Camberwell · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Counselling and therapy for Camberwell
Perhaps something feels wrong in your Camberwell life and you haven't found the words for it yet. That's a fair reason to get in touch. I'm registered with BACP and work from a single room in Hove, 88 minutes' drive south, so from SE5 we'd normally use secure video: one regular weekly hour, joined from home, with no train involved.
The practical facts for Camberwell
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Camberwell by car
- About 88 minutes with clear roads (51.4 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Talking Therapies Southwark, 020 3228 2194
- 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 between Denmark Hill and Camberwell Green
Camberwell packs a lot into a small patch of south London.
King's College Hospital and the Maudsley face each other across Denmark Hill, so plenty of neighbours spend their working days caring for other people, often on shifts that leave them wrung out. Down the hill, Camberwell College of Arts and the South London Gallery bring students and artists whose income can be uncertain from one month to the next. Southwark's public health team describes the neighbourhood as facing substantial disadvantage, with unemployment at 8.5% against 6.9% across the borough, and more than half of homes in Camberwell Green ward are socially rented. Around 31,500 people share Camberwell Green and St Giles wards, between Coldharbour Lane, Grove Lane and Ruskin Park. Being surrounded by that many people can still leave you feeling unseen, and the pressure of rent, work or caring rarely announces itself. It tends to show up as poor sleep, a shorter temper or a sense that nothing is quite yours any more.
A first step when you're unsure what kind of help fits
Living within sight of the Maudsley can make it oddly hard to ask for help. You might tell yourself your trouble isn't serious enough to bother anyone with. Or you might work at King's or the Maudsley and find it awkward to seek support close to your own workplace. Seeing a counsellor whose room is outside London, over video, keeps that part of your life separate. There's no referral or label you need first. People come with grief, a relationship under strain, worry that won't switch off, a drink that has crept up, or simply a feeling of being stuck. Early on we trace what has been dragging you down and why it stays, and then choose a focus between us. If a different service fits better, I'll tell you and help you get there. Internal Family Systems is one strand of an integrative way of working that the how I work page describes more fully. I've practised for over 25 years and have my own experience of recovery, so you can speak openly about whatever you bring.
Pressures that come home to SE5
Caring for others all shift
Long hours at King's College Hospital or the Maudsley on Denmark Hill can leave you holding other people's distress, with little room left to notice your own.
Uncertain work and money
With unemployment in Camberwell higher than across Southwark as a whole, the strain of finding work or making a little go a long way can quietly wear you down.
Creative life without a safety net
Studying at Camberwell College of Arts or making work near the South London Gallery can mean irregular income, self-doubt and long stretches working alone.
No trek out of London
Video sessions from home spare you the change at Victoria or Clapham Junction, so an hour of counselling costs you an hour, not an afternoon on trains.
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 Camberwell
Southwark has free help that can run alongside private sessions. Talking Therapies Southwark, run by South London and Maudsley, takes self-referrals for low mood and anxiety. South East London Mind runs the Southwark Wellbeing Hub, and the Southwark Service User Network holds a Camberwell Wednesday group. If you look after someone, Southwark Carers has an office on Camberwell Road.
- Free NHS talking therapyTalking Therapies Southwark020 3228 2194Free 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 itCGL Southwark020 3404 7699Run by Change Grow Live (CGL). Free and confidential.
- Local organisationSouthwark Recovery Support Service (RSS)
- Local organisationMobiliseSupport for carers.
- Local organisationSouth East London Suicide Bereavement Service (SLaM with South East London Mind)
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.
The South London NHS Mental Health Crisis Text Service (SLaM) is another option: WhatsApp 0303 330 1511 or text 80991.
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 Camberwell ask before starting
Could we meet face to face, given that I live near Camberwell Green?
Yes, at Intergen House in Hove: around 88 minutes by car from Camberwell, or by rail, changing once at Victoria or Clapham Junction. Most people from SE5 find weekly video far easier and keep the Hove trip for an occasional longer session, or the very first meeting, if being in the same room matters to them.
How soon can counselling begin for someone living in Camberwell?
Following a short first chat, and if we both want to continue, you choose from whatever weekly slots I genuinely have free. If you want NHS help with anxiety or low mood as well, Talking Therapies Southwark accepts referrals straight from you, online or on 020 3228 2194, and it can run in parallel with our sessions.
I work at King's or the Maudsley. Will anyone I know find out?
What you say in sessions stays between us, within the usual safeguarding limits I explain at the start. Because I work privately from Hove and meet you by video, there's no waiting room on Denmark Hill where you might bump into a colleague. You may find that distance from your own workplace makes it easier to talk about yourself for once.
Who can I contact in south London if I'm in crisis tonight?
Day or night you can text 80991 to reach South London and Maudsley in a crisis, or use WhatsApp on 0303 330 1511. If someone's life is in danger now, ring 999. More Southwark contacts sit in the urgent help part of this page, and counselling can come in afterwards as part of the support.
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 it through before deciding anything
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.