This service is run by a registered charity, and it is for children, young people, and adults in all ten boroughs of Greater Manchester including Salford, Trafford, Bury, Wigan, Bolton, City of Manchester, Rochdale, Oldham, Tameside, and Stockport.
It was formed by counsellors with experience of supporting learning disabled and autistic people. The founders all have experience, either through professional work or their families, of supporting learning disabled and autistic people. They had seen how underserved this group was by the IAPT/early intervention offer from community mental health or children and adolescent mental health services, because it is not flexible or bespoke enough to support individuals to achieve their aspirations. Initially they were very much working against the system in providing bespoke early support to people with a learning disability and autistic people.
The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the gap in early support provision, particularly for autistic people, and in recognition of this the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership has invested in two years of funding, so far, for an initial support service from Respect for All.
It is in the second year of funding and seeking to develop beyond an initial short-term service into something with more depth that works flexibly with individuals and families.
This all-age service makes sure that people have early help and access to the right therapy for them. Therapy is changed to fit the needs of the person. It recognises that people with a learning disability and autistic people do not fit into the standard Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) and early support offer that is offered to the wider population.
Although it is a support service providing counselling and play therapy to learning disabled and autistic people and supports their parents, families, and carers, it now can also provide sessions to parents and siblings.
It does not work with individuals who are experiencing a mental health crisis and will ensure that when individuals come to the service in crisis, they are referred to their GP.
Therapists work closely with people to develop their approach, and therapies are adapted and changed to the person’s needs. These changes might mean offering individual therapy sessions for people who find group therapy difficult to cope with. Staff work hard to agree the pace of sessions that suit each individual and use non-verbal approaches such as play therapy to help people where this works better for people.
People using the service are encouraged to choose the right therapeutic approach for them and the length of sessions, to ensure that sensory and processing needs are appropriately met.
The services it provides are:
- Short term telephone / online video counselling support service
- Counselling for individuals (12 – 24 sessions)
- Family / couples counselling
- Pre- and Post-diagnostic support
Respect for All is 'good' because it has a flexible approach to working with individuals and families and they may use a combination of these services. People feel listened to, and individuals feel able to take steps after they have attended.
Respect For All can provide pre-diagnosis and post diagnosis support; and work with individuals at whatever stage they are at. Its focus is on what individuals need to help them take the next steps. It provides a bespoke service for everyone and has a flexible approach to how many sessions and approach taken.
Therapists take time to dig into the issues the individual brings to sessions and there is a good recognition of trauma.