Addiction counselling
For when drinking, drugs, gambling, food or another behaviour has stopped feeling like a choice, and you want to understand the pain beneath the habit.
Counselling & Therapy
Counselling & Therapy in Brighton & Hove
Not sure what kind of help you need? Start here. Counselling and therapy is one place to begin, whatever you're carrying, a calm, confidential space to be heard and to work out, together, what would help most.
One door, whatever you're facing
People rarely arrive with a tidy label for what's wrong. More often there's a knot of things: stress that won't lift, a habit that's taken hold, a relationship under strain, a low mood or a worry that has quietly grown. You don't need to have it all worked out before you get in touch. "Counselling and therapy" is deliberately the broad front door to my practice, the place to start when you know something needs to change but aren't sure how to name it.
In that first, free 15-minute call and our early sessions, we make sense of what's really going on together. From there, the work either stays general and supportive or, if it helps, we focus in on a specific area. Either way, it's the same room, the same relationship and the same person-centred approach throughout.
Where it can lead
The specific areas counselling and therapy connects to
Start general, then focus where it matters. Every one of these is available in the same space, in person in Hove or online across the UK.
Substance use counselling
Confidential, non-judgemental support with alcohol and drug use, wherever you are on that path.
Drinking problem counselling
A place to look honestly at your relationship with alcohol, without shame or ultimatums.
Anxiety counselling
Working with worry, panic, over-thinking and the need for control that quietly wears you down.
Depression counselling
Support for low mood, exhaustion and the flatness that makes everything feel harder than it should.
Relationship counselling
For couples and individuals caught in conflict, distance or broken trust, and the patterns underneath.
Trauma counselling
Gentle, paced work with difficult past experiences that still shape how you feel and react today.
Psychotherapy
Deeper, longer-term work for when you want to understand yourself at the root, not just ease the surface.
How I work
My approach is integrative and person-centred, which simply means the therapy is shaped around you rather than forced through one fixed model. I've spent more than 25 years working with people through anxiety, depression, addiction, relationship difficulties and trauma, and I'm a registered member of the BACP, working to their Ethical Framework. I also bring lived experience of recovery, so I understand from the inside what it takes to change.
Sessions are a collaborative conversation, not a lecture or a set of exercises to pass. Where it helps, I draw on psychodynamic thinking, Internal Family Systems (IFS) and the Human Givens approach to work with the unmet needs beneath the surface. We move at a pace that feels safe, and you stay in charge of the direction throughout. You can read more about how I work, session lengths and fees whenever you're ready.
Start the conversationTwo words, one aim
Counselling, therapy and psychotherapy: what's the difference?
People use the words counselling, therapy and psychotherapy almost interchangeably, and there's no hard line between them. In practice, counselling often describes shorter, more focused work around a particular difficulty or period of life, a bereavement, a crisis, a decision, a habit that's taken hold. It tends to look at what's happening now and how to move forward.
Therapy is the broad umbrella covering all of this: a confidential relationship in which you can think, feel and be understood. It's the honest catch-all when you're not yet sure how deep or how long the work needs to be.
Psychotherapy usually means going further and deeper, over a longer period, to understand the roots of a pattern rather than only managing its effects. If you find yourself repeating the same painful cycles, or you want to know yourself more fully, that deeper work may suit you better. You can read about that on the dedicated psychotherapy page.
The good news is that you don't have to choose correctly in advance. We begin with counselling and therapy, see what the work asks for, and adjust together. Many people start with something specific and stay for something deeper; others come for a handful of focused sessions and that is exactly enough.
What to expect
What a course of counselling and therapy looks like
It starts with a free, no-obligation 15-minute call. That's simply a chance to hear a little of what's been happening and to see whether we feel like a good fit, which matters more than any technique. If it feels right, we book a first full session, usually an hour, either in my private room in Hove or by secure video wherever you are.
Early on we map the ground: what brought you here, what you'd like to be different, and what has and hasn't helped before. There's no expectation to have everything sorted or even to know where to begin, holding that uncertainty together is part of the work. Sessions are confidential and held even-handedly, so you can be honest without managing anyone else's feelings. As trust builds, we work with the deeper patterns underneath the presenting problem, at a pace you set.
Counselling and therapy suits anyone who senses that something needs attention, whether that's a clear issue like anxiety or addiction, or just a heaviness you can't quite place. I work in person from Hove, including Brighton, Hove, Worthing, Lewes and Shoreham-by-Sea, and by secure video UK-wide, including London, Manchester and Birmingham. See all the areas I cover.
Not sure where to start? That's fine.
Book a free 15-minute consultation and we'll talk through what's been happening and what kind of counselling or therapy might help, no obligation, no judgement.
Questions
Counselling & therapy FAQs
I don't know what my "problem" is. Can I still come?
Absolutely. Most people don't arrive with a neat label, and working out what's really going on is part of the work. Counselling and therapy is the ideal place to start when you're not yet sure how to name it.
What's the difference between counselling and psychotherapy?
Counselling tends to be shorter and focused on a specific difficulty or period; psychotherapy usually goes deeper and longer to understand the roots of a pattern. There's no hard line, and we can move between the two as your needs become clearer. See the psychotherapy page for more.
Do you offer sessions in person or online?
Both. I see clients in person at my room in Hove and across Brighton, Hove and Sussex, and by secure video right across the UK.
Are you qualified and registered?
Yes. I'm a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) with over 25 years' experience, working to their Ethical Framework, and I bring lived experience of recovery.
How long will I need to come for?
There's no fixed answer. Some people come for a handful of focused sessions; others stay for longer, deeper work. We review together as we go, and you're always in charge of how far the work goes.
If you need urgent help right now
This is a private counselling practice, not a crisis or emergency service, and I can't always respond straight away. If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, please call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. For free, confidential support at any hour of the day or night, contact the Samaritans on 116 123, or text SHOUT to 85258.
Areas we cover
Counselling & Therapy across Brighton, Hove & Sussex
In-person counselling and therapy in towns across the area, and online right across the UK. Choose your area for local detail.
BrightonHoveKemp TownPortsladeHangletonPatchamPreston ParkWoodingdeanSaltdeanRottingdeanPeacehavenNewhavenSeafordShoreham-by-SeaSouthwickLancingWorthingLewesBurgess HillHaywards HeathHassocksDitchling
Prefer to meet online? Counselling and therapy is available UK-wide by secure video, including London, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol.