A Chelmsford counselling service is seeing so many stressed-out City commuters that it is considering renting premises in London's Harley Street.
DCS counselling services, based in Broomfield Road, says its staff are dealing with increasing numbers of Essex residents wilting under the strain of harassment and bullying in their high-powered jobs in the City of London.
Denise Salman, a director of the company, said that private clients - including many professional people - now made up one third of the company's work.
"A lot of this is around stress and bullying in the workplace. We are seeing people that are professional people in high powered jobs. Maybe they come with a drink problem but when you unravel it, it is all around stress in the workplace," she said.
This could be stress over employment prospects, about unreasonable demands and working hours and bullying, she said.
"I find it beggars belief that people can be so uncaring and harsh - to actually hear it from clients and see how broken people can be. I think its scandalous," she said.
Although the company's Chelmsford premises already offer late night opening, the company is now looking at renting premises in Harley Street for a few days a month to cope with the demand, she said.
DCS is one of the first organisations in the country to become accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, a professional body which sets standards on training, support and codes of ethics.
Published Friday June 18, 2004
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