Chatham · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Counselling and therapy for Chatham
From Luton and Walderslade to St Mary's Island, adults in Chatham can come to me for one-to-one counselling when something has been off for a while, be it worry, low mood, a loss or no clear idea where to begin. My room is in Hove, 88 minutes away by car, so from Chatham we'd usually meet by secure video, with the odd session in person if you want one.
The practical facts for Chatham
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Chatham by car
- About 88 minutes with clear roads (73.5 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- From Chatham, change at London Bridge for trains towards Brighton and Hove.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- NHS Talking Therapies Kent and Medway, 0333 091 0414
- 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 dockyard town still working out its next shape
Chatham grew up around the Royal Naval Dockyard, founded in 1567, and for centuries the town's work and the dockyard were close to the same thing.
When it closed in 1984, jobs and the town's prosperity took a heavy hit, as a draft neighbourhood plan published on Medway Council's site records. Today the old naval buildings hold the Historic Dockyard Chatham and, at Chatham Maritime, the University of Greenwich Medway Campus, while the Royal Engineers are still at Brompton Barracks. An ordinary week here might mean a shift at the Pentagon Shopping Centre, a seminar on the waterfront, or a train to Victoria and back. Part of central Chatham, around Shipwrights, Luton and The Brook, has been ranked among the most deprived neighbourhoods in England, and money worry can sit quietly under almost everything else. None of this decides how you feel, but it is the setting your worries are living in.
Starting when you can't yet name the problem
You can get in touch without a name for what's wrong. It might be sleep that has gone, a temper that's shorter than it used to be, a grief that hasn't moved, or a sense that you're getting through each week without really being in it. In a first session we'd take stock of what your days in Chatham actually involve: the work, the money, the people around you and who you can lean on. From there we decide together what to focus on and how often to meet. If you're studying at Chatham Maritime and a long way from home, or you've come back to the Medway Towns after years away, that belongs in the picture too. If you report to the probation office on New Road, counselling is a different kind of conversation from those appointments, one where you lead what we talk about. My way of working blends several approaches instead of following a single script, and it rests on over 25 years in practice plus a recovery of my own. If you take medication, your GP stays the person to discuss it with, and they can work alongside our sessions.
What might bring you to a first conversation from Chatham
When money worry runs everything
Part of central Chatham has been ranked among England's most deprived areas, and if bills or unsteady work keep you awake, the strain can spread into your sleep and your temper.
Studying far from home
A course at the University of Greenwich Medway Campus, a town that's new to you, and the people who knew you best a long way off. Video sessions can fit between lectures.
An hour that belongs to you
Reporting to the Chatham Probation Office on New Road, and wanting a separate weekly hour where you choose what to talk about and nobody is assessing you.
Peer support at The Magpie Centre
MEGAN CIC runs mental health peer groups for anyone 17 or over in Medway at The Magpie Centre, and weekly counselling can sit alongside them.
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 Chatham
Free help in Chatham can sit alongside private sessions. Free help for anxiety or low mood is open to you from Chatham without a GP visit, by contacting NHS Talking Therapies Kent and Medway yourself. MEGAN CIC runs peer support groups at The Magpie Centre on Magpie Hall Road, open to anyone 17 or over with no need for a label first. Samaritans of Medway, Gravesham and Swale, whose branch is in Strood, answers on 116 123 at any hour.
- Free NHS talking therapyNHS Talking Therapies Kent and Medway0333 091 0414Free 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 itMedway (RIVER) Treatment and Recovery Service0300 123 1560Free and confidential.
- Local organisationOpen RoadRecovery community.
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.
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 Chatham ask before starting
Is face-to-face counselling possible if I'm living in Chatham?
Yes, in my Hove room, which sits about 88 minutes from Chatham by car, or a train ride away with a change at London Bridge. Because that's a long way to go every week, regular sessions from Chatham usually happen by secure video, and an occasional meeting in Hove can be planned whenever you want one.
Is there free counselling in Chatham I can refer myself to?
When anxiety or low mood is what's troubling you most, a free call to 0333 091 0414 reaches NHS Talking Therapies Kent and Medway, where you can refer yourself. MEGAN CIC offers peer support groups in Chatham for anyone 17 or over, and you don't need a label first. Private counselling is another route, one where you choose who you see and we agree a start time between us.
Is there a waiting list if I want counselling from Chatham?
Everything begins with a free 15-minute phone call: you give me a brief sense of what's happening, we see whether I feel like the right person, and I tell you plainly which slots are open now or roughly when one should come up. Because sessions from Chatham would usually be on video, there's no travel to plan around, so a weekday evening or a lunch hour can work if one is open.
I've never had therapy and I'm not sure my problems are serious enough. Should I still get in touch from Chatham?
Yes. You don't need a crisis or a label to talk to someone. Worry about money, feeling stuck after a job or a relationship has ended, or a low feeling you can't explain are all reasons enough to start. Should a night in Chatham get too much, you can ring Samaritans on 116 123 at any hour, and the urgent help box further up this page gives more routes.
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.
Fifteen minutes to talk it through, from Chatham
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.