A West Lothian counselling service for young people has moved to bigger premises to cope with demand.
S.M.I.L.E Counselling have been operating in West Lothian for the past six years and have just moved out of their old offices in Bathgate into a bigger unit in Livingston.
They have supported over 500 children and young people with individual therapy and offered over 4500 counselling hours.
Already in the first six months of this year, S.M.I.L.E. Counselling has offered 61 per cent more appointments, compared to last year.
A significant number of the referrals have come through their network with schools but now they hope that larger premises in Livingston will allow for additional non-school referrals.
Overall, their referrals have more than doubled in the last six months so the CEO at SMILE, Declan Harrigan, decided they had to invest and move on to the new building at 6 Fairbairn Place in Livingston.
He explained: “We have now found the ideal premises for our services based in Livingston Village.
“It will enable us to offer four times the amount of counselling we previously could with also a sensory room for children with neurodiverse needs and a training space to deliver mental health training.
“We see this as the best and most accessible facility that will enable us to support all the children and young people that need our services.”
S.M.I.L.E rely upon grants and funding from sponsors within the community so finding the investment was tough.
Declan says that they are currently looking for sponsors to help them reach more young people in the county.
He continued: “There is still work to be done here and so we have decided to ask if any of our local partners or businesses can afford £50 per week for a year enable us to fully secure the premises, furnish with all equipment and help double glaze windows for confidentiality.”
Any interested parties can reach out to Declan through their website.
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