Faversham · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Counselling and therapy for Faversham
Perhaps life between the Guildhall market and the creek has grown heavy lately, and you want to talk it over with someone from outside the town; you can start here before you have a name for it. I work one to one as a BACP-registered counsellor. My one room is in Hove, 99 minutes from Faversham by car, so ME13 clients mostly see me on screen and travel down only when they choose.
The practical facts for Faversham
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Faversham by car
- About 99 minutes with clear roads (83.0 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- NHS Talking Therapies Kent and Medway, 0333 091 0414
- 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.
Market days, a 1698 brewery and a creek to the Swale
Faversham holds the oldest street market in Kent, and on market days around the Guildhall it can seem as though everybody knows everybody.
That closeness has two sides. It can be a comfort, and it can also make it awkward to let anyone see you struggling when the person on the stall or the next table might be a neighbour. The town council's age-friendly action plan notes an above-average number of residents aged 50 and over and mostly one- or two-person households, and it names isolation as something to tackle. Some people here live alone after a partner has died or the children have left. Others ride Southeastern into London Victoria or St Pancras and come home along the Chatham Main Line too tired to talk. And in a town where Shepherd Neame has brewed since 1698, it can take a while to notice when an evening drink has started doing more work than it used to.
A first step when you can't yet name it
A lot of people get in touch with only a rough sense that something is off. Sleep has gone, or patience, or the pleasure you used to take in a walk along the creek out towards Oare. Perhaps a parent in Upper Brents or St Ann's needs more care than you can give, a marriage has gone quiet, or a loss from years ago has come back without warning. Any of that is enough to start with. Over the opening weeks we untangle what is bearing down on you and what holds it there, then choose together where to aim the work. If something other than one-to-one counselling would suit you better, I'll say so plainly and point you towards it. I work in an integrative way, which the how I work page explains, and behind it sit over 25 years of counselling work and a recovery of my own. Whatever brought you here, it doesn't have to be dramatic or tidy to deserve an hour of careful attention each week, and you can take your time explaining it.
What a week in this market town can leave on you
Known by name in town
Market stalls, the Guildhall and the school gate, where being recognised everywhere can make it harder to say out loud that you're not coping.
Two trains an hour to London
Southeastern services to Victoria or St Pancras that stretch the working day at both ends and leave little of the evening for yourself.
Living alone at fifty plus
The town has more residents aged 50 and over than average, and a quiet house after a bereavement or a move can grow heavier than expected.
A drink woven into the town
With Shepherd Neame in the middle of Faversham, drinking is part of local life, which can make a changing habit easy to overlook.
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 Faversham
Private sessions can run alongside free help here. When worry or a heavy mood is the main strain, NHS Talking Therapies Kent and Medway, run by Vita Health Group with With You, accepts self-referrals with no GP letter. In town, Faversham Umbrella runs a pay-it-forward community cafe on Court Street, and Abbey Physic Community Garden on Abbey Place offers a therapeutic garden that won a 2026 Kent wellbeing award. Mid Kent Mind and Live Well Kent and Medway add wider support.
- Free NHS talking therapyNHS Talking Therapies Kent and Medway0333 091 0414Free 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 itEast Kent community drug and alcohol service (The Forward Trust)0300 123 1186Free and confidential.
- Local organisationImago - Kent Carers Support (West Kent adult carers 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.
Locally, the Release the Pressure Helpline - Kent is on 0800 107 0160.
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 Faversham ask before starting
Is it possible to meet face to face when home is Faversham?
The only counselling room I use is in Hove, 99 minutes' drive from Faversham or a rail trip that means changing trains in London. Meeting every week in person would cost you most of a day, so sessions from Faversham usually happen by secure video. Should you want to sit across from me now and then, an occasional session in Hove can be arranged.
Would I have to wait long to start counselling from Faversham?
It begins with a short free call by phone or video. If we agree to continue after that call, I list the hours I can genuinely offer each week and you take the one that suits, with no waiting list involved. Faversham residents can ring NHS Talking Therapies Kent and Medway themselves on 0333 091 0414 about anxiety or a persistent dip in mood.
Where can I go in Faversham if I just need company and a cup of tea?
Faversham Umbrella opens its community hub and cafe in the Umbrella Building on Court Street from Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 3pm, and nobody has to pay to come in. Abbey Physic Community Garden on Abbey Place welcomes members who refer themselves. Either can sit comfortably alongside counselling.
Who can I ring in Kent tonight if things feel too much?
Across Kent, Rethink Mental Illness runs Release the Pressure, a free line on 0800 107 0160, while Samaritans can be reached day or night on 116 123. Should anyone's life be at risk right now, dial 999 without waiting. Faversham Cottage Hospital on Stone Street runs an urgent treatment centre, and further Kent contacts sit in this page's urgent help box.
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.
Begin with a short call from Faversham
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.