
50,007
12,575)
52,582
33,940
50,007

South Bucks Counselling
Balance Sheet at 31 December 2023
Notes
2023
2022
Flxed assets
Net book value at 31 December 2023
Current assets
Debtors
Prepayments
Cash at Bank and in Hand
220
884
738
37,352
56,087
Current liabilities
Creditors falling due within one year
Net current assets
33,940
50,007
Total net assets
33.940
50,007
Unrestricted Funds b/fwd
Surplus/(Deficit) for year
50.007
(16,067)
52,582
12,575)
Unrestrirted Funds
33.940
50,007
Audit exemptions
For the year ended 31 December 2022 the company wa5 entitled to exemption from audit under section 477
of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
The members have not required the company to obtain an audit in accordance with section 476 of the
Companies Act 2006.
The directors acknowledge their responsibility for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect
to accounting records and for the preparation of the accounts.
The Accounts were approved by the Board of Directors and signed on its behalf on the
31-Jul-2
@LN
By: C Wyatt
C Bushnell

South Bucks Counselllng
Notes to the accounts
Forthe year ended 31 December 2023
Company Status
South Bucks Counselling is a company limited by guarantee and not having a share capital.
The members have each undertaken to contribute such a sum as may be required, not
exceeding £1, in the event of the company being wound up. South Bucks Counselling is also
registered charity {No. 1095554) and as such is exempt from all forms of direct taxation.
Accounting Policies
lal Accounting Period
The 2022 accounts cover the 12 months to 31 December 2022
Ibl Basi5 of accounting
These accounts have been prepared under the historical c05t convention with items
recognised at cost or transction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant notesls) to
these accounts.
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended
Practice.. Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with
the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) issued
on 16 July 2014 and with the Charitie5 Act Act 2011.
(c l Donations
Donations comprise grants which have been credited to income in the year in which they are
received.
{dl Charitable activities
Income from charitable aciivities is credited in the year in which it arises.
le) Expenditure
Expenditure is included in the Statement of Financial Activities on an accruals basis.
If} Depreciation
Depreciation of assets which comprise office equipment was provided at 25%.

South Bucks Counselling
Notes to the accounts
For the year ended 31 December 2023
Expenditure on charitable activities
Counselling
activities
2023
Counselling
activities
2022
Counsellors, costs {including travell
Supervision and assessment
Office management
Premises
Marketing
Insurance
Telephone
Professional affiliations
Bank charges
Audit & Accounting
IT Softare & Consumables
Miscellaneous
2,755
ii,iio
27,800
15,463
3,692
870
1,014
241
773
2,094
7,125
1,776
74,713
1,800
13,470
30,821
14,831
4,154
834
863
319
220
2.150
13,194
1,950
84,606

South Bucks Counselllng
Notes to the accounts
For the year ended 31 December 2023
2023
2022
Fixed Assets
Office Equipment at cost
Balance at l January 2021
Additions during the year
At 31 December 2021
1,561
1,561
1,561
1,561
Depreciation
Balance at l January 2021
Charge during the year
At 31 December 2021
1,561
1,561
1,561
1,561
Net book value at 31 December 2021
Debtors
Donations
Other Debtors
220
220
Prepayrnents
Insurance prepaid
884
884
738
738
Creditors
Independent Examiner's fee
Income in Advance
Miscellaneous
350
2,150
3.580
6,080
353
3.059
3,412
The average number of employees during the year
All parttime