Professional and Agency Referral Process
We are currently experiencing a very high demand for our services.
You could be waiting for up to two years for some of our counselling services.
If you are wanting to refer your client into STARS Dorset for either our Counselling Service or our Independent Sexual Violence Advisor Service please fill in our professionals online referral form.
The Client Support Services Team review all referrals once a day.
The referrals are then sent to our ISVA (Adult and CYP) and our Heads of Counselling (Adult and CYP) to make a decision as to support at STARS Dorset.
Please be aware that a referral in does not guarantee support with us. You may be signposted to other more suitable services. Please read our Eligibility Criteria.
There are long waiting lists for some of our services. So your clients case will automatically be closed if:
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They do not respond to contact from STARS Dorset (email and phone).
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They do not attend their booked initial appointment.
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They miss two session with their ISVA or Counsellor.
Eligibility for Counselling Support
Counselling is not an alternative to mental health provisions or for those with on going substance misuse.
Counselling works at the end of someone’s recovery journey. Each individual needs to be in a place of safety and able to work with their counsellor.
Eligibility for ISVA Support
The ISVA Service is for those people who have reported to the Police or wish to report. They are happy to discuss details before any referral is made.
Making a Self-Referral
Your referral will be reviewed by our Referrals Team and we will contact you to let you know if you have been accepted into the service.
Due to the high demand for all our services, initial contact will be made by email (please check your junk email) so please ensure your email address is correct on the referral form.
All telephone contact from us will show as a ‘withheld number’.
The number of individuals who do not respond to our contact and/or do not show up to booked appointments is very high and impacting on our service. Your case will be closed if you do not attend appointments when booked (unless you have given us 24 hours notice), or if you do not attend or cancel three appointments.
Professionals / Agencies Referring a Client to our Service
If you are wanting to refer your client into STARS Dorset for either our Counselling Service or our Independent Sexual Violence Advisor Service please fill in our professionals online referral form.
Our Referrals Team will review your referral to identify which is the most appropriate of our specialist services to provide support. Please be aware that there are long waiting lists for our services. Due to the high demand for STARS your client’s case will be closed if they do not attend a booked appointment or Counselling Session. Occasionally we may not be the right service at the point of referral, if this is the case we will advise you accordingly and try to signpost you to more appropriate services.
