Sage Counselling

What Sage Counselling does

Sage Counselling is a UK-registered charity (Charity Number 1088917) headquartered in Chichester, West Sussex, founded in 1996 by psychotherapist Ann Orbach and operating as a non-profit since 2001. The organisation delivers home-based face-to-face counselling services to clients in their own homes, care homes, or hospitals across West Sussex, targeting individuals — primarily older adults and other adults with limited mobility — who cannot easily access clinic-based support. Its underlying service model relies on a network of qualified and trainee counsellors, four hours of monthly BACP-aligned group supervision, and referral pipelines drawn from GPs, social workers, social prescribers, carers, family, and specialist partners such as the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA), with whom it has co-delivered specialist MND counselling since 2018.

The product portfolio comprises the core Home-Based Counselling Service (a weekly session at £35, up to two years), an initial Counselling Assessment (£35), Specialist MND Counselling delivered in partnership with MNDA, remote Counselling via Zoom and telephone, and paid CPD-certified Training Workshops (£7.50 subsidised for internal counsellors, £30 for external counselling professionals). There is no proprietary software platform; service delivery is operational rather than technology-led, supported by Squarespace-hosted web content, a monthly Journal blog, and standard communications channels including a 07585 141599 phone line and [email protected] / [email protected] email addresses.

Sage Counselling's business model combines three revenue streams: subsidised client session contributions at £35 per session, charitable donations underwriting costs for low-income and vulnerable clients, and fees from training workshops. Annual operating costs of approximately £30,000 cover travel, supervision, administration and insurance, indicating a small-scale operation. No one is turned away due to financial constraints, and concessions are available based on means. Governance is provided by volunteer trustees with backgrounds in counselling, HR, marketing, finance and charity governance, with day-to-day operations managed by a Counselling Coordinator, Placement Manager, Supervisors and Administrator.

Name

Sage Counselling

Legal name

Sage Counselling

Website

https://sagecounselling.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sage Counselling is a UK-registered charity providing home-based face-to-face counselling across West Sussex for adults, particularly those with limited mobility, older adults, and people affected by Motor Neurone Disease, delivered via in-home visits, care homes and hospitals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Counselling and Mental Health Services

NAICS

Offices of Mental Health Practitioners (except Physicians) (621330), Individual and Family Services (6241), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

End-of-Life Emotional & Spiritual Support (Chaplaincy/Counseling) In-Home (HSABAFAH)

Keywords

• Home-based counselling
• Bereavement support
• Mobility counselling
• Mental health charity
• Therapeutic counselling

Headquarters

HQ city

Chichester

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. Client session contributions: Affordable session fees charged to clients based on their means, with concessions available. Standard fees are £35 per assessment and £35 per weekly session.
2. Donations: Charitable donations from supporters to help subsidise counselling sessions and keep service accessible. No one is turned away due to financial difficulty.
3. Training workshops: Fees from training workshops for Sage counsellors (£7.50 subsidised rate) and external counselling professionals (£30 per session) as fundraising activity.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sage Counselling is a registered charity that provides one-to-one face-to-face counselling delivered in clients' own homes, care homes, or hospitals across West Sussex, primarily for adults who are unable to travel to appointments due to age, illness, or mobility limitations. It also runs a specialist MND counselling programme in partnership with the Motor Neurone Disease Association and offers CPD training workshops for counsellors. Services are weekly, confidential, and can run short-term or up to two years, charged on a sliding scale with concessions so no client is turned away due to finances.

Product overview

Sage Counselling is a registered charity (Number 1088917) providing home-based counselling services across West Sussex. The core offering is a face-to-face counselling service delivered in clients' homes, care homes, or hospitals for people unable to travel due to age, illness, or mobility challenges. The service portfolio includes a specialist MND Counselling programme delivered in partnership with the Motor Neurone Disease Association, an initial Counselling Assessment process, and Training Workshops for internal and external counselling professionals. The organisation also offers remote support via Zoom and telephone as an alternative to home visits. Services operate on a sliding-scale fee model with concessions available.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Home-Based Counselling Service Weekly face-to-face counselling delivered in clients' own homes, care homes or hospitals across West Sussex for adults unable to travel to appointments due to age, illness or mobility issues. Sessions are confidential, one-to-one, and can be short-term or long-term (up to two years), with contributions on a sliding scale.
• Specialist MND Counselling Specialist home-based counselling delivered in partnership with the Motor Neurone Disease Association for people living with MND and their families, partners and unpaid carers. Referrals are routed through MND Specialist Practitioners and sessions are run by counsellors qualified and experienced in working with MND.
• Training Workshops (CPD)

Quantifiable outcome

• Confidential support in familiar environment leading to improved mental balance and physical balance
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Sage Counselling works in partnership with the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA) to provide home-based counselling for people affected by Motor Neurone Disease. Referrals are made through an MND Specialist Practitioner. Counsellors are qualified and have experience working with MND. Partnership has been delivering specialist support since 2018.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Age UK: National charity for older people providing advice, befriending, and wellbeing services, including some counselling-adjacent support. Comparable as Sage's original target segment (S-Age = Senior Age) was older adults, and Age UK addresses loneliness and isolation in the same demographic.
• Mind (National Mind): Major UK mental health charity providing information, support, and signposting rather than direct counselling at scale. A broad incumbent that overlaps with Sage's mission of community-based mental health support for vulnerable populations, but operates at a much larger national scale.
• NHS Talking Therapies (IAPT): State-funded NHS service delivering free cognitive behavioural therapy and counselling for depression and anxiety. The dominant UK incumbent in outpatient mental health, often the upstream or alternative referral pathway for Sage Counselling clients referred by GPs and social prescribers.

Direct peers

• Place2Be: UK children's mental health charity providing in-school counselling and mental health support. Comparable as a charity delivering face-to-face counselling in non-clinical settings (schools vs. homes) with a target population that cannot easily access mainstream services.
• Relate: UK's largest provider of relationship counselling and psycho-sexual therapy, with both face-to-face and remote delivery. Comparable as a charity-funded counselling provider operating through a network of paid and volunteer counsellors serving individuals and families.
• Cruse Bereavement Support: UK bereavement charity providing bereavement counselling and support across the country. Directly comparable as both deliver in-person and remote emotional counselling to vulnerable populations, rely on volunteer counsellors, and operate as specialist charities rather than clinical providers.
• Samaritans: UK-wide charity providing confidential emotional support via phone, email, and in-person visits. Comparable as a volunteer-driven charity delivering emotional support outside of clinical settings, though at much larger scale and focused on crisis rather than ongoing therapy.

Others

• British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Registered Counsellors Directory: The professional body of which Sage is a member (membership 118304). BACP represents the broader UK counselling profession including many small private practitioners; comparable as the ecosystem/credentialing body that Sage operates within rather than as a direct competitor.
• Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA): Sage's existing strategic partner and the UK's primary MND charity. While technically a partner, MNDA's broader care and support services — including its own care grants, regional visitor network, and support coordination — make it a thematic ecosystem peer in the MND counselling space.

Regional players

• St Wilfrid's Hospice (Chichester): Local hospice serving Chichester and West Sussex, providing end-of-life emotional, spiritual, and bereavement support. Comparable as a regional Sussex-based provider of non-clinical emotional and end-of-life support — directly adjacent to Sage's bereavement and MND work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sage-counselling-west-sussex

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Sage Counselling