This relationship developed further when we, unexpectedly, began our first training placement together. This was at a long-standing charity, whose mission was to provide low-cost counselling for our local community and surrounding areas.

This placement was a rare gem; an accessible service for clients, psychodynamic in its philosophy, with an appreciation for developing trainee counsellors with an interest in this approach. 

The client care, supervision and overall experience at that organisation was profound and second to none; it raised the bar for us with regards to what a ‘quality counselling experience’ could be, along with the importance of professionalism in the counselling world.

Sadly, the charity suddenly and unexpectedly closed, and so our placement came to a premature end. The organisation’s closure was a great loss to both the local client and professional community.

Fortunately, we both went on to have other positive placement experiences with many other counselling organisations, learning a great deal about how different organisations run. 

During this time, however, we would also hear concerning stories from our counselling colleagues about their experiences at some organisations. This frustrated us; we wanted both clients and our colleagues to experience what we had, to see how good the professional world of counselling really can be.

From our experiences, we knew it was possible to create a service where clients could access more affordable and high quality counselling, and where trainee counsellors could experience meaningful, quality placements like we did.

Therefore, we created Hammock to achieve precisely this, confident that the benefits to both clients and the profession would be far reaching for years to come. 

Hammock’s mission is to offer a nurturing and accessible environment for adults seeking mental health support, while also offering meaningful, high quality placement opportunities for trainee counsellors and psychotherapists.