Talk Now

Talk Now was started almost a decade ago by Patricia Mair, who is both a survivor of childhood sexual abuse as well as a qualified counsellor. She felt gaps in existing services for those affected by abuse were letting people down and wanted to give survivors a place to turn for help.

Pat says: “Childhood abuse happens to anyone from all backgrounds and walks of life. Our core ambition is to enable survivors to live their lives to the full, eliminate the debilitating impact of abuse.”

The organisation raises awareness of the issues involved in abuse and provides a safe and confidential service to tackle the problems with anyone affected.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Talk Now decided to reach out to all survivors of trauma including domestic, physical, and emotional as well as sexual abuse, in childhood or the here and now.

Pre-pandemic, the charity was seeing around 130 people at their base in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, this has now increased to over 330 clients since lockdown. A National Lottery-funded programme called Life Link also provides support for those not ready for therapy.


As well as one to one counselling, Talk Now has three group sessions: one for people coming to the end of counselling, another for clients who have not been through the counselling process or are on the waiting list, as well as a Mindfulness Movement Yoga class. Talk Now aims to make contact immediately so everyone receives the support they need, when they need it, including wellbeing calls to people for additional support or on the waiting list.