Crawley · in person in Hove or online
Bereavement and grief counselling for Crawley
Gatwick runs day and night, and after a death it can feel as if all of Crawley carries on without noticing; one-to-one grief counselling sets aside an hour for the person you have lost, in Hove or by secure video. There's no right way to grieve and no schedule to keep. The free 15-minute call is our starting point; from then on the pace belongs to you rather than to any rota.
If you are thinking about ending your life, call 999 or the Samaritans free on 116 123, day or night. More urgent help is on this page.
The practical facts for Crawley
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Crawley by car
- About 32 minutes with clear roads (22.2 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- Direct trains from Three Bridges to Brighton; change there for Hove, one stop.
- Free bereavement helpline
- Cruse Bereavement Support helpline, 0808 808 1677
- 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.
When the airport keeps its hours and you can't
Gatwick has been part of Crawley since 1974, and it keeps running 24 hours a day, every day of the year, whatever has just happened in your family.
If you work there, or somewhere on Manor Royal, compassionate leave can end long before you feel able to stand at a gate or a desk again, and colleagues may stop asking after a week or two. If your parents were among the families who made a life in this post-war new town, losing them can feel like losing a piece of the place itself. Clearing a house in Tilgate or Langley Green that held a whole family's life is its own kind of grief, taken one room at a time. Crawley is a diverse town, so a death can also bring different customs into one household, with relatives expecting different things about how to mourn. And some places carry the loss for you: a path through Tilgate Park you used to walk together, or the nights at The Hawth you no longer book.
Anger, guilt and relief have room here alongside sadness
Grief doesn't move through tidy stages, and it keeps to nobody's timetable. In sessions you can talk about the person who died as they really were, including the parts that were hard. If you spent years caring for them, there may be relief mixed in with the loss, and then guilt about feeling relieved. If the relationship was difficult, or things were left unsaid, you may be grieving what never happened as much as what did. A sudden death can leave you replaying the last conversation; an expected one can mean you began grieving long before the funeral. When someone has died by suicide, the questions can feel endless, and you can bring them here without having to explain anything you'd rather keep to yourself. I won't hurry you towards acceptance or tell you what you ought to feel. Sometimes grief and drinking become tangled, when a glass is what gets you through the evening or past the empty side of the bed, and we can look at that gently as part of the same work. The aim is to give your grief somewhere to go, so it can sit alongside the rest of your life instead of crowding it out.
Losses that follow you around Crawley
Back on shift too soon
At an airport that never closes, the rota rarely waits for a funeral. Sessions can be fixed around early starts and nights, on video if that is all the week allows.
After years of caring
If you drove them to appointments at Crawley Hospital on West Green Drive and looked after them at home, the quiet afterwards can feel strange. Relief and guilt are both welcome in sessions.
Two traditions of mourning
In a diverse town, one family can hold different customs about funerals, visiting and how long to mourn. We can make space for what you need within that.
When drinking fills the evenings
If drinking has grown since the death, we can talk about it openly. The Alcohol Advisor Service at Crawley Wellbeing can help, and DAWN, from Change Grow Live, answers on 0330 128 1113.
Free bereavement support for Crawley
From Tilgate to Langley Green, the Cruse Bereavement Support helpline costs nothing to ring. Should the loss leave you anxious or persistently low, NHS West Sussex Talking Therapies, through its North Team based around Crawley, accepts referrals straight from you. If you were caring for the person who died, Carers Support West Sussex can be worth contacting too, and Crawley Staying Well, run by Waythrough, opens daily from 3pm to midnight for evenings that feel too much. Private sessions can sit alongside any of these.
- Free bereavement helplineCruse Bereavement Support helpline0808 808 1677Free, from trained volunteers. Open Monday and Wednesday to Friday 9.30am to 5pm, Tuesday 1pm to 8pm.
- Free NHS talking therapyNHS West Sussex Talking Therapies – North Team01403 620434Free NHS talking therapy for low mood or anxiety that has settled in after a loss. You can refer yourself, with no GP referral needed.
- If drinking or drug use is part of itWest Sussex Drug & Alcohol Wellbeing Network (DAWN)0330 128 1113Run by Change Grow Live. Free and confidential.
- Local organisationWest Sussex Wellbeing – support for family and friends (council-run)
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 Crawley ask before starting
Someone close to me died recently. Is it too early to look for grief counselling in Crawley?
There's no wrong moment to begin. You might want to talk in the days after the funeral, or only once the cards and visitors have stopped, and both make sense. Whenever it suits, even between Gatwick shifts, book the free 15-minute call and I'll be honest about how soon a first session in Hove or on video could happen. You won't need a GP referral, and there's no point at which it becomes too late to talk about someone who died.
Is there free bereavement support for people in Crawley?
Yes. Cruse Bereavement Support has a free helpline on 0808 808 1677. Where grief has turned into ongoing anxiety or low mood, you can ring 01403 620434 yourself, with no GP visit beforehand, to reach the North Team serving Crawley within NHS West Sussex Talking Therapies. Crawley Wellbeing is a free service run by the county and borough councils. Private counselling can run alongside any of them, or follow on afterwards.
Can I have grief counselling by video from home in Crawley, or is it better to come to Hove?
Either works, and you can change your mind. Coming to Hove, about 32 minutes by car, sets the grief inside one protected hour, away from a house full of their things. Video lets you talk with their photographs close by, or fit a session into a day off without the drive. We'll agree what suits you on the free call and adjust as you go.
I'm back on shift at Gatwick after a death in the family and can't concentrate. Can counselling fit around that?
Yes. Grief often shows up as poor concentration, forgetfulness and tiredness, and a busy terminal can make that hard to hide. We can find times that fit your rota, in Hove or on video, and use them to talk about the loss and the strain of carrying on at work. If thoughts of not wanting to go on come up, please tell me, and use the crisis contacts on this page.
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.
Talk about them, at whatever pace suits you
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.