Refugee Therapy Centre

What Refugee Therapy Centre does

The Refugee Therapy Centre is a UK-registered charity (Charity No. 1085922, Company No. 3895072) headquartered in London that supports members of refugee and asylum-seeker communities. Founded in 1999 by Aida Alayarian and Josephine Klein, the organisation operated a direct clinical service for over 24 years, delivering culturally and linguistically sensitive psychotherapy, mentoring and training to more than 8,000 beneficiaries across the UK who had experienced human-rights abuses, violence, persecution, torture, imprisonment and displacement.

Following COVID-19 disruption that prevented restoration of clinical operations, the Board of Trustees restructured the charity in September 2023 to focus on a grant-funding programme. Under this model, the Centre awards grants that are paid directly to CPJA-UKCP and BPC-accredited training institutions on behalf of refugees and speakers of refugee-community languages (French, Spanish, Arabic, Amharic, Turkish) who are accepted onto psychoanalytic psychotherapy and psychodynamic therapeutic counselling courses. The secondary beneficiary segment includes Black, ethnic, Asian, minority-ethnic individuals, people with disabilities and LGBTQ+ applicants.

The revenue model is entirely non-commercial: the Centre operates on individual donations collected through the Givey platform (givey.com/refugeetherapycentre) and grants, with no fee-for-service pricing. Paid headcount is 1-10 employees and the organisation is run primarily by volunteers and trustees, with current active recruitment for trustees with grant-making and finance expertise.

Name

Refugee Therapy Centre

Legal name

The Refugee Therapy Centre

Website

https://refugeetherapy.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Refugee Therapy Centre is a UK-registered charity that, since its 1999 founding, has provided culturally sensitive psychotherapy and mentoring to refugees and asylum seekers. Following a 2023 strategic pivot, it now primarily funds refugees and language speakers to train as psychotherapists.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Refugee Mental Health Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Refugee & Immigrant Support Services (BPAGAEAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Refugee, Crisis & Humanitarian Education Partnerships (EiE) (EDADALAG), Mental Health & Crisis Support Services (BPAGACAD)

Keywords

• Refugee mental health services
• Psychoanalytic psychotherapy training
• Psychodynamic therapeutic counselling
• Trauma counselling for refugees
• Refugee support services

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding Programme: The Centre provides funding for members of refugee communities to undertake training to become psychoanalytic psychotherapists and psychodynamic therapeutic counsellors. The fund supports students and trainees who can go on to serve refugee and asylum seeker communities.
2. Donations: The Centre accepts donations through Givey platform (givey.com/refugeetherapycentre). They are a registered charity (number 1085922) and company number 3895072.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Refugee Therapy Centre is a UK registered charity that funds members of refugee communities to undertake training to become psychoanalytic psychotherapists and psychodynamic therapeutic counsellors on CPJA-UKCP and BPC-accredited courses. It historically delivered culturally and linguistically sensitive psychotherapy, mentoring and psychological support to refugees and asylum seekers who experienced trauma, human rights abuses, violence, persecution, torture, imprisonment, loss and displacement, and has since September 2023 focused on grant funding to build long-term therapeutic capacity within those communities.

Product overview

The Refugee Therapy Centre operates as a single-service charitable organization offering two interconnected programs: therapeutic services providing culturally and linguistically sensitive psychotherapy, mentoring, and psychological support to refugees and asylum seekers, and a grant funding program that supports refugees and language speakers in training to become psychoanalytic psychotherapists and psychodynamic therapeutic counsellors. The therapeutic services form the core community offering, while the grant program extends the organization's mission by building future capacity within refugee communities to serve their own populations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grant Funding Programme Financial grants awarded on a case-by-case basis to refugees and to speakers of refugee-community languages (French, Spanish, Arabic, Amharic, Turkish and others) who are accepted for training to become psychoanalytic psychotherapists and psychodynamic therapeutic counsellors on CPJA-UKCP and BPC-accredited courses in the UK; payments are made directly to the training organisations, and applications are submitted by email with a covering letter, references, a statement of support and proof of eligibility.
• Therapeutic Services (historical clinical offering) Culturally and linguistically sensitive psychotherapy, mentoring, training and psychological assistance delivered to refugees and asylum seekers in the UK who have witnessed and experienced human rights abuses, including violence, humiliation, persecution, torture, imprisonment, loss and displacement; the clinical service was operated for over 24 years and served more than 8,000 people before the September 2023 pivot to grant funding.

Quantifiable outcome

• Served over 8,000 people including psychotherapy, mentoring, training and assistance

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Helen Bamber Foundation (Human Rights & Humanitarian Protection): UK-based human rights charity that supports survivors of trafficking, torture, and other extreme human cruelty with therapy, medical care, and legal protection. Closely comparable mission and therapeutic orientation toward refugees and asylum seekers.
• Nafsiyat – The Intercultural Therapy Centre: UK charity offering intercultural psychotherapy and counselling services to people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Directly comparable as a London-based therapeutic centre serving refugees and minority communities, and historically connected through shared clinical leadership.
• Refugee Council: One of the largest UK charities working with refugees and asylum seekers, providing support, advocacy, and integration services. Comparable as a UK refugee-services nonprofit serving similar populations, though broader in scope beyond therapy.
• Freedom from Torture: UK charity providing specialist psychological therapy for survivors of torture. Directly comparable in its focus on refugee trauma therapy and rehabilitation, with a similar culturally sensitive clinical model and similar beneficiary population.

Broad incumbents

• British Red Cross: Large UK humanitarian organization providing refugee support, emergency assistance, and psychosocial programmes. Comparable target population and service area, but operates at much greater scale with broader humanitarian mandate.
• Mind (National Association for Mental Health): UK's leading mental health charity. Comparable in providing mental health support and information, but operates as a broad incumbent across all mental health conditions rather than specializing in refugee populations.
• Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders): Global medical humanitarian organization providing care to refugees and displaced populations including mental health services. Comparable in addressing refugee mental health needs but operates internationally and across broader medical categories.

Others

• British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP): UK professional body for the counselling profession. Comparable as a stakeholder in the psychotherapy training ecosystem in which the centre's grant recipients participate, though it functions as an accrediting body rather than a direct service provider.
• Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust: NHS trust providing specialist mental health training including psychoanalytic psychotherapy programmes. Comparable as the type of training institution to which the centre directs its grant funding, making it a partner/funnel organization rather than a direct competitor.

Emerging players

• Asylum Aid: UK charity providing legal aid and advice to asylum seekers. Comparably small and mission-focused on refugee populations, but focused on legal rather than therapeutic services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/refugeetherapy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/refugee-therapy-centre

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Refugee Therapy Centre