Croydon · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Counselling and therapy for Croydon
If you live or work in Croydon and want a counsellor you've chosen yourself, I see people by secure video, and occasionally in person. My only room is in Hove, about 63 minutes' drive from Croydon, so regular sessions would usually be on video, with the odd visit to Hove if you want one.
The practical facts for Croydon
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Croydon by car
- About 63 minutes with clear roads (44.0 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- Direct trains from East Croydon to Brighton; change there for Hove, one stop.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Croydon NHS Talking Therapies, 0203 228 4040
- 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.
Working in one of London's biggest commercial centres
Croydon is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, and a lot of its working life happens in the town centre: offices around Ruskin Square, where the Home Office moved from Lunar House in 2024, shifts in the Whitgift Centre and Centrale, and the 24-hour A and E at Croydon University Hospital in Thornton Heath.
East Croydon is a national rail hub and the town is a Tramlink hub, so your day may start or end on a crowded platform or tram. It's an ethnically diverse borough, and you may be living with more than one set of expectations about family and about what it's acceptable to talk about. The Croydon Health and Wellbeing Space, run by Mind in Croydon and Croydon BME Forum, was set up partly to reach people that traditional services miss, including BME communities.
Privacy and shift patterns in a borough this size
You don't need the vocabulary of therapy to start. You might say you're anxious or low, or only that something has felt off for a while. If you grew up in a family where nobody talked about feelings, or where seeing a counsellor would have been kept very quiet, you can say that too. In a borough as large and as connected as Croydon, privacy may be part of what you weigh up. Working by video with someone based outside the borough means nobody you know locally sees you walk in, and nobody at work needs to know where you are for that hour. If you feel pulled between duty to family and what you want for yourself, we can look at that directly, without me deciding which side should win. If you work shifts at Croydon University Hospital or in the shops at Centrale and your pattern changes from week to week, tell me on the free call and we'll see what can fit. I have more than 25 years' experience and lived experience of recovery.
What you might bring from Croydon
Anxiety that runs the day
Racing thoughts before you leave the house, dread on a crowded platform at East Croydon or a packed tram at the Tramlink hub, or worry that follows you into the night.
Two sets of expectations
Family hopes on one side and work or study on the other. The Croydon Health and Wellbeing Space was set up for people traditional services miss, and you can bring it here too.
Low mood that won't lift
Flat, tired and not yourself for weeks. Croydon NHS Talking Therapies takes self-referrals for low mood, and private sessions are an option if you want a say in who you see.
Drinking or using to cope
When alcohol, cannabis or something else has become how you get through the evening. The Croydon Integrated Recovery Service can help, and you can be frank about it in our sessions.
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 Croydon
Mind in Croydon offers one-to-one counselling you can refer yourself to by phone, and the Croydon Health and Wellbeing Space on the first floor of the Whitgift Centre is a non-clinical community hub, run with Croydon BME Forum, for adults registered with a Croydon GP. Croydon Drop In offers free counselling and support for young people. Private work with me can sit alongside any of them.
- Free NHS talking therapyCroydon NHS Talking Therapies0203 228 4040Free 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 itCroydon Integrated Recovery Service (Drug and Alcohol Service - Croydon)0300 123 9288Run by Change Grow Live (CGL). Free and confidential.
- Local organisationMind in Croydon carers' services
- Local organisationCarers First Croydon
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 Croydon ask before starting
Is there free counselling in Croydon, and how soon could I start with you?
Croydon NHS Talking Therapies, run by South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, is free for anxiety and low mood and takes self-referrals on 0203 228 4040. Mind in Croydon, a local charity, runs one-to-one counselling you can refer yourself to by phone. With me there's no referral: on the free 15-minute call I'll tell you how soon I can offer a regular time, and if we go ahead we book it.
Can I get to your room from Croydon by train?
Yes. East Croydon has direct trains to Brighton, and you'd travel on from there to Hove, or it's about 63 minutes by car. Even so, weekly in-person sessions are a lot to fit around work, so from Croydon you'd most likely work with me by video and visit the Hove room occasionally.
Is there help in Croydon if I think I'm drinking too much?
Yes. Croydon's drug and alcohol service is the Croydon Integrated Recovery Service, which Change Grow Live provides; you can call it on 0300 123 9288, and family members and friends can get support there too. The service can assess what you need and arrange detox or a residential stay if that's right, while counselling with me runs before, alongside or after their support, and you won't be judged for anything you tell me.
Where can I go in Croydon in a crisis that isn't an emergency?
Croydon Council advises calling 111 and choosing the mental health option. The Recovery Space, run by Mind in Croydon in East Croydon, is a non-clinical alternative to A and E, reached through a referral from a GP or another clinical partner. You can also message the South London crisis service on WhatsApp 0303 330 1511 or text 80991. If you need help quickly, please use these, and our sessions can pick things up once you're steadier.
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 Croydon or anywhere
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.