Eltham · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Counselling and therapy for Eltham
It may be that life in Eltham has weighed on you for some time, and only now are you looking for a therapist. You can talk to me one to one without leaving SE9. With my one counselling room 77 minutes' drive away in Hove, Eltham sessions normally run on secure video, and a Hove visit is yours to request.
The practical facts for Eltham
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Eltham by car
- About 77 minutes with clear roads (62.4 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- From Eltham, change at London Victoria for trains towards Brighton and Hove.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Greenwich Time to Talk, 020 3260 1100
- 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.
Parkland on every side and a crowded line to town
Eltham gives you more green space than most of London.
There is Avery Hill Park with its Winter Garden, the old flowerbeds of Well Hall Pleasaunce, and Oxleas Wood rising towards Severndroog Castle to the north. Yet the Underground never reached SE9, so working days start on one of two suburban rail lines into central London, both running at or above capacity at the peak. A morning squeezed onto the Bexleyheath line from Eltham station, or the Dartford loop from New Eltham or Mottingham, can leave you spent before work begins. Others here are students at the Avery Hill Campus of the University of Greenwich, or people bringing up a family on Horn Park or the Progress Estate. A quiet suburban street can hide a lot. You may be the one who keeps everyone else going, and only notice how worn down you feel when the house finally goes quiet after ten.
When you are not sure what to call it yet
Most people who first make contact cannot sum up the problem in a sentence, and that is fine. It might be a short temper that seems new, nights spent replaying conversations, a loss that still catches you off guard, a marriage that has gone flat, or a habit of opening a bottle earlier than you used to. In our first sessions you tell me what an ordinary week in Eltham is like and where it hurts, and we sort out which threads matter most. If the commute is grinding you down, we can look at what it takes from you and what might give. If you study at Avery Hill and feel adrift among people who seem to be coping, we can talk about that. If you care for someone at home, your own needs get a full hour for once. Twenty-five years and more of counselling, plus my own recovery, mean drinking, shame and family history are all things you can name here. My approach is integrative, drawing on Internal Family Systems among other methods. Your GP handles any medication questions and can stay involved while we meet.
Starting points that come from Eltham life
Standing room only to London
With no Underground in SE9, the morning means a packed Southeastern train, and the strain of that trip twice a day can quietly shape your mood and your sleep.
First years at Avery Hill
Living in halls on the University of Greenwich Avery Hill Campus, far from home, can feel isolating even with a full timetable and a busy corridor.
Holding a family together
Caring for a parent, partner or child can push your own feelings aside for years. Greenwich Carers Centre supports carers across the borough, and our sessions can sit beside that.
A new baby in the house
If pregnancy or early parenthood has left you low, the Quaggy service runs low-cost Perinatal Counselling at Vista Field Children's Centre, six weeks long, for parents and partners.
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 Eltham
Free and low-cost help in the borough can work alongside private sessions. Greenwich Time to Talk is the NHS Talking Therapies service from Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, with its therapists based at Wensley Close in Eltham, for anxiety or low mood. South East London Mind (Greenwich services) and Live Well Greenwich offer community support. Where drink or drugs are the worry, Via Greenwich is the local service, including help for family and friends.
- Free NHS talking therapyGreenwich Time to Talk020 3260 1100Free 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 itVia Greenwich0300 303 4552Free and confidential.
- Local organisationGreenwich Carers Centre
- Local organisationCruse Bereavement Support - GreenwichBereavement support.
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 WhatsApp Service is another option: WhatsApp 0303 330 1511.
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 Eltham ask before starting
Would sessions in a real room be possible from Eltham or Mottingham?
In person means Hove, roughly 77 minutes by car from Eltham, or two trains linked at London Victoria. Weekly work on secure video from home is much gentler on your diary, with nothing lost in who you see or when. If you would value sitting in a room together, a longer session in Hove can be arranged now and then.
Can I refer myself to Greenwich Time to Talk from Eltham?
Yes. It is the borough's free NHS Talking Therapies service, run by Oxleas, and its therapists are based at Wensley Close in Eltham. You can self-refer through its online form or by phone on 020 3260 1100 between 8am and 5pm, if anxiety or depression is the main concern. Private counselling with me can run before, after or alongside it.
From SE9, what is the wait to begin counselling?
Book the free 15-minute consultation whenever you feel ready. You describe briefly what has been going on and ask anything you like. If we both want to continue, I offer you the regular times I actually have open, so you can fit sessions around the Southeastern timetable or the school run, and we settle on a first appointment.
I commute from Eltham and get home late. Can video sessions still work for me?
They can. Because we meet on screen, nothing depends on catching a particular train back from Victoria. An early evening hour once you are home is common, and some people use a lunch break in a quiet room at work. All you need is privacy, a steady connection and somewhere you can speak freely.
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 without leaving Eltham
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.