Aldershot · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Counselling and therapy for Aldershot
Whether you're near the garrison, in North Town or in one of the new Wellesley homes, you can talk through whatever has been weighing on you before choosing what kind of help to pursue. I'm a BACP-registered counsellor with a single room in Hove, a long way from Rushmoor, so sessions from Aldershot mostly happen over secure video, with the odd visit to Hove if you'd like one.
The practical facts for Aldershot
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Aldershot by car
- About 85 minutes with clear roads (69.0 miles); longer at busy times.
- 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.
Living in the Home of the British Army
Aldershot grew quickly from a small village into a Victorian town and is still known as the Home of the British Army, with the garrison hosting around 70 military units and organisations.
If you're serving, married to someone who is, or left the forces years ago, you may know the particular strain of postings, absences and homecomings, and of a culture where you get on with things. Rushmoor has a large veteran population: the 2021 census counted 6.7% of adults as veterans, about half of them over 65. The borough is also home to the largest Nepali population in England, and 14.1% of Aldershot residents are Nepali, so some families here hold two cultures and two sets of expectations at once. Then there are the new homes at Wellesley, established neighbourhoods such as North Town and Manor Park, and a council plan reporting that loneliness among young people in Aldershot runs at double the national average.
When you're not sure counselling is for you
You can get in touch without knowing what to call the problem. It might be worry that won't settle, a marriage under strain after another posting, grief, drinking more than you meant to, or a low, flat feeling since leaving the army. In a garrison town, asking for help can feel like letting people down, and part of the first conversation is simply noticing that. We go at your pace, and you decide what you talk about. If you served, you're welcome to keep the operational detail to yourself; we can work with how things are affecting you now, at home, at work and at night. If you grew up between Nepali and British expectations, we can make room for both without either being treated as the problem. My own recovery, and more than 25 years of counselling since, shape how I listen when the garrison habit of keeping quiet is in the room. My approach is integrative, and you don't need to know anything about methods to begin. Medication and physical health stay with your own GP practice in Rushmoor, and our sessions can run in parallel with that care.
Things an Aldershot life can put on your shoulders
Postings and long absences
When a partner is away with one of the garrison's units, or about to go, the one left at home carries the house, the children and the worry, often without saying much about it.
Life after leaving the forces
Civilian life can feel oddly shapeless after the routine of the army. Combat Stress and NHS Op COURAGE, both listed on Rushmoor's Armed Forces Covenant page, give forces-focused support that can run alongside counselling.
Between two cultures
With 14.1% of the town Nepali, a family may be balancing Nepali and British expectations, and the gap between generations can be hard to talk about inside the family itself.
Young and on your own
Rushmoor's own plan says loneliness among young people in Aldershot is double the national average, and isolation can make ordinary worries feel much larger than they are.
Public health figures for the area
These are local authority figures from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. "Similar to England" means the difference is not statistically significant. The figures describe a whole population over a period, not any one person.
Free and low-cost support for Aldershot
Free help in Aldershot can run alongside private sessions. NHS Talking Therapies Hampshire accepts direct self-referrals from Rushmoor for anxiety or low mood. Andover Mind runs the Hart and Rushmoor Wellbeing Centre at 39 High Street, and Andover Mind Counselling offers low-cost sessions there. For men, Silent Storms meets every Monday evening on Victoria Road, with a branch at the Greater Rushmoor Nepali Community. Unpaid carers can join the monthly Aldershot Carers Group at Harlow Hall.
- 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.
- Local organisationThe Princess Royal Trust for Carers in Hampshire (Hampshire Carers Support Service)
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.
In this area you can also text HANTS to 85258. Local drop-in crisis support: Aldershot Safe Haven (check opening times before you go).
If you drink heavily every day, or take drugs such as benzodiazepines or GHB daily, do not stop suddenly without medical advice. Withdrawal can cause seizures and can be dangerous. Your GP or the local drug and alcohol service can arrange medically assisted withdrawal. Call 999 or go to A&E if someone in withdrawal is shaking visibly, unusually restless or agitated, confused, seeing or hearing things that are not there, or has a fit. For milder symptoms, such as a slight tremor or sweating, contact your GP or NHS 111 the same day (NHS guidance). Counselling works alongside medical support, not instead of it.
What people in Aldershot ask before starting
Is in-person counselling possible from Aldershot, or is it all online?
With me, face-to-face sessions take place in Hove, roughly 85 minutes' drive from Aldershot, so regular weekly work from the town usually happens by secure video. You join from home or another private space, and an occasional session in the Hove room is there if you'd find it useful. If you do come, a longer 120-minute session gives the drive more point.
Is there free counselling in Aldershot while I wait or decide?
Yes. For anxiety or low mood, Rushmoor residents can ring NHS Talking Therapies Hampshire on 023 8038 3920 and refer themselves, without a GP letter. Andover Mind Counselling runs low-cost sessions for adults at its Hart and Rushmoor wellbeing centre, face to face or online, and you can refer yourself with its form. Private counselling with me starts with a free 15-minute call, and then I'll offer you the times I have.
I'm a veteran in Aldershot. Should I see a general counsellor or a forces service?
Either can be right, and they can run side by side. Rushmoor's Armed Forces Covenant page points serving personnel, reservists and veterans to NHS Op COURAGE and to Combat Stress, whose free 24-hour helpline is 0800 138 1619. Counselling with me is for anything you want to bring, from sleep to relationships to drinking, at whatever depth you choose.
Where can I go in Aldershot if things feel bad late at night?
Walpole House on Pickford Street hosts the Aldershot Safe Haven, a drop-in for adults in crisis that opens each evening from 6pm to 11pm, all year round, and welcomes carers as well. At any hour you can text HANTS to 85258 for Shout's text support. Call 999 if anyone's life is at risk right now; weekly counselling can sit alongside these supports.
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 first word, from the garrison town to Hove
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.