The Deborah Ubee Trust

Who we are

The purpose of The Deborah Ubee Trust (TDUT) is to promote and support mental health and wellbeing within

the London boroughs of Greenwich and Lewisham.

We aim to:

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Support people regardless of their situation or their ability to pay for their therapy

•

Promote emotional wellbeing and raise awareness of emotional health

•

Provide a range of holistic treatments: we deliver therapies including one-to-one talking therapy,

dance/movement psychotherapy, play therapy, parent/child attachment play therapy, group work and workshops

•

Support and train placement counsellors

•

Promote good practice around therapeutic interventions

We directly provide a service to vulnerable people. We can break down a barrier that deters individuals from

high-need groups from seeking help. We support victims and survivors of domestic violence. In partnership with

Lewisham council, we deliver our Prevent-Repair-Protect project which supports children who experience

domestic abuse.

We offer women affected by DV and coercive control trauma informed therapy in partnership with the Her Centre.

We deliver training and presentations of our work in the community to raise awareness and reduce stigma

around mental health.

We have a strong reputation within the therapeutic community as supporters of professional development. We

have over 36 volunteers/sessional counsellors/trainee counsellors working with us.

TDUT was established in 2011 in memory of Deborah Ubee, who lost her life to depression in 2008 after finding

it difficult to access mental health services. Our ambition is to provide local, free and low-cost easy-to-access

support for ALL those in crisis or experiencing mental health issues to help our service users move on positively

with their lives, increase resilience and independence and decrease mental health issues and isolation.

Our culture and values

We are responsive to local need and well-placed to deliver our services. We are a key part of the local

communities we serve. We deliver our services accessibly and directly in a dedicated and purpose-built centre

on the Greenwich/Deptford border. We have full disability access. The discreet physical appearance of our

building helps encourage people to come to us without fear of stigma. The location is convenient with excellent

transport links which is an advantage for our clients who have also told us they feel safe and comfortable in our

centre. This is extremely important for engagement and encouraging clients to return for on-going counselling.

Our person-centred approach means we work predominately with vulnerable populations who do not engage

well with statutory services, who are from deprived backgrounds or from low-income families. Our clients bring a

range of mental health issues which can be heightened by social and economic problems. While some clients

may have experienced mental health challenges for the first time during the pandemic, others living with these

challenges saw symptoms exacerbated. We have seen a marked increase in self-referrals in the last two years

wanting support for stress, anxiety, and trauma. Most of our self-referrals are through word-of-mouth. Individuals

who do not usually engage with other services approach us, indicating that we are making a difference and

reaching the right people locally. We receive some referrals from GPs and clients are signposted to us from

other mental health providers if they do not meet that organisation’s threshold. We are therefore supporting

those individuals who, without our support, may fall through the net and present later in real crisis. Although the

service we deliver aims to support people before they go into crisis, we are seeing more individuals with

moderate to high mental health needs approach us for support. There continues to be a gap in adequate

provision of mental health services which supports people with lower to medium needs in a timely way, and

where individuals are not accessing support early their symptoms and problems are escalating. TDUT has

strong leadership; our directors are highly qualified therapists and 60% of our staff and Trustees have lived

experience of mental health challenges. We have an excellent track record for achieving good outcomes for our

clients and our standards are hailed as exceptional. Testimony to this is the continued partnerships we have

developed locally through our commissioned work. We have an excellent team of volunteer and sessional

therapists and our current retention rate is notable. Some of our volunteers on placement with us in the past

have continued to volunteer; this tells us that they value the work we do and proud to continue their association

with our organisation. We offer our volunteer counsellors a guaranteed minimum four days CPD a year to meet

the requirements of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) and on-going clinical

supervision of practice. This is necessary to ensure our therapists deliver safe, quality care to our clients.

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

THE DEBORAH UBEE TRUST is committed to eliminating discrimination and

encouraging diversity and inclusion amongst our employees and volunteers. Our aim

is that our workforce will be truly representative of all sections of society and each

employee feels respected and able to give of their best. The Deborah Ubee Trust is

aware of is obligation and commitment to the Equality Act 2010.

To that end the purpose of this policy is to provide equality and fairness for all in our

employment and not to discriminate on grounds of marital status, race, ethnic origin,

colour, nationality, national origin, ability, sexuality, identity, religion, wealth or age.

We oppose all forms of unlawful and unfair discrimination.

All employees, service users whether part-time, full-time, temporary, or voluntary

will be treated fairly and with respect. Selection for employment, promotion, training

or any other benefit will be based on aptitude and ability. All employees and

volunteers will be helped and encouraged to develop their full potential and the

talents and resources of the workforce will be fully utilised to maximise the efficiency

of the organisation.

THE DEBORAH UBEE TRUST’s statement of intent:

• To create an environment in which individual differences and the contributions of

all our staff are recognised and valued.

• Every employee and volunteer is entitled to a working environment that promotes

dignity and respect to all. No form of intimidation, bullying or harassment will be

tolerated.

• There is access to the benefits, facilities and services we provide, and

• There is access to membership of the Board of Trustees and its other groups,

which are available to all without unfair discrimination.

• Training, development and progression opportunities are available to all staff.

• Equality in the workplace is good management practice and makes sound business

sense.

• We will regularly review all our employment practices and procedures to ensure

fairness.

• Breaches of our equality, diversity and inclusion policy will be regarded as

misconduct and could lead to disciplinary proceedings.

• This policy is fully supported and agreed by the Board of Trustees and will be

monitored and reviewed biannually or if found wanting in practice.

It is also our intention to ensure equality of opportunity and of treatment on the

matters specified above throughout our sphere of influence, in so far as it lies within

our power.