Counselling at RISE
RISE offers online, free and trauma-informed counselling support to members of our survivor community. Counselling through RISE is structured and scheduled to ensure safety, quality, and ethical care.
How Counselling Works
Counselling is available to individuals who are part of the RISE community and have completed the intake process.
The process is as follows:
• You complete the RISE intake form.
• You speak with a RISE intake representative.
• Based on your needs, you may be referred for counselling.
• Counselling sessions are then scheduled with a RISE counsellor.
Counselling is online only.
You will be informed of each step. Sessions are not immediate or on-demand, as scheduling and preparation are necessary to ensure appropriate trauma-informed support.
Our counselling team consists of trained practitioners. Some are fully qualified counsellors, and some are counselling interns completing their practical hours under supervision. All interns and counsellors are overseen by Lisa Whitford to ensure professional and ethical standards are maintained.
Lisa Whitford: Head of Counselling and Management at RISE
Lisa Whitford is the Head of Counselling at RISE. She is a qualified counsellor who oversees the coordination, structure, supervision and ethical delivery of counselling services within the organisation.
In her role as Head of Counselling, she:
• Organises and manages counselling allocations within RISE
• Supervises and supports counsellors and counselling interns
• Upholds trauma-informed standards
• Facilitates workshops through RISE
Lisa also runs her own private counselling practice and works independently outside of her volunteer role at RISE. This is shared for transparency, so that survivors and members of the public understand who is responsible for guiding and overseeing the counselling function within RISE.
Qualifications and Professional Background
BA in Psychology, Counselling, and Educational Psychology
Qualified Life Coach, Hypnotherapist, and NLP Practitioner
Reiki Master
Certified Acupuncturist specialising in Addiction Support
Trauma Certified. Served as a Trauma Counsellor at Sinoville Crisis Centre, SAPS Sinoville.
Registered Facilitator, Assessor, and Moderator with Educational SETA and other relevant service-industry SETAs.
These qualifications support both the counselling and training components within RISE, ensuring professional, structured, and ethically aligned services.
Lisa Whitford has been part of the RISE team since February 2025 and serves within our management structure as Head of Counselling. She is not only a qualified professional but also an active and committed member of our volunteer base. Her time, expertise, leadership, and genuine heart for survivors are deeply valued within this organisation. The care she brings to her work, and the integrity with which she carries it out, are invaluable to RISE.
RISE partners with Humanitas, an established training organisation for counselling interns.
Interns complete their academic training through Humanitas and undertake their practical counselling hours with RISE. All counselling sessions conducted by interns are supervised by a qualified counsellor, either through RISE leadership or Humanitas oversight.
Please note that the demand for free counselling is extremely high, and interns are only available when they have capacity. If no profiles are visible, it means there is currently no availability.
In case of emergency, please contact Life Line on 0861 322 322, SADAG on 0800 456 789 (24-hour helpline), or the Suicide Emergency line on 0800 567 567.
If you would prefer to request counselling directly through Humanitas, you may do so here: