Greenwich · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Anxiety counselling for Greenwich
If worry in Greenwich now has a say in which trains you catch, which crowds you face and whether you can perform at all, anxiety counselling gives you a place to look at how it got that much say. We'd meet by secure video, so the work starts from home rather than a busy platform, and booking the free 15-minute call doesn't oblige you to anything further.
The practical facts for Greenwich
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Greenwich by car
- About 87 minutes with clear roads (67.7 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- From Greenwich, change at London Bridge for trains towards Brighton and Hove.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Greenwich Time to Talk, 020 3260 1100
- 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.
Stage lights, rush hour and a town full of visitors
Greenwich can be loud for an anxious nervous system.
The DLR towards Bank fills up at rush hour, and a carriage that pauses between stations can feel far longer than it is. Event nights at The O2 bring crowds through North Greenwich, and on fine weekends the town centre around the Cutty Sark and Greenwich Market is thick with visitors. At Trinity Laban, performing is the whole point, so dread before a recital or an audition can feel like something you aren't allowed to admit. At the University of Greenwich, a deadline or a presentation can set off the same racing heart. Anxiety isn't always about places, though. It can be money, a health worry that keeps you searching symptoms late into the night, or fear of getting something wrong at work that follows you home. Often the body notices first: a tight chest, a churning stomach, sleep that won't come.
Turning the alarm down before facing the platform
Anxiety is a protective system working overtime, and the work starts by understanding what it's trying to protect you from. We map yours first: the moments that trigger it, how your body responds, and the things you've started doing to get relief, such as leaving for work early to miss the crowds, rehearsing a phone call over and over, or never going near the Peninsula on an event night. Each of those makes sense in the moment, and each one quietly makes your world smaller. Next you learn ways of bringing your body down that work anywhere, on a carriage, in a practice room or in the wings, and we practise them in sessions so they're familiar by the time you need them. Then, at a pace you choose, we plan small steps back towards what anxiety has taken, perhaps one stop on the DLR at a quiet hour, or playing for one trusted friend before facing a panel. For performers, some nerves before going on are normal; the work is on the fear that decides whether you go on at all. Physical symptoms deserve a GP check, and medication questions belong with your GP too, who can work alongside what we do in sessions. If you'd like free NHS help alongside, Greenwich Time to Talk takes self-referrals for anxiety.
Where anxiety can show up in a Greenwich week
Stage fright at Trinity Laban
A racing heart before a recital, audition or assessment, and a fear that admitting it would count against you. We work on what happens in the minutes before you go on.
The rush-hour DLR
Dreading a packed carriage towards Bank or Canary Wharf, and building your whole working day around avoiding it, until the avoiding is exhausting in itself.
Crowds on event nights
Steering clear of North Greenwich whenever The O2 has something on, or going anyway and spending the evening working out how you'd get out.
Presentations at the University of Greenwich
A seminar presentation or assessed talk coming up, and nights spent picturing your mind going blank. Practising steadiness before the day can make speaking feel possible.
Free and low-cost support for Greenwich
Free support in the borough can run alongside private sessions. Greenwich Time to Talk, run by Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, offers NHS help for anxiety without a GP referral. South East London Mind offers free counselling at Ormiston Road in Westcombe Park, and the Quaggy Community Counselling Service is a low-cost option for adults who live in Greenwich or Lewisham.
- Free NHS talking therapyGreenwich Time to Talk020 3260 1100Free 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 itVia Greenwich0300 303 4552Free and confidential.
- Local organisationSouth East London Mind Greenwich - Monday Social Group (peer support)
- Local organisationWoman's TrustFree counselling charity for women affected by domestic.
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 Greenwich ask before starting
Can I refer myself to Greenwich Time to Talk for anxiety?
Yes. It's the NHS Talking Therapies service for the Royal Borough of Greenwich, run by Oxleas, and you can contact it directly on 020 3260 1100 without seeing your GP first. It's free, though you may have to wait. Private counselling lets you choose who you see and how long sessions last, and nothing stops you using both.
I'm at Trinity Laban and panic before performing. Is anxiety counselling right for that?
It can be. We'd work directly on performance anxiety: what your body does in the hours and minutes beforehand, the thoughts that pile on, and ways of steadying yourself that you can use backstage. Sessions would fit around rehearsals and your timetable, and nobody at the conservatoire has to hear about them unless you decide to say.
Would anxiety counselling mean coming all the way to Hove from Greenwich?
No. It's about 87 minutes by car, with a change at London Bridge if you go by train, so from Greenwich the work happens by video. Being somewhere familiar can make it easier to settle in early sessions. If you later want to meet in person, perhaps as part of getting used to travel again, a longer session in Hove can be arranged.
What happens in the first anxiety session, and how soon could we start?
If we both want to go ahead after the free call, you'll get a straight answer about which regular times I can offer. The first video session is mostly mapping: what your anxiety does, when it's worst and what it has led you to avoid. Nothing has to be faced that day, and from then on you set the pace.
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.
Begin from the quietest room you have
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.