Novo Counselling

"My counsellor was nice but I don’t believe she was professional enough or calming at all. Only had 3 sessions with her and that was enough. I turned up 10 minutes early to my first appointment and waited about 40/45 minutes to be told I was put down as a “no show”. Very unprofesssional business as there is no one to greet you when you arrive and you sit in a room waiting to be called out. I’m a shy person and my sessions always ran short and the price I was paying was not matching the service I received. I also felt that my counsellor was no professional enough for the issue I was going in with and what I went through she seemed unprofessional in my issue risen in my sessions. The business is just not professional at all"

"I have known Novo for the last 3 years and worked with a couple of their counsellors, including Lucy. They are very supportive and I would definitely recommend their person-centred approach to any local person that seeks both, an affordable and high quality counselling services, as they will deliver it well. A great range of therapists to choose from as well!"

"I had cause to use Novo earlier this year and it totally transformed my outlook on things that in combination were really stressing me out. After only a few weeks I was able to deal with it all and would definitely recommend them 100%!"

"I was messed around by both counsellors and management here. Especially when dealing with vulnerable people, Novo need to learn to take their clients seriously. *Also be wary that Lucy Phipps has given this place a 5-star review because she is the practice director and Matthew Phipps is her husband padding her out with fake reviews. **EDIT: Response from owner: "Hi Nishi, we don't have any record of you attending sessions with us. Perhaps you went somewhere else? Feel free to get in touch if you still need support." Based on the response I have received from the owner (who also doesn't seem to have another reviewer on their records - another indication of their poor management!) I will provide more details to allow anyone considering Novo to make up their own minds. I sought out Novo after searching the area for a family therapist. I chose them as I was told that they had a large team of counsellors and next to no waiting list. Lucy contacted me to gauge which counsellor might be best suited and to arrange a time. This initial process went smoothly and I attended my first and only session with Nic Pendregaust on 29th March 2018. As anyone who has attended counselling previously will know, the first session is mainly to get the counsellor up to date with your situation and their input really begins in subsequent meetings. After already having received an appointment confirmation for my next session that Saturday, I was sent an email on Friday (less than 24 hours prior to my appointment) being told that my counsellor was leaving the practice. I found this to be strange as it was unlikely for her to have made that decision to leave so suddenly and without much notice to the practice. After pointing out that this made my first session almost entirely redundant and asking for a refund, Lucy offered my next session 'free of charge'. When she then made recommendations for sessions and a counsellor that I could switch to, they were completely outside of mine and my dad's availability and it wasn't for another month anyway! They were also significantly more expensive than the initial sessions chosen. To top it all off - Lucy was then away for the week, during which I called nearly every day. It wasn't until the Friday that I was told that Lucy was away and that no one else could deal with my issue. Upon her return, she took her time to tell me that they had nothing for me within our availability and that not many places did in the area. This surprised me as it was not the first time I was telling her that I had limited availability and it hadn't seemed to be a problem before! Finally, I asked for the refund for my first session again, which I was given. This process of one counselling session and a whole lot more stress took place from 20/03/18 to 23/04/18. What made it worse is that I hadn't seen my dad in over a year and wanted to establish a better relationship in safe hands - instead, they opened up Pandora's Box and then didn't follow through in the way they said they would. I am shocked that a practice could have been so irresponsible to take me on as a client and then left me hanging like that. My recommendation is to avoid this place like the plague unless you are looking for more emotional distress!"

"Thank you very much for your help over the last few months. I am pleased to say life is getting better every day. My family life is now the best it has ever been."