Crowborough · in person in Hove or online
Counselling and therapy for Crowborough
Whether you're in Jarvis Brook, Whitehill or near Crowborough Cross, and whatever has been pressing on you lately, named or not, you can bring it to one-to-one counselling with me. As a BACP-registered counsellor, I see people in my room in Hove, a 45-minute drive south, or by secure video from home on the hill.
The practical facts for Crowborough
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Crowborough by car
- About 45 minutes with clear roads (29.2 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Health in Mind, 0300 0030 130
- 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.
Life at the top of the High Weald
Crowborough sits high on the edge of Ashdown Forest, and the wider Wealden district has one of the older populations in the South East.
That shapes what people bring to a counsellor here. Some are looking after a parent or partner with dementia and quietly running out of room for themselves. Some live alone after a separation or a death and find the evenings long. Others catch the train from Jarvis Brook towards London Bridge, about an hour each way, and get home with little left for the people they live with. Parents of teenagers at Beacon Academy may be worried about a child and not sure who to ask. A walk on Crowborough Common or through the Country Park can settle you for an afternoon, and the same thoughts can still be waiting when you get back in.
Starting before you can name what is wrong
Plenty of people get in touch without being able to say exactly what is wrong, and that is a perfectly good place to start. You might notice you sleep badly, snap at people you love, drink a little more than you used to, or feel flat in a way that won't lift. Our early sessions are about piecing together what is happening for you and what holds it there. In a town like Crowborough that often means looking at the practical shape of your week: a long commute up the Oxted line, caring for someone whose needs keep growing, or a household that has become smaller than it once was. Counselling with me is integrative, so the way we work follows what you bring, rather than a set programme. We go at a pace that suits you, and you decide what we talk about. My counselling practice spans more than 25 years, and my own recovery means I understand change from the inside as well. If your GP is already involved, for instance about sleep or medication, they can carry on with that side alongside our sessions, and how much of that you share with me is up to you.
Things people in Crowborough often carry alone
Caring for someone with dementia
Supporting a parent or partner as their memory changes can wear you thin. DISC and the RSM Time To Talk group help with the day-to-day, and your counselling hour belongs to you alone.
A quieter house than before
In Wealden, 16.0% of households in 2021 were one person aged 66 or over, against 12.8% across England. Living alone after a loss or a separation can bring its own heaviness.
The hour each way to London
Trains from Jarvis Brook to London Bridge take about an hour. When work and travel fill the day, worry and tiredness can spill into the little time left at home.
Worrying about a teenager
If your child is struggling, Clued-Up on The Broadway offers young people aged 11 to 25 free drop-in support, and you can use your own sessions to steady yourself.
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 Crowborough
Several free services within reach of Crowborough can work in tandem with our sessions. If anxiety or low mood weighs most, Health in Mind is the NHS Talking Therapies service you can contact yourself from Crowborough. Care for the Carers supports unpaid carers across the county, and Crowborough Connections Cafe meets at the Community Centre in Pine Grove on Friday afternoons. Clued-Up offers young people a free, confidential drop-in on The Broadway.
- Free NHS talking therapyHealth in Mind0300 0030 130Free 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 itSTAR Drug and Alcohol Service (East Sussex STAR)0300 303 8160Run by Change Grow Live. Free and confidential.
- Local organisationCoastal Routes Recovery
- Local organisationHospice in the Weald Counselling and Bereavement Support Service
- Local organisationDISC Dementia Support carers group (Crowborough)
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.
In this area you can also text SUSSEX to 85258.
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 Crowborough ask before starting
Is face-to-face counselling possible from Crowborough, or only online?
Both are possible. For in-person work you'd come down from the edge of Ashdown Forest to Intergen House in Hove, roughly 45 minutes by car. If you'd rather use public transport, the Regency 29 bus to central Brighton is the direct link, with a short onward trip to Hove. Some people come in person every week, some mix in-person and video, and some work entirely online from home.
Is there a waiting list for counselling if I'm in Crowborough?
How soon we begin depends on which session times I have free, and I'll tell you those honestly on the free 15-minute call. On that call we talk about what has brought you here and whether working together feels right. If you'd also like NHS support while you decide, you can refer yourself to Health in Mind on 0300 0030 130 for anxiety or low mood.
I look after my mum in Crowborough. Is counselling for carers too?
Very much so. Caring can bring guilt, grief and exhaustion all at once, and having somewhere to say that out loud can help. Video sessions mean you can talk from home without arranging cover for a long trip. Alongside our work, Care for the Carers supports carers across East Sussex, and the DISC carers group meets monthly at Oasis Community Church on Beacon Road.
Would I be seeing a counsellor who lives locally in Crowborough?
No, and some people from a close-knit town find that a relief. My room is in Hove, well away from the High Street and the school gate, and video sessions happen from wherever you choose at home. Everything you tell me is kept confidential, apart from the few standard professional exceptions I go through in our first session. If you want free local support too, the East Sussex mental health directory lists other options.
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 wherever you are in Crowborough
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.