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At Spokz People we improve wellbeing for disabled people and their families through our wellbeing community & programme. We support on everything from relationships and sex to confidence and resilience.

Our Services

How we work

We all have (in)direct lived experience of disability. We understand what it is like to live with disability day-to-day. We work in all kinds of ways to best suit you. We support people with issues like identity and body image; relationships and isolation; PAs, carers and dependency; self-esteem, motivation, confidence and assertiveness; resilience, de-stressing, mindfulness and relaxation; coping with being disabled by society; loss, trauma, death and support with things like pain, fatigue, anxiety and depression…We offer holisitic therapy which includes coaching, information, psychoeducation and sometimes advocacy when necessary as well as trauma work.

We work with disabled people with a variety of conditions as things like isolation, lack of control and choice are there for most disabled people and their families.

Spokz People CIC are the sister company of Spokz Ltd, run by Steve Dent, which is an online retail shop selling wheelchair & sports accessories, lifestyle equipment and sex aids.

We are part of the Kandu Group, a group of ethical, reputable businesses, charities and services working together.

What clients say

We have developed a different type of therapy to what is generally available on the NHS (usually an IAPT service through a GP referral) or from general private counsellors. We call it ‘Purple Therapy‘ and our clients tell us that it is more effective and empowering than any previous therapy or support they have received. We know that many problems disabled people are not just as a result of their impairment, but more to do with the fact that society is predominantly set up for non-disabled people. We look at both a person’s impairment and all the factors that affect their ability to be a full and equal participant in society (this is called a ‘post-modern Social Model approach to disability’.

72% of clients tell us they feel better about themselves after using our services: “In 15 sessions I learned how to cope better with past violence I experienced from a family member and found better ways to express and cope with my anger, as well as hearing that my anger was OK and normal in these circumstances.” – Chris, 31, October 2018

Read more member testimonials on our registration page here.

Read Feedback from our clients

Sita’s* Story

Sita developed a chronic pain condition and kindly let us interview her about her experiences. All her videos are in the blog link here (*name changed to protect identity). You can also click on the speech bubble above for more testimonials.

Costs

Our NEW wellbeing community & programme is £50 a year or £5 a month. We have a free 30-day trial to see if this is right for you…

‘You might be thinking “Hang on, why isn’t it free if Spokz People is a non-profit social enterprise?”

We do not make a profit from our services. The fees we charge cover the cost of support and hosting of all the website technology, insurance, supervision, training and writing and developing new content and resources. Some of us are paid £10 an hour (less than the national living minimum wage) and others volunteer.

If you are wondering how to afford £5 a month, sometimes there may be areas of your life that you can reduce spending for a short while. Many clients have told us they think of it as investing in themselves and once they see the benefit, they find a way to invest in longer term support.

NHS services are a free option if you cannot afford our low costs. You may experience long waiting lists and a limited number of sessions (often 6-8 sessions) when you get there and NHS therapists rarely have disability knowledge or personal experience of disability. But it is worth trying as sometimes you find a gem of a support worker!

Membership Not For You? Wait! You Can Also Support Us By:

  • Raising Funds for free by shopping through EasyFundraising
  • Volunteering? Do you have website skills or are you a disability therapist who can help run our groups? Tell us on info@spokzpeople.org.uk
  • Donating- use the button on the right

Blog

Limitless? Can simple strategies improve our wellbeing and stress resilience?

You may have seen the 2011 movie Limitless, based on the 2001 novel The Dark Fields by Alan Glynn, where the main character Eddie Morra (played by Bradley Cooper), a struggling author with writer’s block, takes a pill which opens up his brain’s capacity so he can achieve so much more in his life; he […]

Self-Care Tips on Difficult Days Disability Horizons

This is a great blog by writer Rebecca Sullivan for our partners Disability Horizons and we wanted to re-share it here, so do click here on this link and read.  

Congruence For Professionals

I had a few moments this afternoon to do some tidying up in my office in-tray and I came across something that I had written down on a scrap piece of paper many, many years ago written by Elke Lambert. I had highlighted in green:   Congruence is not about telling the client how you […]

Disability & Relationships

This article appeared in the Autumn edition of ‘Counselling Matters’ for the National Counselling Society What are some of the common misconceptions around disability and relationships? There are lot of misconceptions around disability generally, when you add sex and relationships into the mix there is almost a double whammy of taboo and stigma. A lot […]

A Close Shave With Persona

In this blog Mel, supported by Kim discuss how drastic changes in one’s appearance impact wellbeing and personal growth. I (Mel) have always had long curly hair and recently shaved my head for the second time, aged 44. The first time was my 40th, I thought then: “I have never had short hair, now’s the […]

The issue with stock photos of disabled people

We love this picture of Aaron Fotheringham, a WCMX athlete from Las Vegas, Nevada. But unless you get permission to use such photographs (we did), most of the stock images of disabled people aren’t great. It’s impossible to find authentic stock photos of diverse disabled people with friends and family doing normal everyday living: eating, […]