Fareham · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Counselling and therapy for Fareham
For anyone in Fareham, Portchester, Titchfield or Whiteley looking for a therapist, I work from one room in Hove and by secure video. Most weeks that means talking on screen, and because Fareham has direct trains to Brighton, the city Hove is part of, meeting in person every so often is possible too. You don't need a clear reason or a referral to get in touch.
The practical facts for Fareham
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Fareham by car
- About 68 minutes with clear roads (50.0 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- Direct trains from Fareham towards Brighton call at Hove on the way.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- NHS Talking Therapies Hampshire, 023 8038 3920
- 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.
Between two cities, at the top of the harbour
Fareham sits at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, with Portsmouth on one side and Southampton on the other, so you might work in one city, shop in the other and come home to somewhere in between.
Whiteley, which straddles the Fareham and Winchester boundaries, is home to Solent Business Park. HMS Collingwood, the largest naval training organisation in Western Europe, is in Fareham too. To the north of the M27 a new town called Welborne is planned, with 6,000 homes. Hampshire's 2022/23 wellbeing survey put 26.3% of adults at a high anxiety score, similar to the England figure of 23.8%, and that describes the county rather than you. If you've arrived in Funtley, Catisfield or Whiteley for a posting or a job, or you're watching the town change around you, it can take a while to feel settled. A change you chose can still unsettle you, and when nothing looks wrong from the outside it's easy to carry on alone for longer than you need to.
Fitting counselling around Collingwood, Whiteley and the M27
If your days are shaped by training at HMS Collingwood, an office at Solent Business Park in Whiteley, or a drive towards Portsmouth or Southampton, a weekly hour has to fit a narrow gap. Video lets you take it from home in Portchester, Titchfield or Sarisbury without adding a trip along the M27, and an evening slot can work around shift patterns and course timetables. If you're in the Navy or your partner is, I sit outside the chain of command, and what you say doesn't go back to the base, within the usual limits around serious risk of harm. Anchoring Minds offers mental health support to Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel and their families if you'd like that as well. The free Solent Mind Fareham and Gosport Wellbeing Service offers groups and emotional support. Private counselling with me means you choose who you see and keep the same person for as long as it helps. You can bring anxiety in the mornings, flatness in the evenings, anger that surprises you, a relationship that has gone quiet, a death, or drinking that has crept up. In the first session we talk about what is happening now and what you'd like to change, at a pace that suits you. I bring more than 25 years' experience and lived experience of recovery, working in an integrative way that the how-I-work page describes.
Things you might bring from Fareham
Starting over somewhere new
A move, a new posting at HMS Collingwood or a new job at Solent Business Park in Whiteley, and the odd sense of not quite having landed yet, even months later.
Two cities and one tired commuter
Working in Portsmouth or Southampton, living in between and spending the edges of each day on the road, with little time left to notice how you are.
Grief that hasn't settled
A death that still sits heavily, months on. If you were bereaved by suicide, Cruse Bereavement Support also runs a free Support After Suicide Service across Southampton, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth.
Using drink to switch off
When the evening drink has become the only way to stop thinking, we can look at why without judgement, and Inclusion Recovery Hampshire is there too, on 0300 124 0103.
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 Fareham
Free support around Fareham can run alongside private sessions. The Solent Mind Fareham and Gosport Wellbeing Service offers groups, workshops and one-to-one emotional support. Anchoring Minds supports naval personnel and their families, and Cruse Bereavement Support runs a Support After Suicide Service for people bereaved that way. For drink or drugs, contact Inclusion Recovery Hampshire, and Parent Support Link (PSL) helps families. If you need to talk to someone tonight, you can text HANTS to 85258 for the Shout 24/7 text service.
- Free NHS talking therapyNHS Talking Therapies Hampshire023 8038 3920Free 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 itInclusion Recovery Hampshire0300 124 0103Free and confidential.
- Local organisationThe Princess Royal Trust for Carers in Hampshire (Hampshire Carers Support Service)
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.
In this area you can also text HANTS 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 Fareham ask before starting
Can I get the train from Fareham to your counselling room?
Yes, though it's a long trip. Fareham has direct trains to Brighton, and Hove, where my room is on Western Road in Intergen House, sits right next to Brighton. By car it's about 68 minutes. Because that's a lot of travel for every week, I'd suggest video for regular sessions and the train for an occasional session in person. From Portchester, Titchfield or Whiteley, getting to Fareham station first adds to the trip.
Is free counselling available in Fareham on the NHS?
If anxiety or low mood is the main difficulty, NHS Talking Therapies Hampshire accepts self-referrals on 023 8038 3920. If the worry is alcohol or drugs, Inclusion Recovery Hampshire is the free local service, on 0300 124 0103. Both are free. Seeing me is a separate, paid route, and you can use it instead of either service or as well as one. Solent Mind's Fareham and Gosport Wellbeing Service is free as well, for groups and one-to-one emotional support.
I'm moving to Fareham soon, perhaps for HMS Collingwood. Can I start counselling before I arrive?
Yes. Because we'd mostly meet by secure video, you can begin wherever you are now and carry on once you've settled in Fareham, without changing counsellor in the middle of a move. If the move itself is part of what's weighing on you, whether it's a posting, a job or a new home, we can talk about that too. If you're coming to HMS Collingwood for training, video also keeps sessions apart from the base.
How quickly can I start counselling from Fareham?
The first step is getting in touch for the free 15-minute call, where I can tell you when I have a regular space. We talk briefly about what's going on and whether my way of working suits you. If it does, we agree a time for sessions, by video or now and then in Hove, and you're under no pressure to book on the call itself.
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.
Start with a short call from Fareham
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.