East Grinstead · in person in Hove or online
Counselling and therapy for East Grinstead
This is for adults in East Grinstead, Felbridge and Ashurst Wood who want to talk to someone and would rather it wasn't a familiar face. I see people one to one, either by secure video or face to face in the single room I use, at Intergen House in Hove. Felbridge lies over the border in Surrey, but the same choice applies there. Everything begins with a free 15-minute phone call.
The practical facts for East Grinstead
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From East Grinstead by car
- About 44 minutes with clear roads (28.4 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- From East Grinstead, change at East Croydon for trains towards Brighton and Hove.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- NHS West Sussex Talking Therapies – North Team, 01403 620434
- 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 town known for not staring
East Grinstead earned the name 'the town that did not stare' during the war, when the town welcomed the disfigured servicemen Sir Archibald McIndoe was treating for burns at Queen Victoria Hospital.
The hospital is still here, an NHS specialist centre for reconstruction, burns and sleep that also looks after local people day to day. That history may mean something to you if part of what you carry is a fear of being looked at or judged, over a face or body that has changed, or over something you haven't told anyone. Ordinary life pulls in several directions here too, from Herontye and Baldwins to the Stone Quarry estate. The railway runs north through Oxted to East Croydon and Victoria, Crawley and Gatwick are about 10 miles away by road and London about 30, so if you work in any of those places, much of your day happens away from home. You can look settled from the outside, with weekends on the Forest Way or in Ashdown Forest, and still feel that nobody really knows how you are.
Talking about what you'd rather nobody noticed
What you bring doesn't have to be neat. It might be anxiety that tightens before every meeting, a low mood that has outstayed its welcome, grief, a relationship going quiet, or a sense that the way you drink has started to steer the week. You can bring it in whatever words you have. A 2022/23 survey found high anxiety scores among 24.5% of West Sussex adults, close to and not significantly different from England's 23.8%, yet a county survey can't tell you how your own week feels. In East Grinstead, what you bring may be tied to Queen Victoria Hospital: living with the after-effects of reconstruction or burns treatment, or working there and taking home other people's distress. It may be about distance. With London about 30 miles one way and Crawley and Gatwick about 10 miles the other, a commute can take the best hours of the day. Or you may simply want to talk to someone outside local life, which makes sense in a town where the gate at Imberhorne School or Sackville School and the High Street on a Saturday are full of people who know you. I bring more than 25 years' experience and a recovery I've lived through myself, and we agree together how to work. Counselling can sit alongside any care from your GP or hospital team.
Some things worth saying out loud
Living with a changed body
After surgery, burns or reconstruction at Queen Victoria Hospital, feelings about what happened, and about being seen, can stay raw long after the wounds have healed, even in a town that did not stare.
The commute that never stops
Early trains via Oxted to East Croydon or Victoria, late drives back from Crawley or Gatwick, and a mind that keeps working long after you've shut the front door in Imberhorne or Herontye.
Nights you can't settle
Lying awake in Ashplats or Baldwins replaying the day. Queen Victoria Hospital in the town is a specialist sleep centre, and ongoing sleep trouble is worth raising with your GP as well as with me.
A drink that became a routine
A habit that began as a way to wind down and now feels harder to skip. Mid Sussex Wellbeing, run with Mid Sussex District Council, offers free Alcohol Reduction Service coaching, which you can use alongside counselling.
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 East Grinstead
Paying for sessions with me is one option among several. NHS West Sussex Talking Therapies, through its North Team, takes self-referrals for anxiety and low mood. Arise Counselling Service offers affordable counselling on Charlwoods Road, and Mid Sussex Wellbeing is a free council service. Carers Support West Sussex helps if a relative's drinking affects you, as does West Sussex Wellbeing's support for family and friends, and Change Grow Live runs West Sussex Drug and Alcohol Wellbeing Network (DAWN) for drink or drugs.
- Free NHS talking therapyNHS West Sussex Talking Therapies – North Team01403 620434Free 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 itWest Sussex Drug & Alcohol Wellbeing Network (DAWN)0330 128 1113Run by Change Grow Live. Free and confidential.
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 East Grinstead ask before starting
Is there a counsellor I can see face to face in East Grinstead or Felbridge?
Not with me in the town itself, because my only room is in Hove. If sitting in the same room matters to you, the drive is about 44 minutes each way, which you might manage every week or prefer to make now and then. Those 44 minutes assume clear roads, so a Friday afternoon may take longer. Otherwise we can meet by secure video, from home or anywhere private you can talk freely.
Is the charity Arise Counselling Service an alternative for me in East Grinstead?
It can be. Arise Counselling Service is a registered charity at the Jubilee Community Centre on Charlwoods Road, offering affordable counselling in person, online and by phone, for teenagers from 13, adults and couples. It says it does not take clients with severe addictions. If cost is your main concern, contact them, and for anxiety and low mood the NHS route is a self-referral to NHS West Sussex Talking Therapies, whose North Team covers East Grinstead, on 01403 620434.
How soon could I start counselling if I commute from East Grinstead?
Book the free 15-minute call first, and I'll tell you honestly which regular times I have and how soon we could begin. If you commute to London or Crawley, secure video can fit around the trains or a lunch hour in a private room. If you'd rather meet in Hove, we can plan around the change at East Croydon or the 44-minute drive, and pick a time that avoids the worst of the traffic.
I was treated at Queen Victoria Hospital and still feel shaken. Is that something to bring?
Yes. Recovering from surgery, burns or reconstruction is physical, and how you feel about what happened, about how you look now or about how people react may take longer to settle. Counselling gives that a private place, while anything about your treatment itself stays with the QVH team. If you work at QVH, what you take home from the wards is a fair thing to bring too, and nothing you say reaches your colleagues.
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 private first conversation, at your own pace
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.