Forest Hill · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Counselling and therapy for Forest Hill
Living in Forest Hill and feeling that something needs talking through, even if you can't yet name it? I'm Bradley, a BACP-registered counsellor, and I see people individually from a single room in Hove, 80 minutes' drive south. So for SE23 the sensible default is secure video, which gives you me, a full session and no train to catch, all from your own front room, and a Hove visit whenever you'd like one.
The practical facts for Forest Hill
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Forest Hill by car
- About 80 minutes with clear roads (49.5 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Lewisham Talking Therapies, 020 3228 1350
- 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.
On a London hill between Honor Oak and Sydenham
Forest Hill sits on the South Circular, on what Lewisham Council calls one of the highest hills in London, with Honor Oak, Perry Vale, Crofton Park and Sydenham Hill around it.
Eight Windrush line trains an hour head north towards Highbury and Islington, and Southern runs to London Bridge and Victoria, so plenty of weekdays begin on a platform. In Forest Hill ward, two-thirds of residents are of working age and 63.1% live in flats. Thin walls and shared hallways can make it hard to find a private corner to think, let alone to talk. Then there are the Horniman Gardens, the pools on Dartmouth Road and the small nature reserves at Dacres Wood, Devonshire Road and Garthorne Road. A walk among those trees can steady you for an afternoon, though some weights need more than fresh air and a view across the city.
A first step for SE23 when the problem has no name yet
Counselling with me can begin with something specific, such as a relationship ending, pressure at work or a parent who now needs looking after. It can just as easily begin with a vaguer unease: sleeping badly, feeling flat on the Overground home, or noticing that the wine after work has crept up. In Forest Hill ward, 6.5% of residents aged five and over give unpaid care, and carers often put their own needs last for years before they ask for anything. Over the opening few sessions, we sketch the shape of what's weighing on you, notice the habits and circumstances feeding it, and settle on a focus. If a different service would fit you better, I'll say so and point you towards it. I bring over 25 years in practice and have been through recovery myself, so drinking, shame or anger can be spoken about here and I won't flinch. I work integratively, with Human Givens as one strand; the how I work page covers the other approaches.
Things a week in Forest Hill can pile up
Two lines, one tired evening
Southern into London Bridge or Victoria, the Windrush line north, and a long day that leaves little room to notice how you are actually doing.
Privacy in a flat
With 63.1% of Forest Hill ward living in flats, finding a closed door for a video hour may take planning, and we can choose a time that works around housemates or family.
Caring quietly for someone
If you're among the residents giving unpaid care, Carers Lewisham supports carers directly, and counselling gives you an hour that belongs to you rather than to them.
Money and housing pressure
Nearly half of households in Forest Hill ward, 46.8%, are deprived in at least one Census dimension, and strain over rent or work can sit beneath sleeplessness and short tempers.
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 Forest Hill
Private counselling can run alongside free help in Lewisham. Lewisham Talking Therapies, run by South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, accepts self-referral from adults whose worry or low mood has become hard to live with. Sydenham Garden offers therapeutic gardening and creative groups for adults, T4H - Therapy 4 Healing has its head office on Stanstead Road, and Carers Lewisham supports anyone looking after a relative.
- Free NHS talking therapyLewisham Talking Therapies020 3228 1350Free 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 itNew Direction drug and alcohol recovery service (Lewisham)020 8314 5566Run by Change Grow Live (CGL). Free and confidential.
- Local organisationLewisham Outreach Service (Together for Mental Wellbeing), Lewisham VCSE Cooperative
- Local organisationT4H - Therapy 4 HealingLow-cost or fee-paying.
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 Text Service (SLaM) is another option: WhatsApp 0303 330 1511 or text 80991.
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 Forest Hill ask before starting
Could I ever meet the counsellor in a room, travelling down from Forest Hill?
In-person sessions happen at Intergen House in Hove, about 80 minutes' drive from Forest Hill, or by train changing at London Bridge or Victoria. Because of that distance, our regular sessions would usually be by secure video from your home in SE23. Occasional Hove sessions can be booked if being in the room matters, and a longer 90 or 120-minute session can make the trip worthwhile.
How do I refer myself to Lewisham Talking Therapies from Forest Hill?
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust runs Lewisham Talking Therapies, which adults in the borough can use for free. You can refer yourself online or by ringing 020 3228 1350, without seeing a GP first, when anxiety or a persistently low mood is the thing you'd like help with. Waiting times vary, and it's fine to see me privately as well, while you wait or afterwards.
How quickly can video counselling start from Forest Hill?
It opens with a free 15-minute chat, on the phone or on video, whenever suits you. If we both want to continue, you choose from my genuinely free slots, with no referral and no waiting list. How quickly that happens depends on the hours you have free and the ones I can offer that week.
Will video counselling work if I share a flat in Forest Hill?
It can, with a little planning. Headphones help a great deal. You might book an hour when housemates are out, sit in a parked car, or take the call from a bedroom with the door shut. If home never feels private enough, tell me during the first conversation and we can think about times, or an occasional visit to the Hove room.
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 fifteen minutes from SE23
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.