Chelsea · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Counselling and therapy for Chelsea
If you live or work in Chelsea and something has been weighing on you, even without a clear name for it yet, this is a sensible place to start. I'm a BACP-registered counsellor seeing people one to one. My only room is in Hove, 90 minutes' drive south, so from SW3 or SW10 we'd usually meet by secure video, which spares you the long drive, with a Hove visit whenever you want one.
The practical facts for Chelsea
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Chelsea by car
- About 90 minutes with clear roads (52.4 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Kensington and Chelsea Talking Therapies, 020 3317 4200
- 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 hospital quarter, a famous road and quieter estates
Chelsea packs a lot into a short stretch of riverside.
On Fulham Road, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, the Royal Brompton and The Royal Marsden sit close together, so a long hospital shift, or a run of visits to someone being treated there, may well be part of your week. The King's Road, one of the centres of 1960s Swinging London and later the birthplace of punk at World's End, is still known for its shops. Outsiders tend to picture the area through its high property prices, yet the World's End estate has a food bank by appointment at the Venture Centre, weekly debt advice and a monthly Money Café. Living among polished streets can make difficulty feel like something to hide. Whether the strain comes from a hospital rota, a parent's illness, money that has run short or a quiet loneliness behind a smart front door, it counts, and it is worth an hour of its own.
Bringing something unnamed to a first session
A first session asks nothing of you beyond turning up. Perhaps you know exactly what's wrong: a separation, a worrying scan result for someone close, a career that no longer fits. Perhaps it is harder to pin down, a restlessness, sleep that keeps breaking at four in the morning, or evenings when the wine glass gets refilled more often than you meant. Any of these is enough to begin with. Over the opening sessions we piece together what sits heaviest for you in Chelsea life and why it hangs on, whether that is the pace of a central London job, caring for someone between hospital appointments, or an older hurt that has surfaced again. From there we agree a focus, and should a different service fit your situation more closely, you'll hear that from me plainly, with a name to contact. The way I work blends several traditions, with Internal Family Systems one thread in the mix, and the how I work page describes them if you are curious before a first Chelsea session. Behind me are 25 years and more as a counsellor, plus recovery of my own, so whatever you bring will be met calmly.
Things a week in SW3 or SW10 can leave behind
Shifts on Fulham Road
Working at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital or the Royal Brompton can mean night rotas and other people's emergencies, with little space left to look at your own.
Visiting someone at The Royal Marsden
Sitting with a partner or parent through specialist cancer treatment while holding work and home together, often without telling anyone how frightened you are.
Debt beneath the high prices
Debt still bites in a wealthy borough; at World's End the Money Café and weekly debt advice handle the sums while we talk through the rest.
A new baby and a heavy heart
In pregnancy and the year after birth, the Kensington and Chelsea perinatal service at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital offers specialist support, and our sessions can sit alongside it.
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 Chelsea
Private sessions can run alongside free help close to home. For anxiety or low mood, you can refer yourself on 020 3317 4200 to Kensington and Chelsea Talking Therapies, which sits within Community Living Well. West London Mind runs low-cost counselling through Mind Within. SMART, on the World's End estate since 1993, offers activities and practical support, joined through a GP or health professional, and Central London Samaritans listen at any hour.
- Free NHS talking therapyKensington and Chelsea Talking Therapies020 3317 4200Free 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 itTurning Point Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea (Drug and Alcohol Wellbeing Service)0330 303 8080Free and confidential.
- Local organisationBuild on Belief (BoB): Acorn Hall Weekend ServiceRecovery community.
- Local organisationThe Alcohol Service @ Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster (CGL): family and carer support
- Local organisationChelsea Theatre community programme and Community Champions (World's End)
- Local organisationOpen Age, New Horizons Centre (Cadogan Street)
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 CNWL Mental Health Single Point of Access crisis line, London boroughs) is on 0800 0234 650.
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 Chelsea ask before starting
Could I sit in a room with a counsellor rather than use video, coming from Chelsea?
Face-to-face sessions take place at Intergen House in Hove, about 90 minutes by car from SW3, or one stop from Sloane Square to Victoria and then a Southern train. Week to week we'd normally meet by secure video, which keeps your hour free of the commute. Anyone who values being in the same room can book the odd longer Hove session of 90 minutes, which makes the trip from the King's Road more worthwhile.
How long will I wait to start counselling in Chelsea?
Once the free consultation is done and you decide to carry on, I suggest a few real slots from my diary and you choose whichever suits your week. Anxiety or low mood can also go straight to the NHS: refer yourself to Kensington and Chelsea Talking Therapies by phone or online, and their team will tell you how long their own wait is.
Can I have counselling in Chelsea while a relative is in The Royal Marsden?
Yes. When someone you love is in specialist cancer care, video sessions can fit around ward visits and appointments on Fulham Road, and can move if a week goes badly. You can talk about fear, exhaustion, anger or the practical load, and Carers Network offers free support for people looking after someone, alongside our work.
Who can I call in Chelsea tonight if everything feels too much?
The CNWL Mental Health Single Point of Access runs a 24/7 crisis line for London boroughs on 0800 0234 650. Samaritans answer on 116 123 at any hour, day or night, and Central London Samaritans is the local branch. The moment anyone's life is at immediate risk, dial 999 or get to an A and E department. You will find these Kensington and Chelsea crisis contacts grouped together in this page's urgent help box.
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 conversation from SW3 or SW10, on screen
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.