Kaleidoscope Counselling Scotland

13/07/2024

Unfortunately due to a loss of funding support, Kaleidoscope is currently in the process of closing down. We are heartbroken about this situation and know that this has been challenging for our clients and those who have previously engaged with us.

As individuals, we are not finished with our work to improve access to support for q***r and trans youth though this will sadly no longer be through Kaleidoscope.

Some links to alternative support can be found on our website: kaleidoscopecounselling.org.uk

28/02/2024

Kaleidoscope were featured on the Firstport website as part of their Celebrating Social Enterprises this LGBTQ History Month. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Firstport have been a crucial support for us in providing our start up funding and more recently "Build It" funding, allowing us to expand our capacity.

Cat Johnston started Kaleidoscope Counselling with a mission to provide informed, affirmative, and accessible counselling to gender and sexual diverse individuals in Scotland.

12/02/2024

DEADLINE: 14th February

Q***r? Writer? In Scotland?

Q***r Words Project Scotland wants to pair five brilliant established writers - Carrie Marshall, Colin Herd, Heather Parry, Mae Diansangu and Shola Von Reinhold - with five emerging q***r writers, based in Scotland, who could benefit from mentoring, advice and access at the early stages of their career.

Mentored writers will receive 3 mentoring sessions between February and June 2024, and produce a piece of writing - poetry, fiction or creative nonfiction/memoir - to be included in a forthcoming anthology, for which they will receive a fee of £300.

The anthology will be published by 404 Ink in 2025.

To apply for a mentorship, send us an email at q***rwordsprojectscotland@gmail.com including:

1. Full contact details (address & phone)
2. A 300 word statement (in the body of the email) detailing why you're applying to this particular initiative, and how you would benefit from mentoring
3. A writing sample (attached to the email, format .doc or .docx) consisting of EITHER a piece of prose (fiction or creative nonfiction, up to 3000 words) OR up to 4 poems (no more than 200 lines in total)

The deadline for submissions is February 14th. Writers who were previously published in the 2019 anthology, We Were Always Here, can apply.

More info at http://q***rwordsprojectscotland.com

13/11/2023

LGBT+ Health and Wellbeing have a new pilot project offering British Sign Language (BSL) support!

11/10/2023

We are overwhelmed at how much our friend, Pamela, raised for us doing her first half marathon. She absolutely smashed it and this money will have such a big impact for us. Being a small non-profit we are so grateful that people choose to support us and allow us to continue offering accessible counselling to the LGBTQ+ community. 💪🏻🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

28/09/2023

A very good friend of Kaleidoscope is running their first half marathon and supporting us at the same time! 🎉

If you’re able to support us to continue offering affordable and accessible counselling to LGBTQ+ folk in Scotland, please do consider donating through her gofundme. 💜🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

I’m running a half marathon on the 1st October for Kaleidoscope Counselling Scotlan… Pamela Buchanan needs your support for Kaleidoscope Counselling Scotland

28/09/2023

Having conversations about your identity as a trans person isn’t always easy - whether it’s with a loved one, colleague, family member, or even a complete stranger.

We're running our Conversation Workshop event for trans and non-binary people in three locations across Scotland in the coming weeks to help you feel more prepared and confident when having these conversations, and figure out what works best for you.

These free workshops will be held in

- Glasgow on Saturday 21st October https://www.outsavvy.com/event/16355/talking-trans-conversation-practices-glasgow

- Perth on Saturday 4th November https://www.outsavvy.com/event/16354/talking-trans-conversation-practices-perth

- Aberdeen on Sunday 5th November https://www.outsavvy.com/event/16353/talking-trans-conversation-practices-aberdeen

- Online on Saturday 11th November https://www.outsavvy.com/event/16356/talking-trans-conversation-practices-online

See the event pages for each location for more information and to book your tickets.

All in person events have step-free access and disabled toilets, and will include free refreshments or lunch.

The workshop will run for around an hour and a half, and include practical tips and opportunities for discussion and learning with other trans people.

If you require a BSL interpreter for any of these events, please book your ticket at least 2 weeks before the event and let us know in the question about accessibility requirements.

If you're looking for something more media skills focused, keep your eyes peeled for workshops we'll be running later in the year all about engaging with the media.

Please let us know in the comments below if you have any questions, or email florence@equality-network.org

02/09/2023

Kaleidoscope are going to be at Pride Outside all day! Come say hello if you are visiting. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

24/08/2023

Props to our board member for designing us some new lanyards! You’ll see our counsellors and directors wearing these at a couple of upcoming events. 😊🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

13/08/2023

Our co-founder, director, and counsellor Cat is part of this amazing international group and they have been working away this past week with some of the most experienced and inspiring people in this field! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Our incredible international pioneers in GSRD Therapy. We’ve been developing the theory and practice of this new approach.

09/06/2023

The Kaleidoscope counsellors and some of our directors are spending a sunny Friday at this amazing conference for a day of learning and reflection! One of our co-founders is a part of the organising group, Rainbow Therapy in Scotland. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️💜

26/05/2023

The funding for our second space has come to an end and we are unfortunately unable to keep it - however we are still working out of our main space and not going anywhere.

We’re using this as a time for reflection and recalibration while we plan for the future. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️