Farnborough · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Counselling and therapy for Farnborough
If you're in Farnborough, Cove or North Camp and aren't yet sure whether counselling is what you need, a first conversation can help you decide. My only room is in Hove, about 85 minutes' drive away, so for Farnborough I work by secure video. You join from home, or anywhere private, for 60, 90 or 120 minutes, and nothing has to be named or settled before we begin.
The practical facts for Farnborough
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Farnborough by car
- About 85 minutes with clear roads (71.8 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- From Farnborough North, change at Gatwick Airport for trains towards Brighton and Hove.
- 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.
An aviation town, and work you can't always talk about
Farnborough is a Rushmoor town of about 60,652 people (2021 census), close to the Surrey border, and it is known for aviation, engineering and technology.
Farnborough Airport is the UK's largest business aviation airport, the Farnborough International Airshow comes round every other year, and QinetiQ, the defence technology company, has a major site at Cody Technology Park. If your job involves work you can't discuss at home, that can be one more thing to carry on your own. It is a commuter town as well, with three stations and South Western Railway trains from the main one to London Waterloo, and the Blackwater Valley ties it to Aldershot, Camberley, Yateley, Sandhurst and Frimley, so work, family and friends can end up spread across several towns. Students at The Sixth Form College and Farnborough College of Technology add their own calendar of deadlines and exams. You can be surrounded by colleagues and neighbours in Cove, Southwood or North Camp and still have nobody you'd want to tell how you're really doing.
Counselling when your work runs on discretion
If you work in aerospace or defence technology, at Cody Technology Park or around Farnborough Airport, you may be used to keeping your work in compartments, and that habit can spread to how you handle your own feelings. In sessions you decide how much detail to give, and we stay with how things are affecting you. You don't need a name for it before we talk, whether it is constant worry, grief, a relationship that has gone wrong or drinking that has become the main way to unwind. If you're comparing options, NHS Talking Therapies Hampshire is a free route, and you can contact it directly about anxiety or low mood. The Hart and Rushmoor Wellbeing Centre runs groups for residents of Hart and Rushmoor who register with it. Private work is for when you want to choose your counsellor and fit video sessions around shifts, a Waterloo commute or a course at Farnborough College of Technology. I'm a BACP-registered counsellor, in UKCP psychotherapy training as a student member, with more than 25 years' experience and lived experience of recovery. If anything we discuss needs medical input, I'll say so and encourage you to see your GP.
What a Farnborough week can leave you carrying
Work you can't take home
At an aerospace or defence employer such as QinetiQ at Cody Technology Park, confidentiality can mean carrying pressure alone. We can talk about its effect on you, the lost sleep and the short temper, without any of the detail.
Long days on the Waterloo line
Commuting from the main station to London Waterloo on South Western Railway can stretch the day until there's little left for sleep, family or yourself, and a session by video adds no extra travel.
Studying alongside everything else
Studying for a degree through University Centre Farnborough alongside a job or family can pile deadlines, money worries and doubt on top of each other, and it can help to untangle them out loud.
Unwinding with a drink
When one drink after work has become two or three, we can talk about why without a lecture, and Inclusion Recovery Hampshire, on 0300 124 0103, is the free county service if you want specialist help too.
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 Farnborough
Private counselling can sit alongside free support in North East Hampshire. NHS Talking Therapies Hampshire works with anxiety and low mood and needs no GP referral, and Andover Mind runs the Hart and Rushmoor Wellbeing Centre for local residents. The Aldershot Safe Haven at Walpole House is an evening and weekend crisis drop-in for adults. After a death by suicide, Cruse Bereavement Support runs a Support After Suicide Service covering Hampshire. If drinking is the worry, Inclusion Recovery Hampshire is the free county 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.
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. Locally, the Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Mental Health Crisis Helpline is on 0800 915 4644. Local drop-in crisis support: Aldershot Safe Haven (check opening times before you go).
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 Farnborough ask before starting
Can I see a counsellor in person in Farnborough?
Not with me, because my only room is in Hove, about 85 minutes' drive away. From Farnborough I work by secure video, which is usually easier to fit around a working week, and you won't run into anyone you know from the town on the way in or out. If you'd like to meet face to face at some point, a 120-minute session makes the drive worthwhile, though nothing about the work depends on it. We would begin with the free 15-minute call.
Is there free mental health support for Farnborough residents?
Yes. You can refer yourself to NHS Talking Therapies Hampshire on 023 8038 3920 for anxiety or low mood. If you live in Hart or Rushmoor, the Andover Mind Hart and Rushmoor Wellbeing Centre runs groups and sessions without a professional referral, though you need to register first, and its site is listed at 39 High Street, Aldershot. Caring for a relative as well? The Hampshire Carers Support Service, from The Princess Royal Trust for Carers in Hampshire, can help with that side.
Who can I call in Farnborough if things feel unbearable?
Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust runs a free 24/7 mental health crisis line for Surrey and North East Hampshire on 0800 915 4644. The Aldershot Safe Haven is a walk-in for adults on evenings and weekends. For text support at any hour, text HANTS to 85258. If you're at immediate risk, call 999 or go to A and E at Frimley Park Hospital on Portsmouth Road.
Can I have counselling from Farnborough if I can't talk about my job?
Yes. If parts of your work are confidential, we don't need the details. We can talk about how it affects you, the pressure, the lost sleep and the strain at home, without you saying anything you shouldn't. Describing it in general terms, such as long hours, secrecy or a culture of staying calm, gives us plenty to work with. What you do share stays confidential within the usual professional limits, which I'll explain at the start.
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.
See whether video counselling fits
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.