Barcelona launches free psychological counseling for adults

In the six districts with the highest health inequalities in the city

The Barcelona City Council has launched a new program aimed to provide free psychological counselling to adults above the age of 22. It is primarily aimed at people whose lives are affected by social services, adult schools, job placement programs or welfare subsidies. The best thing is that it will be available in civic centres free of charge for several hours a week without requiring previous registration.

The purpose is to help those people who might be living in conditions of health inequality and who find it hard, inconvenient or unnecessary to access mental health services.

The program began as a youth-oriented service

The name of the program, Konsulta’m +22 (Consult me) is a direct reference to the Konsulta’m program which had already been operating to help youth between the ages of 12 and 22. It will be available in the districts of Sant Martí, Sant Andreu, Nou Barris, Horta-Guinardó, Sants-Montjuïc and Ciutat Vella.

It is already available in the first two, but it may take another couple of months to expand to the rest. These districts are considered to have the highest concentration of residents living in health inequality.

The program also expands, or rather, returns to a more in-person mode of providing support. That is exemplified in the Sant Andreu district where the counsellors have built plentiful experience in the past four years, most of which, however, through telephone or online services. There will now be a dedicated open-access space where people can drop in without an appointment.

In the district of Sant Martí, these services are already available between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm on Mondays at the Besòs Civic Centre.

These centres are linked and form part of the overall healthcare network in the city, however, they present a more informal approach to therapy and consultations.