Farnborough · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Anxiety counselling for Farnborough
If anxiety has you in Farnborough rereading every work email or waking at four with your heart pounding, counselling for it can happen over secure video, from a quiet room in your own home. My only room is in Hove, so that's how we'd work, beginning whenever you're ready with a free call of 15 minutes.
The practical facts for Farnborough
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Farnborough by car
- About 85 minutes with clear roads (71.8 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- From Farnborough North, change at Gatwick Airport for trains towards Brighton and Hove.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- NHS Talking Therapies Hampshire, 023 8038 3920
- 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.
Precision at work, and no off switch at home
Farnborough is known for aviation, engineering and technology, the kind of work where checking matters and a small slip can have large consequences.
At Farnborough Airport or on Cody Technology Park, that carefulness is a strength. The trouble starts when it won't switch off, and you're lying awake replaying a meeting or feeling your stomach drop whenever a manager's name lights up your phone. Anxiety can also have nothing to do with the job. It might be a test result you're waiting on from Frimley Park Hospital, a teenager's exams, or the loneliness of a commuter town where neighbours leave early and come back late. In Hampshire, 26.3% of adults reported a high anxiety score in 2022/23, a figure similar to England's 23.8%. Those are county survey results, and they say nothing about you personally.
Easing a mind that keeps running checks
Anxiety usually starts out as protection. The part of you that checks, plans for the worst and scans for trouble is trying to keep you safe, and in technical work it may even have been praised. So we don't fight it. First we map what your anxiety does across a day: the triggers, the places it shows up in your body, and the things you do to quieten it, such as asking for reassurance or one more round of checking. Then we work on settling your body directly, because a racing heart rarely responds to being argued with, and we look for the moments when the anxiety already has less hold, so you can build on them at a pace you choose. If dread is building towards a particular date, a performance review or a hospital appointment, we can prepare for it specifically. It's sensible to ask your GP to check physical symptoms such as palpitations, so a medical cause isn't missed. If you'd like free NHS help as well, NHS Talking Therapies Hampshire takes self-referrals for anxiety, and private sessions can run at the same time.
Shapes anxiety can take in Farnborough
Checking that won't stop
In aviation and engineering, double-checking is part of the job. When it spills over into doors, messages and conversations replayed at home, it's worth looking at.
Waiting on results
An appointment or a test at Frimley Park Hospital can bring weeks of what-ifs. We can work on getting through the wait without it running your days.
Worrying about your teenager
A son or daughter at The Sixth Form College facing exams, or about to leave home, can keep a parent's mind racing at night. We separate what you can act on from what you can't.
When nights are the worst
If anxiety becomes more than you can hold at night, the round-the-clock crisis number for North East Hampshire, run by Surrey and Borders Partnership, is 0800 915 4644.
Public health figures for the area
These are local authority figures from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. The figures describe a whole population over a period, not any one person.
Free and low-cost support for Farnborough
Free help and private sessions can run at the same time. NHS Talking Therapies Hampshire, once known as italk, takes self-referrals for anxiety on 023 8038 3920. If you live in Hart or Rushmoor, you can register for groups at Andover Mind's wellbeing centre at 39 High Street, Aldershot. The Aldershot Safe Haven is an evening and weekend drop-in if anxiety turns into a crisis.
- Free NHS talking therapyNHS Talking Therapies Hampshire023 8038 3920Free 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 itInclusion Recovery Hampshire0300 124 0103Free and confidential.
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 HANTS to 85258. Locally, the Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Mental Health Crisis Helpline is on 0800 915 4644. Local drop-in crisis support: Aldershot Safe Haven (check opening times before you go).
What people in Farnborough ask before starting
Can I refer myself for anxiety help in Farnborough without seeing my GP?
Yes. NHS Talking Therapies Hampshire, run by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, accepts self-referrals on 023 8038 3920 for anxiety. If you'd prefer to choose your counsellor or want longer sessions, private counselling is another option, and the two can run side by side.
Does video counselling work for anxiety, or should I travel to Hove from Farnborough?
Video can suit anxiety well, and from Farnborough it's the practical way, since the room is about 85 minutes' drive away. Being in your own space can make it easier to settle. If at some point you'd like to meet in person, a longer session in Hove is possible, but it's never expected.
Phoning makes me anxious. How else can I get started from Farnborough?
You can send a short message through the contact page instead, and we'll arrange the free 15-minute call for a time you choose. On the call you only need to say roughly what has been happening. You'll hear from me whether a regular slot is free now or when one should open, and nothing is booked until you decide.
Will my employer in Farnborough find out I'm having anxiety counselling?
Not from me. I don't contact employers, and sessions stay confidential within the usual professional limits, such as a serious risk to someone's safety, which I explain at the start. If your aviation or engineering role has its own rules about declaring health matters, that stays between you and your employer, and we can think it through together.
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.
Start with one short, free conversation
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.