What does it mean: ‘Lifecentre has a Christian foundation’?

Lifecentre was originally set up in 2001 with the support of some of the churches together in the Chichester area and continues to benefit from their support. However, it is an independent charity with its own Board of Trustees and has also received set up funding from Chichester District Council, West Sussex County Council and Sussex Police. As a charity we now work with a broad partnership of other agencies and organisations towards the goal of improving holistic support for survivors of any form of sexual violation.

Lifecentre seeks to uphold the Christian value and ethos

of believing in the intrinsic dignity of every human being,

their human rights and the importance of treating all

people with respect, hope and value.

Our number one reason for existing is to offer

unprejudiced support to all survivors regardless

of their own faith background, or lack of it, gender,

orientation, disability, race or any other personal

factor. We offer services on a non discriminatory

basis to all survivors of sexual abuse*. Lifecentre

has an Equal Opportunities Policy in place that

all staff and volunteers are required to adhere to.

We recognise that the healing from something as

complex as rape or other abusive sexual acts incorporates

a holistic approach. This can include physical, psychological, emotional,

criminal and relational issues, as well as the transpersonal/spiritual. Each person when they come has their own priority as to what is important to them. Lifecentre counselling and support is client led: we listen to the priorities of each individual and tailor the counselling or helpline sessions around their needs and goals. One of the options we offer clients at their Initial Assessment is the opportunity to have a short time of prayer within their counselling session, should they request it.

As a result of feedback from clients we have recognised that some people (regardless of their faith background) find they greatly value and benefit from the opportunity to have a few quiet moments of prayer in their counselling session or on the helpline, expressing that thishelps them find the peace and inner strength they are struggling to regain post rape/sexual abuse. If it is initiated by them, all of our therapeutic team are happy to support them in this. However, we do also recognise and respect that for some clients this would be detrimental or alien to their healing process, in which case they can proceed through their counselling with no further reference to prayer.

Our commitment is for the outworking of the Christian foundation outlined above to create a safe place and non-judgmental environment where people can be real about the sufferings they have endured and find a way of reclaiming and rebuilding life.

* Please see Referral Criteria under Client Services for exceptions.