Camberley · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Counselling and therapy for Camberley
For anyone in Camberley, Yorktown or Old Dean who would rather talk to someone outside the town, I offer counselling by secure video. My only room is in Hove, a long way from Surrey Heath, so video is the honest answer here. Sessions are one to one, and they begin with a free 15-minute call.
The practical facts for Camberley
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Camberley by car
- About 84 minutes with clear roads (68.6 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Mind Matters Surrey, 0300 330 5450
- 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 town built around officer training
Camberley grew up in the 19th century around the Royal Military College, now the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and the Staff College, which trains officers of the British Armed Forces and Ministry of Defence civil servants.
If your household revolves around a Staff College course or a military career, that can be hard to explain to anyone outside it. Siemens, which moved its UK headquarters to the area in 2007, is among the major employers, and Frimley Park Hospital is on Portsmouth Road. The town takes in Yorktown, Old Dean, Heatherside and the town centre, with The Square shopping centre and Camberley Theatre. It sits near both the Hampshire and Berkshire borders, and its station's trains mostly run between Ascot and Aldershot. When coping is what is expected of you, at home or at work, it can be hard to say out loud that you aren't coping.
Talking, when you've been trained to keep going
Counselling can suit people who have spent years being the steady one, in uniform or out of it. You might bring worry that won't settle, low mood since a move, the strain of a partner being away, the loss of identity after leaving the forces, grief, or drinking that has become a nightly habit. None of it needs to be a crisis before it's worth talking about. With Sandhurst next to the town and the Staff College training officers and Ministry of Defence civil servants just north of the centre, the person you might confide in here could also be a neighbour, a colleague or someone further up the chain. A counsellor in Hove has no link to any of that. If your work is civilian, at Siemens UK headquarters or at Frimley Park Hospital, you may still want your counselling kept well away from work. Where a memory from service or anywhere else still feels too close, the Rewind Technique lets us work with it without a detailed retelling. It's the same one-to-one work whether you've served or not.
Pressures that are easy to keep quiet about
Holding the fort
Running a home on your own while a partner is away on a Staff College course or a posting, with nobody you feel you can admit the struggle to.
Leaving the forces
The loss of structure, identity and friendships when an army career ends in a town built around Sandhurst, even when leaving was your own choice.
Civilian pressure, too
Work at Siemens UK headquarters and shifts at Frimley Park Hospital bring pressures of their own, and they deserve as much attention as anything from service life.
Drinking or using to cope
When alcohol or cocaine has become how you get through the week. We can talk about it without lectures, and i-access is Surrey's drug and alcohol service.
Public health figures for the area
These are local authority figures from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. The figures describe a whole population over a period, not any one person.
Free and low-cost support for Camberley
Free support can run alongside counselling. The Hope Hub is a local charity offering a crisis drop-in and wellbeing support. Cocaine Anonymous holds an open meeting in Camberley on Thursday evenings. For anxiety or low mood, Mind Matters Surrey takes self-referrals. There isn't a Safe Haven in Camberley; Surrey and Borders lists evening drop-ins at Aldershot, Guildford, Woking, Epsom and Redhill.
- Free NHS talking therapyMind Matters Surrey0300 330 5450Free 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 iti-access0300 222 5932Free and confidential.
- Local organisationAction for Carers Surrey
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.
Locally, the Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS FT Mental Health Crisis Helpline is on 0800 915 4644.
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 Camberley ask before starting
Can I have counselling in person in Camberley?
There's no room of mine in Surrey Heath: the one I use is in Hove, roughly 84 minutes away by car. From here, secure video is the practical way to work. If you ever want to sit in the same room, you're welcome in Hove now and then, perhaps for a 90-minute session so the drive feels worth it.
Is there free mental health support in Camberley?
Yes. Surrey Heath residents with anxiety or low mood can refer themselves, at no cost, to Mind Matters Surrey, the NHS Talking Therapies service, on 0300 330 5450. The Hope Hub is a local charity with a crisis drop-in. If things feel unsafe, the Surrey and Borders Partnership 24/7 crisis line is on 0800 915 4644.
I'm at Sandhurst or the Staff College. Would anyone in my chain of command hear about counselling?
Not from me. I'm a private counsellor with no link to the military or to any employer, so I don't report to anyone. What you say stays between us unless I became seriously worried about your safety or someone else's, and I'd normally talk that through with you first. Video sessions can fit around courses and postings.
If I'm in Camberley, how long before a first proper session?
That depends on which weekly times I have free when you get in touch. Book the free 15-minute call first and tell me a little about what's going on. If it feels right to both of us, we agree a regular slot on video. If my free slots don't fit your week, I'll tell you straight away so you can look elsewhere without losing weeks.
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.
Take the first step quietly, from Camberley
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.