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Therapy on My narrowboat


LadyR

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Hi all, this is the first step into doing my homework and since I have had the most amazing support here in the past, I’d thought it might be a good place to start. I’m a qualified counsellor and am tempted to offer therapy from my narrowboat in the future, but I can’t think of all the obstacles that I may come across?  I’ve thought about insurance, roving traders license and where I will moor. I get so much joy and peace from being on the water and wonder whether I can make this work. I’m open to thoughts and suggestions. Happy day to you all.

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16 minutes ago, LadyR said:

I’ve thought about insurance, roving traders license and where I will moor

 

It looks as if you have the main things covered,

 

But for further consideration :

Are you planning to have a permanent mooring (residential ?)

Are you looking to operate from the canal-side, or from a marina ? (where will your clients park their car, how will they find you)

Has your proposed moorings provided OK'd you operating a business from their moorings ? (they rarely will without, at least, additional payment and may not allow your customers cars into the car park)

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Thanks guys. I think the main thing I need to think about where I may operate. Ideally this would be canalside, but there are many things to consider, like the above, how clients will find me etc. it is just a thought at this stage and hope that I can turn my passion into reality as I know first hand the benefits of being on/near water. 

2 minutes ago, roland elsdon said:

Depends in what form of counselling you are qualified.

If you are genuinely continuous cruising forget it.  You cant not be there if you engage in any kind of contract to provide services.

Cant see any professional body finding it acceptable.

Surely it’s worth me considering?  I haven’t approached my ethical body, but that is a good point, maybe one of the first steps I should take. I have seen at least one other person offering counselling from their boat, of course I don’t know if they are insured, if it’s been ok with a professional body and how they navigate gaining clients. Maybe it’s a niche worth exploring as I know first hand how calming the water can be. 

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4 minutes ago, LadyR said:

Thanks guys. I think the main thing I need to think about where I may operate. Ideally this would be canalside, but there are many things to consider, like the above, how clients will find me etc. it is just a thought at this stage and hope that I can turn my passion into reality as I know first hand the benefits of being on/near water. 

 

Surely you would operate from your mooring and your clients would find you at your mooring? As Roland says, if you're CCing forget it, you might persuade one or two people willing to visit but it wouldn't be a viable business. I've known people ignoring the rules and taking massage clients on their boats while CCing but nobody was insured and if someone tripped over and smashed their head while climbing on or off the boat they'd be in the sh*t.

 

I don't know how this woman is doing it unless she also has a mooring and that makes a difference?

 

Burnley born narrowboat hairdresser features on Channel 4 Living Wild special | Lancashire Telegraph

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2 minutes ago, blackrose said:

 

Surely you would operate from your mooring and your clients would find you at your mooring? As Roland says, if you're CCing forget it, you might persuade one or two people willing to visit but it wouldn't be a viable business. I've known people ignoring the rules and taking massage clients on their boats while CCing but nobody was insured and if someone tripped over and smashed their head while climbing on or off the boat they'd be in the sh*t.

 

I don't know how this woman is doing it unless she also has a mooring and that makes a difference?

 

Burnley born narrowboat hairdresser features on Channel 4 Living Wild special | Lancashire Telegraph

Very interesting! And I agree with above points, the most practical thing would be to operate from a mooring, in terms of insurance and liability.  All good things for me to think about as was actually wanting to get away from the marina lifestyle as I feel like a bird with its wings clipped 😂 

54 minutes ago, Laurie Booth said:

Sounds like an excellent idea.

:)

Thank you!

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I suspect that anyone can call themselves a councilor so unless they proffer a professional qualification there may well be no professional body involved.  I am not suggesting this is the case here, but it might apply to the the other unknown boater offering the service.

 

If the LadyG is intending to CC has the need for regular supervision or whatever it is called been considered when moving around?

Edited by Tony Brooks
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4 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

I suspect that anyone can call themselves a councilor so unless they proffer a professional qualification there may well be no professional body involved.  I am not suggesting this is the case here, but it might apply to the the other unknown boater offering the service.

 

If the LadyG is intending to CC has the need for regular supervision or whatever it is called been considered when moving around?

This is a good point. I am a fully qualified therapist, currently practicing under an ethical body, with regular supervision, which is at the moment provided online. And yes, unfortunately there are people out there calling themselves a counsellor without any professional training which, which is up to them, but certainly not ethical. This is the problem with the profession being unregulated.  

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7 minutes ago, LadyR said:

This is a good point. I am a fully qualified therapist, currently practicing under an ethical body, with regular supervision, which is at the moment provided online. And yes, unfortunately there are people out there calling themselves a counsellor without any professional training which, which is up to them, but certainly not ethical. This is the problem with the profession being unregulated.  

 

 

Just thinking aloud ..................

 

Presumably your therapy  is not 'one-off' and requires a series of meetings.

How will it work if you are not tied to a specific mooring (marina?) when you have one session in Manchester, and two weeks later you are in Stoke on Trent, and two weeks later you are in Nottingham. Are you expecting your customers to drive around the country looking for you, (worse case) parking up on some roadside layby, walking (maybe miles) along a muddy towpath in the rain / snow to get to you, then an hour later doing the return trip.

 

I cannot see how it could possibly work unless operating from a fixed base.

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I agree with you! I think the idea of cc’ing and providing counselling (yes could be long term) is getting further and further away from my romanticised idea.  There is such a shortage of spaces on marina’s these days and of course then overcoming the agreement of accepting people onto the boat for insurance purposes is another thing. 

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5 minutes ago, LadyR said:

I agree with you! I think the idea of cc’ing and providing counselling (yes could be long term) is getting further and further away from my romanticised idea.  There is such a shortage of spaces on marina’s these days and of course then overcoming the agreement of accepting people onto the boat for insurance purposes is another thing. 

It does not seem practical, assuming you live near London, would there be a land based group practice you could join?

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16 minutes ago, LadyR said:

I agree with you! I think the idea of cc’ing and providing counselling (yes could be long term) is getting further and further away from my romanticised idea.  There is such a shortage of spaces on marina’s these days and of course then overcoming the agreement of accepting people onto the boat for insurance purposes is another thing. 

This is definitely doable on the right marina. We have a widebeam "care boat" on the marina here and I think a narrowboat too. They take teenagers with problems at home/their care homes and give them a week or two in a different environment for which no doubt the local authority forks out - must cost a fortune. I'm guessing they pay A LOT more for their moorings. Money talks.

Edited by Slow and Steady
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11 minutes ago, Slow and Steady said:

This is definitely doable on the right marina. We have a widebeam "care boat" on the marina here and I think a narrowboat too. They take teenagers with problems at home/their care homes and give them a week or two in a different environment for which no doubt the local authority forks out - must cost a fortune. I'm guessing they pay A LOT more for their moorings. Money talks.

I’m interesting to hear more about this if you have details? That is so interesting that this service is offered. It sounds amazing 

22 minutes ago, LadyG said:

It does not seem practical, assuming you live near London, would there be a land based group practice you could join?

Hi. I’m in the north west, I’m also considering outdoor therapy, maybe this will overtake the idea of “boat therapy”.

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18 minutes ago, LadyR said:

I’m interesting to hear more about this if you have details? That is so interesting that this service is offered. It sounds amazing 

 

Actually, it can be a PITA for other moorers for example young man goes nutty and threatens carers with knife - what do the carers do? They follow their policy and high tail it to the car park leaving said youth armed and on the boat / jetty until the police arrive with no warning to the rest of us. Yeah, thanks for that!

But to be fair they have kids that really like it and visibly change from hoody encrusted feet starers to quite friendly and relaxed - others are more stubborn and don't. I guess it's always worth a try.

Quick google, their website seems to be a mess.

http://www.exceptional-care.co.uk/mobile-services/shrewsbury/

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1 hour ago, LadyR said:

Thanks guys. I think the main thing I need to think about where I may operate. Ideally this would be canalside, but there are many things to consider, like the above, how clients will find me etc. it is just a thought at this stage and hope that I can turn my passion into reality as I know first hand the benefits of being on/near water. 

Surely it’s worth me considering?  I haven’t approached my ethical body, but that is a good point, maybe one of the first steps I should take. I have seen at least one other person offering counselling from their boat, of course I don’t know if they are insured, if it’s been ok with a professional body and how they navigate gaining clients. Maybe it’s a niche worth exploring as I know first hand how calming the water can be. 

I know of a live aboard psychotherapist who uses Zoom for client sessions.

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11 minutes ago, Slow and Steady said:

Actually, it can be a PITA for other moorers for example young man goes nutty and threatens carers with knife - what do the carers do? They follow their policy and high tail it to the car park leaving said youth armed and on the boat / jetty until the police arrive with no warning to the rest of us. Yeah, thanks for that!

But to be fair they have kids that really like it and visibly change from hoody encrusted feet starers to quite friendly and relaxed - others are more stubborn and don't. I guess it's always worth a try.

Quick google, their website seems to be a mess.

http://www.exceptional-care.co.uk/mobile-services/shrewsbury/

Thank you - I’ll have a look at this. I guess there would need to be some form of robust risk assessment beforehand on a individual case, to determine who is suitable for said therapy. 

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4 minutes ago, LadyR said:

Thank you - I’ll have a look at this. I guess there would need to be some form of robust risk assessment beforehand on a individual case, to determine who is suitable for said therapy. 

You'd think so but it's a business, I doubt they turn away customers. Add to that, it's likely the more "challenging" they are, the more the potential gain from a stay on the boat. Sad really that it's moored up in a marina, it's hard to see what the gain is - might as well have a holiday just about anywhere, but I guess it looks good in a romanticised way.

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Something else to consider. With most moorings, there is no security of tenure. You can be booted off at a moments notice. For living, that is not so much of a problem, you just CC till you can get a new mooring. With it being your business premises too, it is severe disruption to both you, your clients and potentially your income. How will the extra costs compare with a small office on land with a more stable contract?

Related to this. You'll be in a small space, day in, day out on a boat, with no difference between your work and home environment. A lot of people found this stressful when working from home during lockdown. I am guessing that you already have methods for coping with emotionally fraught client issues and getting space between them and the rest of your life. Again, having an office for your work on land could give you better separation between work and home.

Jen

Edited by Jen-in-Wellies
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1 hour ago, LadyR said:

I agree with you! I think the idea of cc’ing and providing counselling (yes could be long term) is getting further and further away from my romanticised idea.  There is such a shortage of spaces on marina’s these days and of course then overcoming the agreement of accepting people onto the boat for insurance purposes is another thing. 

You would need to find a mooring where the planning permission allows permanent business use (different from residential).


You might like to consider, away from a marina, how much of the available mooring locations for CCers is actually accessible by potential clients - parking, muddy paths etc. How many clients would come to you outside of daylight if it involves a dark and unlit approach

Edited by Mike Todd
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2 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Something else to consider. With most moorings, there is no security of tenure. You can be booted off at a moments notice. For living, that is not much of a problem, you just CC till you can get a new mooring. With it being your business premises too, it is severe disruption to both you, your clients and potentially your income. How will the extra costs compare with a small office on land with a more stable contract?

Related to this. You'll be in a small space, day in, day out on a boat, with no difference between your work and home environment. A lot of people found this stressful when working from home during lockdown. I am guessing that you already have methods for coping with emotionally fraught client issues and getting space between them and the rest of your life. Again, having an office for your work on land could give you better separation between work and home.

Jen

Thanks Jen, I don’t live aboard, so the work/life separation won’t be a problem. When we leave the marina later in the year which is currently quite a distance from where we live, I hope to sustain leaving the boat canalside nearby under the crt rules of moving around, at least for a while so I can get a feel for how it will work and until I can find a location that is just right (marina/permanent mooring). 

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Is the aim simply that you've already got a boat for holidays, might as well try and get more use from it?

 

I wouldn't, you're simply going to make your work life more difficult with no gain other than telling yourself you're getting more use out of your boat. I can't see you making more money or the boat costing less to own.

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Just a thought. My DiL got her Doctorate of Psychology and while working towards it and with lesser qualifications she worked in a local doctor's surgery and they ask her to come back. As it seems NHS counseling treatment is only for a few sessions and it seems to provide a room, I wonder if it is worth investigating because it may allow you to CC in a given area within traveling distance of the surgery, it seems several on here do legally CC and work at a fixed locatation. and it solves the insurance and premises bit.

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There are businesses with static towpath moorings e.g. the Gongoozler cafe at Braunston, and a few years ago CRT agreed to a permanently moored Airbnb boat on the towpath in Hebden Bridge, although in the end it never happened. The OP needs to identify one or two possible locations, then have a chat with CRT's business team to see if they would support the proposal. If they do you would need an appropriate business licence and you would enter into a long term mooring agreement. They would probably want to see that the site offers adequate facilities for the proposed business use, such as availability of parking, electricity and water (if you need them) as well as suitable insurance etc. You might also need the higher standard hire boat BSC as well.

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