Alton · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Counselling and therapy for Alton
Perhaps you live near Market Square, in Holybourne or out along the lanes towards Neatham, and something feels wrong without a clear name; general counselling lets us work out together what it is. I'm registered with BACP, and from this distance we'd usually talk by secure video, with the occasional session in my room in Hove if you want one.
The practical facts for Alton
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Alton by car
- About 92 minutes with clear roads (56.3 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.
A market town where everyone seems to know you
Alton is a market town of 17,880 people at the 2021 census, with a median age of 44, set on the A31 between Farnham and Winchester.
Life gathers around the High Street and Market Square, and out in Holybourne, Anstey and Neatham you are rarely far from fields. That closeness can steady you. It can also make it awkward to be seen walking into anywhere marked counselling, when the person at the next table in the cafe may know your mother. Further out in the rural hinterland, a bad week can be a quiet one, with long evenings and no one close enough to notice. The town has changed around people too. Brewing went on in Alton from 1763, and when the Manor Park brewery closed in 2015 the remaining 108 staff left after 52 years of brewing on that site.
When you can't quite name what's wrong
Plenty of people come to a first session without a tidy reason. It might be that you've stopped sleeping well, that small things set off a temper you don't recognise, or that you feel flat for months after a change you thought you'd handled. In a town this size, the change might be a job ending, a parent moving onto Anstey Ward at the community hospital, a child leaving for college, or simply getting older in a place where your friends have scattered. We start by mapping what is actually happening: what you're carrying, what has helped before and what keeps the strain going. Then we work on the part that matters most to you, at a pace you set. My approach is integrative, with Human Givens among the strands, and it bends to fit the person rather than the other way round. Whatever you bring from Alton, you can say it plainly: I have spent over 25 years as a counsellor, and recovery is something I have lived myself. As a county picture only, a high anxiety score was reported by 26.3% of Hampshire adults in 2022/23, not significantly different from England's 23.8%.
Some of what brings people to a first session from Alton
Worried about being seen
In a market town where faces are familiar, video means nobody on the High Street watches you go in. You talk from your own room, at a time that suits.
Unpaid caring in the family
If you look after a partner or parent, the free Alton Coffee Morning for unpaid carers meets monthly, and an hour of counselling can be the one hour that's about you.
Work that ended or changed
When a long-standing job goes, as it did for 108 staff when the Manor Park brewery closed, the loss of routine and identity can linger for years.
A parent with a teenager
If your sixteen-year-old at Alton College is struggling, sessions can help you stay steady, and Alton Counselling Service also sees young people aged 16 to 18.
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 Alton
Alton has free and low-cost help to know about alongside private sessions. Alton Counselling Service, at the Quaker Meeting House on Church Street, offers weekly counselling for a negotiated donation. If worry or a flat mood has hung on for weeks, you can put yourself forward to NHS Talking Therapies Hampshire directly. Men can drop in to ANDYSMANCLUB Alton on Monday evenings, and Citizens Advice East Hampshire on Market Square helps with debt, work and housing.
- 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)
- Local organisationThe Bereavement Journey (Parish of the Resurrection, Alton)Church-run bereavement course.
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.
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 Alton ask before starting
Is there a counselling charity in Alton I could try?
Yes. Alton Counselling Service is a local charity offering weekly sessions for adults, couples and young people aged 16 to 18, paid for by a donation agreed with you, so money needn't stop you. You can refer yourself or go through your GP. Ringing 023 8038 3920 puts you in touch with NHS Talking Therapies Hampshire, where you can refer yourself for anxiety and low mood. Private counselling with me is another option if you'd like to start soon.
From Alton, can counselling ever happen face to face?
You can, in Hove, which is about 92 minutes' drive away, or a rail trip with at least one change. With a long cross-country drive between us, the weekly hour from Alton tends to happen on secure video, keeping a longer Hove visit for the odd time when sitting in the same room feels worth the time on the road. We can decide together on the free call.
If I get in touch from Alton, how soon could sessions begin?
A free 15-minute call from Alton comes first, long enough to sketch what's weighing on you and to get a feel for how I work. Should we both want to continue, you pick a weekly hour from my real openings, perhaps around the Waterloo commute. Because sessions are by video, there is no travel to fit in, which often makes an early start easier.
I'm a man in Alton and I find talking hard. Where do I start?
Start wherever feels least daunting. ANDYSMANCLUB Alton is a free peer-led talking group that meets at Alton Community Centre on Amery Street on Mondays from 7pm, and you can just listen the first time. If you'd rather talk one to one, a short call with me commits you to nothing, and video lets you do it from somewhere private.
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 first conversation, from wherever you are in Alton
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.