Bromley · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Anxiety counselling for Bromley
If anxiety in Bromley has started making your choices for you, from which train you'll get on to which invitations you turn down, I offer anxiety counselling by secure video. You can begin from a room at home where you already feel settled, and nothing is booked until after a free 15-minute call.
The practical facts for Bromley
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Bromley by car
- About 75 minutes with clear roads (50.3 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- From Bromley South, change at London Victoria for trains towards Brighton and Hove.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- NHS Bromley Talking Therapies, 0300 003 3000
- Fees
- £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90, £120 for 120. The first 15-minute call is free.
- Registration
- BACP registered member, no. 109340 (check the register); UKCP student member in advanced psychotherapy training.
Fast trains, Sunday nights and the sums at 3am
Off-peak, eight trains an hour run from Bromley South to Victoria, and three of them go non-stop.
For a lot of people that's the quickest way into work. If you're prone to panic, though, a train with no stops can feel like a sealed box, and you may have started waiting on the platform for one that calls at all stations via Herne Hill, or taking the Bromley North shuttle to Grove Park because it feels easier to get off. Anxiety here takes other forms too. It can be the dread that begins around Sunday teatime and builds towards Monday's shift on the shop floor or Monday's meeting in town. It can be money, with the household bills worked through again at three in the morning. Each workaround makes sense when you're scared. Added together, they can leave your week a good deal smaller than you want it to be.
Understanding the alarm, then stretching it gently
Anxiety is the body's alarm going off too often and too loudly, so we don't treat it as an enemy to defeat. The first sessions are about understanding yours: what sets it off, what happens in your chest, stomach and breathing, and what you've started doing to get relief, whether that's choosing the slow train or cancelling plans at the last minute. Then come ways of settling your body that you can use on a train or in bed at night, practised in sessions until they're familiar. Human Givens ideas are useful here, because they look at which basic needs, such as rest, a sense of control, connection or privacy, have been going short and keeping the alarm switched on. After that, at a pace you choose, we plan small steps back towards what you've been avoiding, perhaps one stop on a fast train before a whole run to Victoria. Physical symptoms are worth showing to your GP, who can check them while our sessions focus on the fear around them. If you'd like free NHS help with anxiety too, NHS Bromley Talking Therapies takes self-referrals, and private sessions can run at the same time.
How anxiety can shape a Bromley week
Avoiding the non-stop trains
Letting the fast service to Victoria go and waiting for the stopping one via Herne Hill, because a carriage with no stops feels like nowhere to escape. We work on that moment.
Dread that starts on Sunday
A knot that tightens through Sunday evening before a shift in the shops around The Glades or a week of meetings in town. We look at what it is warning you about.
Worry about your child
If your son or daughter is anxious too, Bromley Y supports children, young people and their parents. Your own sessions can focus on the worry you're carrying for them.
Not sure where to turn
When you don't know whether you need counselling, advice or practical help, Bromley Well is a free borough-wide service that can point you to the right local support.
Free and low-cost support for Bromley
NHS Bromley Talking Therapies takes self-referrals for anxiety, and South East London Mind offers support across the borough; either can run alongside private sessions. Bromley Mental Health Hub, run by Oxleas with South East London Mind, is the borough's single point of access for adult mental health, for residents aged 18 to 64. For someone to talk to in the night, Bromley and Orpington Samaritans listen 24/7 from a branch on Station Road, Orpington.
- Free NHS talking therapyNHS Bromley Talking Therapies0300 003 3000Free NHS talking therapy for anxiety, low mood and related difficulties. You can refer yourself, with no GP referral needed.
- If drinking or drug use is part of itChange Grow Live (CGL) Bromley Drug and Alcohol Service020 8289 1999Free and confidential.
- Local organisationAccessible Counselling and Therapy (ACT)Low-cost or fee-paying.
For gambling, the National Gambling Helpline is free, day or night, on 0808 8020 133 (NHS gambling support).
If someone at home is hurting, threatening or controlling you, the National Domestic Abuse Helpline is free, day or night, on 0808 2000 247.
If you need urgent help now
If you need help right now, please don't wait for a session.
The South London NHS Mental Health Crisis WhatsApp Service () is another option: WhatsApp 0303 330 1511.
What people in Bromley ask before starting
Can I refer myself to NHS Bromley Talking Therapies for anxiety?
Yes. You don't need to see a GP first: you can contact NHS Bromley Talking Therapies directly on 0300 003 3000. It's free, and there may be a wait. If you'd rather choose your counsellor, want longer sessions or need to start sooner, private counselling is another route, and the two can overlap.
I panic on fast trains from Bromley South. Can anxiety counselling help with that?
It's very much worth bringing. Fear of being shut in with no way off is a common shape for panic to take. We'd look at what your body does as the doors close, practise ways of bringing it down, and only then plan small steps you choose, starting with something easier than a non-stop run to Victoria.
If I live in Bromley, is anxiety counselling with you always by video?
Not in principle, but realistically yes. My room is in Hove, about 75 minutes' drive away, and for most people with anxiety a long trip before each session would only add to the strain. Video from home works well for this. If meeting in person ever becomes something you want, we can plan a longer session together.
What happens first if I contact you about anxiety from Bromley?
After the free 15-minute call, if we both want to go ahead, we book a first video session, and I'll be straight with you about when I have a regular time. If speaking on the phone is part of what frightens you, write a couple of lines on the contact form instead. The first session simply maps what your anxiety has been doing, with no pressure to face anything yet.
How much do sessions cost, and is the first call free?
Sessions are £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 minutes and £120 for 120 minutes, the same in person in Hove or by video. The first 15-minute call is free, with no obligation to book. There is no NHS referral needed to see me privately.
Take the first step without leaving home
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.