What Bright Light does

Bright Light is a charitable organization and company limited by guarantee, headquartered at 18 York Place, Edinburgh, Scotland, registered with the Scottish Charity Regulator as SC011989. Founded in 1945, it self-describes as the largest charitable provider of relationship counselling in Scotland, serving individuals, couples, and families across the Lothians region. Core services include couples counselling, family therapy, online video counselling, and telephone counselling, delivered by PVG-checked practitioners with BACP or COSCA accreditation across 50-minute sessions over a typical 6–20 session contract on a weekly or fortnightly cadence.

The technology footprint is intentionally light: a Squarespace-hosted website (bright-light.org.uk) handles service information, registration, and online set-up fee payment, while counselling itself is delivered via standard video and telephone channels. The Edinburgh head office is not wheelchair accessible, which has effectively pushed service delivery toward remote channels. Bright Light is a member of Relationships Scotland and COSCA, follows their professional standards and complaints procedures, and is a Living Wage Employer.

Revenue is generated through a hybrid charitable model: a one-off £30 set-up fee per client, income-scaled session contributions paid by debit/credit card or PayPal in advance, Gift Aid-eligible donations (25% tax reclaim), and legacy bequests. The organization is supplemented by grant funding from the Scottish Government, the Robertson Trust, and the Big Lottery Community Fund, as visible in funder logos on the site. Distribution relies on self-referral via the website, word-of-mouth, healthcare-provider referrals, and the Relationships Scotland network; there is no enterprise sales motion, no app presence, and no API or SDK integrations disclosed.

Name

Bright Light

Legal name

Bright Light

Website

https://bright-light.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1945

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Bright Light is a Scottish charitable organization providing relationship counselling, family therapy, and online/telephone therapy services to individuals and couples across the Lothians region of Scotland, self-described as the largest charitable provider of relationship counselling in the country.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Edinburgh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Set-up fees: One-off set-up fee of £30 to cover initial registration, assessment, and allocation of first appointment.
2. Income-based session contributions: Clients pay contributions towards counselling appointments based on their income. Payments made by debit/credit card or PayPal in advance of sessions. Counselling typically spans 6-20 sessions.
3. Donations and Gift Aid: Charitable donations accepted with Gift Aid scheme allowing reclamation of basic rate tax (25p per £1 donated). Donors can register consent once for ongoing Gift Aid claims.
4. Legacy gifts: Charitable bequests in wills to support counselling sessions for people who cannot afford services. Legacies are exempt from inheritance tax.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Bright Light is a Scottish charity providing relationship counselling to individuals, couples, and families in the Lothians region, including couples counselling, family therapy, and individual counselling delivered through online video sessions and telephone appointments. Services are accessed after a one-off £30 set-up fee and ongoing income-scaled session contributions, with typical counselling contracts of 6–20 weekly or fortnightly 50-minute sessions.

Product overview

Bright Light is a charitable organisation providing relationship counselling services in Scotland's Lothian region. The primary offerings include couples counselling (the core service), family therapy, online counselling, and telephone counselling. All services are accessed through an initial registration process with a £30 set-up fee, followed by contribution-based payment for sessions. The organisation operates primarily online due to office accessibility limitations, with counselling provided over 6-20 weekly or fortnightly sessions of 50 minutes each.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Couples Counselling Core relationship counselling service for couples delivered in 50-minute sessions, typically over 6–20 weekly or fortnightly sessions after an initial assessment appointment to clarify needs and expectations. Delivered by qualified, PVG-checked, BACP/COSCA-accredited practitioners to people in the Lothians region.
• Family Therapy Family therapy registration and therapeutic support service for families experiencing relationship and family dynamics difficulties, available to families in the Lothians region seeking structured therapeutic intervention.
• Online Counselling Video-based counselling sessions offered as a primary delivery channel, particularly important because the Edinburgh office building is not wheelchair accessible. Enables remote relationship counselling for clients across the Lothians.
• Telephone Counselling Phone-based counselling provided to individuals for whom online video systems are not appropriate, serving as an accessibility-focussed alternative delivery channel in addition to in-person and online options.
• Set-up and Registration Service Initial onboarding service covering client registration, financial assessment to determine income-scaled contributions, and allocation of the first counselling appointment, accessed through a one-off £30 set-up fee paid via the Bright Light website.

Quantifiable outcome

• Counselling contracts typically span 6-20 sessions

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Relationships ScotlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBright Light is a member of Relationships Scotland, the national membership body for relationship counselling providers in Scotland. This membership provides accreditation, access to professional standards and frameworks, national complaints procedures, and visibility within the Scottish counselling ecosystem. Bright Light follows Relationships Scotland guidance for policies and procedures.
• COSCA (Counselling and Psychotherapy in Scotland)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBright Light is a member of COSCA, the national professional body for counselling and psychotherapy in Scotland. This membership demonstrates adherence to professional standards and provides access to their complaints procedures and guidance policies.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Mind: Large UK mental health charity providing information, support, and local counselling services. Adjacent comparator: broader mental-health scope and national scale, with overlapping client base among individuals and families seeking subsidized therapeutic support.
• BetterHelp: Largest online therapy platform globally, offering subscription-based individual, couples, and family counselling. Competes with Bright Light for self-referring clients seeking convenient, low-friction access to relationship support, but at premium subscription pricing rather than income-scaled contributions.
• Samaritans: UK-wide charity providing emotional support via phone, email, and in person. Comparable in mission (subsidized emotional support for individuals in distress), volunteer-driven operating model, and reliance on donations, but focused on crisis support rather than ongoing relationship counselling.

Direct peers

• Family Lives: UK charity providing family support including counselling, helplines, and parent guidance. Comparable to Bright Light in supporting families in distress via paid and subsidized services, with similar hybrid online/telephone delivery.
• Marriage Care: UK-wide charity providing relationship counselling, marriage preparation, and education, with a similar contribution-based fee model. Directly comparable in service mix (couples/family counselling) and target client base to Bright Light.
• Relate: The UK's largest provider of relationship support and counselling, delivering couple, family, and sex therapy across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Closest direct comparable to Bright Light in service offering, charity model, and contribution-based pricing structure.
• Tavistock Relationships: London-headquartered charity specializing in relationship counselling, psychotherapy, and training. Overlapping service line with Bright Light (couples and family therapy), with broader clinical offerings and a comparable charity/grant-funded model.
• Couple Connection: Online relationship support service developed by OnePlusOne, providing self-guided and guided resources for couples. Comparable in target audience (couples seeking relationship support) and digital-first delivery model, though more self-service than Bright Light's counsellor-led offering.

Others

• Relationships Scotland: National membership network of which Bright Light is a member; not a direct competitor but the parent body providing accreditation, national visibility, and referral infrastructure to Bright Light and other Scottish member centres.

Regional players

• Cruse Bereavement Care: UK-wide bereavement support charity with a Scottish branch network. Comparable as a UK charity providing subsidized emotional-support counselling to individuals and families, though focused on bereavement rather than relationship counselling.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Bright_Light_47
• Facebookfacebook.com/BrightLight47
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bright-light-relationship-counselling

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 Bright Light