The Spark

What The Spark does

The Spark is a Scottish charity founded in 1965, headquartered in Glasgow, that provides counselling and mental health support services across multiple client segments, including individuals, couples, families, children, and young people. It operates 34 physical locations across Scotland and, since 2023, has extended its reach through UK-wide online counselling. Beyond direct service delivery, The Spark runs accredited training courses for counsellors, with curricula aligned to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and Qualifications Scotland standards, and introduced a 'Train the Trainer' course in early 2025.\n\nThe business model is that of a social enterprise: the charity combines earned income from fee-paying counselling clients, contracts with schools, employers, and other charities, and revenue from accredited training courses, supplemented by fundraising and grants typical of UK charitable organizations. Service quality is underpinned by BACP accreditation and a workforce of 51–100 staff, predominantly qualified counsellors. Distribution is anchored in the dense Scottish physical network and increasingly augmented by the digital online counselling channel.\n\nTechnically, the platform is services-led rather than technology-led — there is no disclosed proprietary software, AI tooling, or technology stack beyond the booking and delivery infrastructure required to support online counselling. The Spark's principal assets are its regulatory accreditations, its 60-year brand, its physical network, and its pipeline of BACP-qualified practitioners, which together form the basis of its competitive position in the Scottish mental health services market.

Name

The Spark

Legal name

The Spark (Scotland)

Website

https://thespark.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Spark is a Glasgow-based Scottish charity founded in 1965 that delivers counselling and mental health services to individuals, couples, families, children, and young people via 34 physical locations and a UK-wide online channel, alongside BACP-accredited training courses for counsellors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Counselling and Mental Health Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Student Support Hotlines & Digital Wellbeing Tools (EDAJAIAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Behavioral & Social-Emotional Support (ABA, PBIS, Counseling) (EDAJAKAE), Study Habits & Homework Systems Workshops (EDAMAIAL)

Keywords

• Counselling services
• Mental health support
• Relationship therapy
• Couples counselling
• Family therapy

Headquarters

HQ city

Glasgow

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Counselling Services Fees: The Spark generates revenue through fees charged for counselling sessions provided to individuals, couples, families, children, and young people. Services are available both in-person at their Scotland-wide locations and via online counselling.
2. Training and Education Courses: The organization offers accredited counselling training courses including Diplomas, COSCA Certificates, and CPD courses for professional development in counselling.
3. Employer Services: Professional reflective practice and short courses offered to employers as part of workplace wellbeing services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Spark is a Scottish charity that provides face-to-face and online counselling and mental health support services for individuals, couples, families, children, and young people across Scotland and the UK. It also operates as a BACP and Qualifications Scotland approved training centre delivering accredited counselling qualifications and CPD courses for counselling professionals and helping-professions workers.

Product overview

The Spark is a Scottish charity providing counselling and mental health support services alongside accredited training courses. The organisation operates two interconnected service lines: (1) Counselling Services encompassing individual counselling, couples/marriage counselling, family counselling, youth counselling, child counselling, school-based counselling, employee counselling, online counselling, and Fast Access Single-Session Therapy (FAST); and (2) Education Services providing counselling and CPD training courses including the Diploma in Relational Counselling, COSCA Certificate in Counselling Skills, PDA in Counselling Supervision, PDA in Counselling Children and Young People, and Train the Trainer for Counsellors. The Spark is a BACP and Qualifications Scotland approved training centre offering courses for counselling professionals and those working in helping professions across Scotland.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Individual Counselling One-to-one counselling sessions providing a safe and confidential environment for adults to explore thoughts, feelings, and behaviours related to anxiety, depression, stress, bereavement, and general mental health concerns.
• Couples Counselling Dedicated support for partners and couples to address relationship challenges, improve communication, and nurture stronger relationships.
• Marriage Counselling Specialist counselling services for married couples experiencing relationship difficulties.
• Family Counselling Counselling for families addressing relationship problems, communication breakdowns, behavioural difficulties, and parenting challenges.
• Parenting Counselling Counselling support specifically for parents dealing with parenting challenges and family-related stress.
• Youth Counselling Counselling services for young people providing a safe space to express themselves, explore emotions, and develop coping strategies for school-related stress and family changes.
• Child Counselling Age-appropriate counselling for children to help them express emotions and develop coping strategies.
• School-Based Counselling Counselling services delivered within educational settings across Scotland's secondary schools, supporting student mental health, exam stress, and peer relationships.
• Employee Counselling Workplace counselling services for employers including Professional Reflective Practice and short courses to address employee wellbeing and workplace stress.
• Online Counselling UK-wide online counselling service available to individuals 18+ for individuals, couples, parents, and young people anywhere in the UK.
• Fast Access Single-Session Therapy (FAST) Solution-focused counselling for individuals that lasts a single session, with option to continue into ongoing counselling. Free of charge.
• Diploma in Relational Counselling Professional diploma training programme for aspiring counsellors delivered by a BACP and Qualifications Scotland approved training centre.
• COSCA Certificate in Counselling Skills Accredited certificate course in counselling skills recognised by COSCA (Counselling and Psychotherapy in Scotland).
• PDA in Counselling Supervision BACP approved Professional Development Award in Counselling Supervision for qualified counselling professionals.
• PDA in Counselling Children and Young People BACP approved Professional Development Award for counselling children and young people aged 10 to 18.
• Train the Trainer for Counsellors Professional development course for counsellor trainers to develop training delivery skills.
• CPD Courses Continuing Professional Development courses for counsellors and those working in helping professions.
• Professional Reflective Practice Structured reflective practice sessions for employer organisations, delivered as a workplace wellbeing offering.
• Short Courses for Employees Short workplace wellbeing courses offered to employers as part of workplace counselling services.

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• COSCA (Counselling & Psychotherapy in Scotland)coreTechnology or IntegrationCOSCA is the professional body for counselling and psychotherapy in Scotland. The Spark is recognized by COSCA and holds their Recognition Scheme Award. Personal data is shared with COSCA for courses accredited with them. The Spark's Counsellors are obligated to pass on information to clients about COSCA's Complaints procedure.
• BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy)coreTechnology or IntegrationThe Spark is a BACP and Qualifications Scotland approved training centre. All of their counsellors are registered members of professional bodies including BACP. The Spark is also an organisational member of BACP.
• Qualifications ScotlandcoreTechnology or IntegrationThe Spark is a Qualifications Scotland approved training centre, providing accredited counselling and CPD courses.
• PayPalminorOthersPayPal is used as a payment service provider for securely processing client payments. Data shared includes name, billing address, telephone number, card payment details, card type, and authorising bank.
• StripeminorOthersStripe is used for payment processing. __stripe_mid cookie is placed for payment processing purposes.
• WorldPayminorOthersWorldPay is used as a payment service provider to securely process payments for counselling services.
• OpayominorOthersOpayo is used as a payment service provider to securely process payments for counselling services.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SparkScotland
• Facebookfacebook.com/SparkScotland
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sparkscotland
• Instagraminstagram.com/sparkscotland

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 The Spark