News from Surrey Counselling & Mediation (formerly Relate Mid and East Surrey)

Coping with Bereavement this Mothering Sunday
If you’re experiencing Mother’s Day without your mum this year, it’s likely to bring back memories of happier times which could be painful to deal with. This is understandable and it’s important to put yourself first: perhaps you’d like to do something to remember your mum or maybe you aren’t ready. Do whatever is right

Understanding Power Imbalances in Friendships
What are power imbalances in friendships? Power imbalances in friendships happen when one friend has more control or influence over the other. A power imbalance can manifest in different ways, such as: Cultural or social backgrounds Differences in cultural or social backgrounds can lead to misunderstandings or one friend feeling marginalised or less empowered. Personality

Christmas without someone we love
There are many reasons why we may feel loss at Christmas. Bereavement, separation, children growing up, sharing Christmas with in-laws, friends moved away, memories of a lockdown Christmas, living abroad, family breakdown, feeling the absence of the lifestyle that you want and loneliness can bring difficult thoughts and emotions. Whether you are facing the first

Charity Shop Re-opening Celebration
Last Thursday we held the official reopening of our newly refurbished charity shop in Woodhatch, Reigate. It was such a joy to be able to celebrate all the hard work put into the planning, fundraising and implementing of this project with so many volunteers that were involved, including the shop staff, trustee and our volunteer

Games to improve your relationships
Games can play such an important role in helping us to be vulnerable and open in relationships. We all know communication is important, but it’s not always easy to open up out of the blue. Here are some of our fave relationship games from @nowplaythis festival and beyond to help you create healthier friendships, work

Charity Shop Refurbishment
We have some great news! Our Crowdfunder campaign has successfully raised the money for our shop refurbishment to go ahead. We would like to pass on our huge gratitude to the individuals, local businesses, staff, trustees, volunteers and the Mortgage Advice Bureau for their donations and support that made this project possible. Phase 1 of

London Marathon 21st April 2024 Charity Place
We are delighted to have been awarded a charity place in the next London Marathon, Spring 2024 and are welcoming enquiries from those interested in participating. The Marathon will take place on Sunday 21st April 2024 and our minimum fundraising total is £2000. You will receive full support for RMES team including help with fundraising ideas and

How to be an ally when someone you know comes out
If someone you\’re friends with or related to comes out, it can bring a whole mix of emotions from excitement and pride to confusion and anxiety. It’s likely both you and your loved one are feeling vulnerable, and you want to be there for them during this potentially empowering and challenging time. As part of Pride month,

Setting Boundaries in the Workplace
Grind culture, the deeply held belief that work is the most important thing in the world, has been embedded in collective psyches. We ask children what they want to be when they grow up, normalise working outside of working hours and consume self-made billionaire narratives in the hopes that we can labour our way into
Relationship Counselling Testimonial
“Our counsellor was very understanding to our needs and helped us overcome a very large barrier in our relationship. We needed that third person to reinstate the communication between us”
