able-futures.co.uk Avis 

I am still in shock as to the way i was spoken to by an advisor at Able Futures today. I am self-employed,and my struggles with ptsd have led me to this organization. What i was met with was a coldness,lack of empathy,and desire to give me every reason not to help me. In spite of the Able Futures website offering 9 months free help ,psychiatric support and coping strategied from a mental health specialist this lady proceeded to tell me:
" We don't support people with ptsd/bi-polar etc.'
"We are a light service not a counselling service" Never at any stage did i say i was looking for counselling.
Her manner was rude,dismissive,and i actually felt i was being told off.
For anyone in a similiar situation as myself,you may be lucky enough to have a different experience with a different advisor (i hope you do) However,if this is the calibre of person employed to deal with vulnerable people who need kindness and support,i am prepared to go without.

The worst service I have ever experienced. I reached out to Able Futures because I was already struggling and genuinely needed support. Instead of helping, they seemed determined to find reasons to reject my referral.

The person who called me after I submitted my referral focused on picking apart words from our conversation rather than understanding my situation. The call felt more like an interrogation than a mental health assessment. I came away feeling dismissed, judged and completely unsupported.

If someone is already vulnerable, the last thing they need is to feel like they’re being looked for reasons to be turned away. The customer service representative I spoke to was abrupt, lacked empathy and made an already stressful situation much worse.

Mental health services should make people feel heard and supported, not leave them feeling more distressed than when they first reached out. Based on my experience, I cannot recommend this service.

I can only comment on my own experience, and unfortunately it wasn't a good fit for me.

I completed two sessions before deciding not to continue. The coaching felt very structured and scripted, and I found myself doing most of the talking. Rather than exploring my thought processes or challenging my thinking, the sessions largely consisted of acknowledging what I'd said. I came away without any meaningful insights or practical strategies that I hadn't already considered myself.

I was also told that my AuDHD wasn't really something they were able to address. I completely understand that every service has a defined scope, but my neurodivergence has a significant influence on how I process stress and respond to workplace pressures. If that can't be considered as part of the coaching, then for me the support was too generic to be helpful.

This isn't a criticism of my coach personally, and I'm sure the service will help some people. It simply wasn't the right fit for my circumstances, and after two sessions I decided it wasn't beneficial to continue.

I have had one introductory assessment, which was supposed to last 90 mins but was over in 40 mins. It felt quite rushed, questions very vague. I received an email / report with what was discussed, along with 'personalised' objectives, but I feel it didn't reflect what I opened up on.

They say the programme is tailored to you, but judging by the objectives given the programme will simply provide tools and resources/signposting, and monthly check ins with you. They say it's coaching, but I see little coaching in this programme.

If you have done NHS CBT in the past for your mental health, it seems this programme follows the same formula (simply teaching the principles of and providing the tools to challenge unhelpful negative thoughts / cognitive distortions, mindfulness practice, grounding techniques, etc).

I wonder if this company are just in it for the money from the government. I was given poor advice, had lots of self-help resources thrown my way (with no follow-up which left me frustrated because I was already aware of some of these and wanted support during the call, not to go away and do it myself) and I was not given enough opportunity to speak during my one hour session. The adviser dominated the call and spoke too much about themself.

Able futures conducted their customary introductory call through my workplace (government), then proceeded to ghost me after I provided extensive details about my issues/ personal data.

The service, from what little I have experienced, was very poor.

I was called multiple times by their admin team looking for more information, but not once did they say who they were or where to contact them. So I assumed it was spam. Upon providing this information, they have never responded to my emails asking to arrange further meetings.

What hurts me the most is that during the introductory meeting I detailed how distressed I was at the lack of compassion or management previous charities and private counsellors showed me. To which the gentleman sympathised with.

I am now back at square 1.

If you are wondering if this organisation is "not like the rest", it is. Don't waste your time...

After applying online I received two emails - and replied to each requesting information about how my data will be processed. Having not received any response I have now replied to both addresses requesting my data be deleted.

I recently applied for support from Able Futures. I found their induction process incredibly frustrating and inaccessible.

Despite indicating my disabilities (which include autism and ADHD) and requesting alternative induction processes, my needs were disregarded, and adjustment requests were rejected. I was forced to complete a lengthy telephone induction with no prior knowledge of the questions. This made me feel unprepared and overwhelmed.

When I raised these issues via a service complaint, my concerns were dismissed. I was even told that I should have requested adjustments beforehand, even though this was my first interaction with the program after my initial adjustment request was rejected!

The complaint response from Able Futures / Ingeus's Operational Support Manager was bad. Their email was filled with long, convoluted sentences that were difficult to understand, especially for someone with ADHD. It felt like they were more interested in justifying their actions and deflecting the blame than making genuine attempts to address my concerns.

Able Futures / Ingeus claims to accommodate people with disabilities, but my experience suggests otherwise. It makes me wonder if their priority is to maximise profits by providing services at the lowest possible cost, rather than genuinely supporting participants based on individual needs. This might explain their reluctance to offer more accessible options like video calls or email-based meetings and inductions.

I hope they will take my feedback seriously and improve communication and accessibility for future participants. But, given the state of publicly-funded services for disabled/neurodivergent people, I wouldn't hold my breath.