Kingston upon Thames · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Anxiety counselling for Kingston upon Thames
If anxiety in Kingston upon Thames has you leaving the town centre early or lying awake replaying the day, counselling gives you a place to understand what sets the alarm off. We meet by secure video, from a room you choose, and there is a free 15-minute call before you commit to anything.
The practical facts for Kingston upon Thames
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Kingston upon Thames by car
- About 74 minutes with clear roads (52.9 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- From Kingston, change at Clapham Junction for trains towards Brighton and Hove.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Kingston Talking Therapies, 020 3513 4440
- 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.
Crowds by day, the Waterloo line, and a quiet flat by night
On a Saturday the streets between the Bentall Centre and the Market Place fill with shoppers, and Kingston draws about 18 million visitors a year.
If crowds unsettle you, ordinary errands become something to plan around. Weekdays bring their own pressure. Off-peak, South Western Railway runs four trains an hour up to Waterloo through Wimbledon, and a commuter's whole morning can hinge on making the right one. Students at Kingston University and Kingston College may be juggling deadlines and presentations with rent. Then there is health. An appointment letter from Kingston Hospital, or a relative on a ward there, can sit on your mind for days. And after all that noise, home can feel strangely quiet, which is often when the worrying gets loudest.
Getting to know the alarm before turning it down
Anxiety makes more sense once you can see what it is trying to do. It is a protective alarm that has started going off for too many things. In the first sessions we map yours: what sets it going, what it does in your body, and how you have learned to manage it, perhaps by avoiding the busy end of town, checking or over-preparing. Those habits bring relief in the moment, which is why they stick, and they also shrink your world a little at a time. Alongside understanding, we build practical skills you can use halfway through a commute or just before a seminar, ways to slow your breathing and bring your attention back to where you are. I may use solution-focused questions to find the moments when the anxiety is already a little weaker, and build on those. Anything you try between sessions is your choice, and small enough to manage. If you have physical symptoms such as chest pain or a racing heart, your GP is the right first check, and counselling can carry on alongside whatever they advise. Kingston Talking Therapies also offers free help for anxiety. If you use it as well, tell each of us, so the two kinds of help fit together.
Where the worry tends to catch you
Saturday in the town centre
Crowds around the Bentall Centre and the Market Place, the urge to abandon a queue halfway, and errands quietly saved for the quieter days.
The Waterloo commute
Trains via Wimbledon, the dread when one is cancelled, and a mind that is already at your desk, finding fault, long before you are.
Waiting on Kingston Hospital
A test result, an outpatient letter from Galsworthy Road or a relative on a ward, and a mind that won't stop rehearsing the worst outcome.
Deadlines on top of rent
Presentations and coursework at Kingston University or Kingston College, money running short, and the conviction that everyone else is coping better.
Free and low-cost support for Kingston upon Thames
Kingston Talking Therapies, run by South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust, is the free NHS service for anxiety, and you can refer yourself on 020 3513 4440. If you would like to be among people without pressure, the Mind in Kingston Drop-in Cafes in Surbiton need no booking. Seeing me privately doesn't rule out either of them.
- Free NHS talking therapyKingston Talking Therapies020 3513 4440Free 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 itKingston Wellbeing Service (KWS)0300 303 4614Run by Via. Free and confidential.
- Local organisationMind in Kingston Drop-in CafésMental health drop-in café.
- Local organisationKingston SamaritansLocal Samaritans branch.
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.
The South London NHS Mental Health Crisis Text Service is another option: text 80991.
What people in Kingston upon Thames ask before starting
Can I contact Kingston Talking Therapies about anxiety without my GP?
Yes. Kingston Talking Therapies takes self-referrals for anxiety on 020 3513 4440, and it is free, though there may be a wait. The Mind in Kingston Counselling Service needs no referral either, but it is fee-paying. To see me, you simply book the free 15-minute call, and there's no form to fill in first.
Crowds and trains set off my anxiety. Would I need to come to Hove from Kingston?
No. From Kingston we work entirely by video, so neither the 74-minute drive nor the change at Clapham Junction stands between you and the first session. If, later on, you want to practise a short train trip, we can plan it together in small steps you choose. Whether you ever come to Hove is up to you.
How soon could anxiety counselling start if I live in Kingston?
Book the free 15-minute call, and I will tell you honestly when a regular slot is free. Nothing is booked until you decide. It can help to notice beforehand when the anxiety tends to peak, whether that is the Saturday crowds, the morning train or the evening after everyone has gone home.
I'm a student in Kingston with anxiety. Which kind of counselling suits me?
There are a few routes. The Mind in Kingston Counselling Service is open to adults who study in the borough, after an assessment, and it is fee-paying. Kingston Talking Therapies is free for anxiety. Private sessions with me can fit between lectures and shifts, because they run by video and you choose the time. On the free call we can work out which fits.
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.
A short call, whenever you feel able
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.