People in the St Albans district who struggle from anxiety are being given the chance to improve their confidence.

The Counselling Foundation, with the support of St Albans council, will be running a Saturday morning from next year.

Grant and Contract Manager at the Foundation, Judy Mallinson, said she was excited about the new Saturday morning series: “We have run similar courses before and the people attending benefitted so much they did not want them to end.”

The course, called Boost, will cost £10 and will run for seven weeks from Saturday, January 20, from 10am to 12pm.

It is designed to help people who may be highly successful, but struggle with public speaking or talking to superiors.

The Foundation also believe people who want more from personal relationships may benefit from it.

Course facilitator Jenny Manfrinati who ran a highly popular confidence course last year, said a lack of confidence can impact on our lives in many different ways: “For example, some people might feel stuck in their job because their low confidence does not allow them to take a risk and apply for a better positions.”

Ms Manfrinati will arrange for a meeting with individual applicants before the sessions begin, as she says it is difficult for people to come forward to apply for any course, lacking the confidence to do so: “sometimes it is just a matter of getting started.”

The Foundation welcomes applications from anyone over 18 and living in the St Albans district.

To find out more email groups@counsellingfoundation.org or phone 01727 868585 and choose option 7.

Founded in 1874, the Counselling Foundation is a charity and one of the largest counselling and counsellor training services outside London.

It operates in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, and has centres in Bedford, Broxbourne, Luton, Stevenage, and in March this year its refurbished centre in St Albans was reopened by their patron Lady Verulam.

Last month, the Foundation ran a Tea and Talk event in Hatfield for World Mental Health Day.

It delivers around 30,000 counselling sessions a year, including NHS contracts across the counties.