STRESSED council workers have been undergoing counselling to help them get back to work.

Swansea Council uses the services of city-based Carole Dally Counselling and Hypnotherapy, which offers sessions in Gorseinon and Uplands.

It has spent on average £3,000 per year on the company over the past three years.

Questions about the public body's use of an external counselling service were dealt with in a report by the Audit Committee, which will meet at the Civic Centre tomorrow afternoon.

The report said that stress was one of the most frequent reasons given for sickness absence and that the council had a duty to ensure the health and welfare of staff, as far as reasonably practicable.

It said the counselling service received on average 40 referrals per month, from managers and self-referrals.

"Within six sessions the counsellors are able to effectively make a difference to the employee's capacity to return to normal life," said the report. "No hypnotherapy is provided to employees."

Carole Dally trained as a social worker, and used to work at Swansea Drugs Project.

Her website says she has a diploma in counselling, a diploma in clinical hypnotherapy, and is an accredited member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy. Her counselling sessions involve subjects including anxiety, low self-esteem, stress management, assertiveness training and bereavement and loss.

The Post asked the council how long it has been using Carole Dally Counselling and Hypnotherapy, how much it has spent on her services, how many work days were lost through stress during 2010/11, and whether it had evidence that the counselling sessions did reduce sickness absence.

A spokeswoman replied: "Like all public sector employers Swansea Council is taking steps to reduce sickness absence.

"Stress is one of the main reported causes of sickness absence in the council, and it's not unusual for organisations to use specialist counsellors to support staff.

"In this case the average cost has been just over £3,000 a year over the last three years."

She added: "Overall staff sickness rates have continued to decrease during the past three years."

The council has thousands of employees in areas including social services, education, waste management and parks and gardens.

Stress management and sickness absence reduction are two of its priorities for 2011/12.

richard.youle@swwmedia.co.uk