Eastbourne · in person in Hove or online
Anxiety counselling for Eastbourne
If worry has a grip on you in Eastbourne, perhaps as a racing heart before work or dread in a hospital waiting room, anxiety counselling with me happens on secure video or in one quiet room in Hove, about 45 minutes away by car. Starting on video means the trip doesn't have to become one more thing to dread.
The practical facts for Eastbourne
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Eastbourne by car
- About 45 minutes with clear roads (27.2 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- Direct trains from Eastbourne to Brighton; change there for Hove, one stop.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Health in Mind, 0300 0030 130
- 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.
Tourist seasons, early trains and hospital letters
If your pay follows hotel bookings or language-school numbers, in a town that leans more each year on tourism, a slow month can start a habit of checking the bank balance at 3am.
Others leave town for work on one of the two trains an hour to London Victoria via Gatwick Airport, and a delay, a packed carriage or a hard day at the other end can turn into something you brace for every morning. Then there is health. Eastbourne District General Hospital on Kings Drive is where the local NHS trust centres its urology, acute stroke and day surgery services, and the gap between a referral letter and an appointment can fill up with what-ifs. Worry is meant to protect you, and anxiety is what happens when that alarm keeps going off long after it has stopped being useful.
Calming the alarm, then changing what feeds it
Anxiety counselling with me usually starts with the body, because that's often where anxiety is loudest, in a tight chest or a breath that rides high. We find a couple of ways to bring that down, small enough to use unnoticed on the platform at Eastbourne station or in the hospital car park. Then we look at the loop that keeps the worry going. Checking and seeking reassurance bring relief in the moment and make the next round harder, so we work out which habits you lean on and loosen them one step at a time. If health worry is at the centre, I'll encourage you to keep your GP and hospital appointments and to ask the questions that frighten you. Medical advice and any change to medication stay with your GP and hospital team, while our sessions focus on the fear itself. If money is the worry, we keep the practical problem and the fear about it apart, since each needs a different kind of attention. The Human Givens idea that anxiety often signals a basic need going unmet can help too, so we ask what's missing, perhaps a sense of security or simply enough rest.
When anxiety in Eastbourne has a shape
Income that rises and falls
Work tied to tourism, the hotels or the language schools, where a slow month turns into nights of sums, and the worry stays long after the bookings pick up again.
A London job that follows you home
Two trains an hour to Victoria via Gatwick, and work at the other end that fills your Sunday evenings with Monday before the week has even started.
Watchful since the baby came
A baby born at the hospital's midwifery-led unit, and since then a constant checking for danger, at the cot and everywhere else. Tell your midwife or GP as well.
Starting with Health in Mind
If you'd rather begin on the NHS, you can contact Health in Mind yourself about anxiety, without a GP letter. Private sessions can come instead, at the same time or afterwards.
Public health figures for the area
These are local authority figures from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. "Similar to England" means the difference is not statistically significant. The figures describe a whole population over a period, not any one person.
Free and low-cost support for Eastbourne
For free NHS help with anxiety in East Sussex, Health in Mind provides Talking Therapies, and you don't need your GP to refer you. Sussex Community Counselling (SCDA) has BACP-accredited sessions at lower prices in Eastbourne itself. Staying Well Eastbourne, the out-of-hours crisis walk-in at The Printworks on Wharf Road, said on 11 Nov 2026 that walk-ins were temporarily paused because of staffing, so call 0800 023 6475 option 1 before you go.
- Free NHS talking therapyHealth in Mind0300 0030 130Free 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 itSTAR Drug and Alcohol Service (East Sussex STAR)0300 303 8160Run by Change Grow Live. Free and confidential.
- Local organisationThe Old Bank Wellbeing Trust
- Local organisationEastbourne and District SamaritansLocal Samaritans branch.
- Local organisationMankindInformal peer support group for men, meeting weekly in.
For gambling, the National Gambling Helpline is free, day or night, on 0808 8020 133 (NHS gambling support).
Private counselling with me can run alongside any of these; you do not have to choose one or the other.
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.
In this area you can also text SUSSEX to 85258.
What people in Eastbourne ask before starting
Can I refer myself to Health in Mind for anxiety in Eastbourne?
Yes. Health in Mind provides NHS Talking Therapies across East Sussex and accepts self-referrals, so you don't need a GP appointment first. You can ring 0300 0030 130 or use its website. If you'd prefer to choose who you see, or to meet for longer than an hour, private counselling is another route, and using both is fine.
My work in Eastbourne depends on the tourist season. Can anxiety counselling fit around that?
Yes. If your hours swell in the busy months and shrink in the quiet ones, we can set sessions by video at times that move with your rota, and plan ahead for the stretch you find hardest. Money worry and the fear on top of it both belong in the room, and we can look at each separately.
How do I cope with anxiety while waiting for an appointment at Eastbourne District General Hospital?
Waiting is hard on an anxious mind, because there's nothing to do but imagine. Counselling can give you ways to get through the weeks without spending every evening reading about symptoms. It doesn't replace medical answers, so keep in touch with your GP or the hospital team about the health question itself, and bring the fear to our sessions.
Can I start anxiety counselling from Eastbourne this month?
Possibly. Everything starts with a free 15-minute call, where I'll be straight with you about the times I can offer. Because sessions can be on video, you don't need to clear an afternoon for the drive to Hove before we begin. Early sessions focus on steadying things, and I aim for you to leave each one with something practical to try before we meet again.
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.
Bring the worry, and we'll start there
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.