Dulwich · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Counselling and therapy for Dulwich
If you live in Dulwich and want to talk to someone, perhaps about worry, a hard stretch at home, a loss or a feeling that's hard to put into words, I'm a BACP-registered counsellor offering one-to-one sessions. From south London, secure video is the usual way we'd meet, and my room in Hove is there for the occasional visit.
The practical facts for Dulwich
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Dulwich by car
- About 76 minutes with clear roads (48.4 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- From North Dulwich / East Dulwich, change at East Croydon for trains towards Brighton and Hove.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Talking Therapies Southwark, 020 3228 2194
- 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.
Behind the green spaces and the school gates
From the outside, Dulwich can look like a place where life is settled.
There are the woods at Sydenham Hill, the lawns of Dulwich Park and a village centre shaped for four centuries by Edward Alleyn's foundation. Southwark's own ward profiles put the south of the borough at its lowest levels of deprivation. That picture can make it harder to admit you're struggling. The area is unusually full of young families, with the borough's highest fertility rate in Dulwich Village, so plenty of adults here are running a household on broken sleep while keeping up appearances on the school run. Others have been here for decades: South Southwark has more people over 60 than the borough as a whole, and a quieter house after children leave or a partner dies can sit heavily. The same profiles also note that Dulwich Wood and Champion Hill face more disadvantage than the Village, so these streets hold more than one kind of life.
Starting therapy when you're not sure what's wrong
You can come with nothing more than a sense that something is off. A first conversation is a chance to say it out loud, without having to explain it neatly or justify needing it. In a place that looks comfortable, people sometimes tell themselves their problems are too small, or that with good schools, a park nearby and a decent house they ought to be fine. Counselling has room for exactly that feeling. Some of the work is about what's happening now: tiredness with small children, pressure around exams and school choices, a marriage that has drifted, or caring for an ageing parent. Some is about older patterns that keep coming back. I work integratively, so if a particular part of you keeps pulling one way while the rest of you wants another, Internal Family Systems gives us a gentle way to listen to it. My own recovery taught me what reaching out costs, and more than 25 years of practice since has kept that lesson close. We go at your pace, and you decide what we talk about.
Pressures that Dulwich life can bring into the room
Young children and little sleep
With more young children here than anywhere else in Southwark, the early years can be lonely and draining, even with friendly neighbours and Dulwich Park on the doorstep.
School pressure in the household
With Dulwich College, Alleyn's, James Allen's Girls' School, Kingsdale and the Charter Schools close by, school choices and exams can put strain on parents as well as children.
A quieter house in later life
South Southwark has a higher share of residents over 60, and retirement, living alone or a partner's illness can bring a loneliness that is hard to name.
Caring for a relative at home
Unpaid carers in Southwark can find online help through Mobilise, while a weekly session keeps one hour of your week for your own thoughts.
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 Dulwich
Alongside private sessions, Dulwich has free support close to home. You can refer yourself to Talking Therapies Southwark for anxiety or low mood. South East London Mind runs the Southwark Wellbeing Hub, and Link Age Southwark, which began as Dulwich Helpline, offers befriending and groups to residents over 60. If things feel unsafe, the SLaM crisis text service is open to you.
- Free NHS talking therapyTalking Therapies Southwark020 3228 2194Free 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 itCGL Southwark020 3404 7699Run by Change Grow Live (CGL). Free and confidential.
- Local organisationSouthwark Recovery Support Service (RSS)
- Local organisationMobiliseSupport for carers.
- Local organisationSouth East London Suicide Bereavement Service (SLaM with South East London Mind)
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 Dulwich ask before starting
Living in Dulwich, could I ever meet you in person?
Yes, at the room in Hove, roughly 76 minutes' drive away, or by rail via East Croydon or London Victoria. Because the round trip outweighs a single weekly hour, Dulwich sessions work best on secure video, saving the Hove room for a first meeting or an extended session. Video and in-person sessions can be combined as it suits you.
Is there a free counselling service in Southwark I can contact myself?
Yes. Talking Therapies Southwark, which South London and Maudsley runs for the NHS, takes calls from Dulwich residents about anxiety or low mood on 020 3228 2194, so there's no need to see your GP first. South East London Mind's Southwark Wellbeing Hub is another free place to start, and private counselling can sit alongside either while you wait or afterwards.
If I'm in Dulwich, how quickly can I begin?
Begin with the free 15-minute call, which gives you a chance to sketch what's troubling you and put any questions to me. If we both feel it fits, I'll offer the session times I currently have and you choose one. Working by video from Dulwich means there's no travel to plan around, which often makes starting quicker.
Everything looks fine from the outside. Is counselling still for me?
Yes. A comfortable house, a good school or a leafy street says nothing about how you feel at three in the morning. People come to counselling for unhappiness they can't explain, for strain they're hiding from friends, or because they're tired of coping alone. You don't need a crisis or a label to deserve an hour to think things through.
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.
Talk it over first, wherever in Dulwich you are
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.