Cranleigh · in person in Hove or online
Counselling and therapy for Cranleigh
Whether you're in Cranleigh itself, Rowly or the lanes out towards Baynards, a worry you've carried for months can be talked through with me, one to one. As a counsellor registered with the BACP, I can see you by secure video from home, or in my room in Hove, a drive of a little under an hour.
The practical facts for Cranleigh
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Cranleigh by car
- About 56 minutes with clear roads (36.6 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.
Where the car, or the bus, decides most things
Cranleigh lost its railway station in June 1965, and since then the village has run on roads and buses to Guildford, Horsham, Godalming and Ewhurst.
That shapes ordinary life more than people from outside expect. A hospital appointment, a late shift or a friend's birthday can all hinge on who is driving, and if you don't drive, or have stopped, the Weald can start to feel very wide. It's also a place where people tend to know one another. You might see your neighbour at Cranleigh Leisure Centre, the parents from Glebelands School at the school gate, and familiar faces on a walk across Snoxhall Fields or up in Winterfold Forest. That closeness is often a comfort. The flip side is that admitting a hard patch feels exposed when the person you'd confide in is the one you pass at the leisure centre each week.
Not knowing yet what's wrong, and starting anyway
You can get in touch before you have any clear name for what's wrong. It might be a low, flat feeling that has lasted since spring, worry that wakes you at four, a loss you haven't had space to grieve, or a sense that your drinking has crept up. You can bring any of that to a first session, and we'll work out together what deserves attention first. In a village like Cranleigh, some of what comes up is about isolation: a partner who has died, children who have moved away, or caring for someone at home while the rest of the world carries on. Some of it is about pressure, from a job in Guildford or further afield, or from money. If you're caring for someone with memory problems, or a young person in your house is, those strains count too, and Rowleys on Victoria Road runs groups that can sit beside our work. Sessions are a private hour where you can say what you actually think. Behind that hour sit more than 25 years of practice, an integrative way of working, and a recovery of my own that I know from the inside.
What people in and around Cranleigh might bring
Life without a station
No trains since 1965 means buses and lifts for almost everything, and if you've stopped driving that can quietly narrow your week.
Caring at home
Looking after a partner or parent with memory problems, where Action for Carers Surrey and the Friday Rosemary and Sage Cafe at Rowleys give you a break.
Money and worry
Debt, benefits or housing pressures that keep you awake, where Citizens Advice South West Surrey on Village Way can help with the practical side.
Feeling cut off
Loneliness after retirement, bereavement or a move, with the Age UK Surrey Cafe Culture morning and Cranleigh Men's Shed as ways back into company.
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 Cranleigh
There is free support close to home in Cranleigh. For anxiety or low mood, villagers can self-refer to Mind Matters Surrey, the local NHS Talking Therapies service, on 0300 330 5450, with no trip to Guildford or Horsham needed. Citizens Advice South West Surrey (Cranleigh) helps with money and housing, and Action for Carers Surrey supports carers. If drinking or drugs are a concern, the county's free service is i-access, reached on 0300 222 5932.
- 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 organisationRosemary & Sage Cafe at RowleysWeekly memory cafe and carer break.
For gambling, the National Gambling Helpline is free, day or night, on 0808 8020 133 (NHS gambling support).
Private counselling with me can run alongside any of these; you do not have to choose one or the other.
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 Cranleigh ask before starting
I live in Cranleigh and don't drive. Can I still have counselling?
Yes. Video sessions mean you can talk from home in Cranleigh with no bus or lift to arrange. For an occasional face-to-face session, the Hove room is reachable by a bus to Horsham and a train, changing at Three Bridges for Brighton. We can decide together what's realistic on the free call.
If I'm in Cranleigh, how long would I wait to begin?
We'd open with a free 15-minute call, with no commitment on either side. If it feels right to us both, I'll share my open slots, including times that work around a bus timetable from the village, and you choose. If you'd like free NHS support for anxiety or low mood in the meantime, you can contact Mind Matters Surrey yourself, without going through your GP.
Can I get free NHS counselling from Cranleigh?
Yes, where worry or a persistently low mood is what's bothering you: Mind Matters Surrey delivers NHS Talking Therapies county-wide, and Cranleigh residents can refer themselves by ringing 0300 330 5450. Waiting times there vary. Some people use it alongside private sessions or while they wait. If you'd prefer to start straight away with someone you choose, private counselling with me is another route.
Will people in the village know I'm seeing a counsellor?
Not from me. Sessions are confidential, and because they happen by video from your own home or in Hove, there is no waiting room in Cranleigh where you might bump into someone you know. I'll explain the few legal limits to confidentiality at the start, so you know exactly where you stand.
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 private word, away from the village
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.