Haslemere · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Counselling and therapy for Haslemere
Perhaps you're in Haslemere, Hindhead or Shottermill with a sense that talking would help, though you can't yet say what about, and that is a fine place to begin. With Hove about 65 minutes' drive from the Surrey Hills, I usually see Haslemere clients one to one over secure video, and my registration is with the BACP. Occasional in-person sessions there are possible too.
The practical facts for Haslemere
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Haslemere by car
- About 65 minutes with clear roads (38.8 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- From Haslemere, change at Havant for trains towards Brighton and Hove.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Mind Matters Surrey, 0300 330 5450
- 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.
A small town on the edge of three counties
Haslemere is a town of 17,279 people, counting Shottermill, Grayswood, Hindhead and Beacon Hill, set in the Surrey Hills where Surrey meets Hampshire and West Sussex.
Four trains an hour leave for Waterloo, and a lot of working life here runs on that line: early departures, late returns and a week spent mostly somewhere else. Weekends can feel quiet by comparison, and in a market town this size you may see the same faces on the High Street, at Haslemere Hall or on the school run at The Royal School or St Ives School. That familiarity is part of the town's warmth, yet it can make owning up to a hard patch in front of a Haslemere neighbour feel exposing, so the outward picture stays neat while something deeper goes unsaid for months.
Starting therapy when you can't name the problem yet
You may be getting in touch with no clear label for what's wrong. Perhaps sleep has gone, or you snap at people you love, or a loss, an illness or a change at work has left you flatter than you expected. You can arrive with exactly that, and the first sessions are about understanding it together, at your pace. From Haslemere the work usually happens on video, which has a practical side worth saying out loud: you choose the room, you skip the drive, and nobody in town sees you walk into a counsellor's door. If you commute, an evening or early slot can sit around the Waterloo trains. You might be coming because of what you carry for others, caring for a parent in Grayswood or a child who is finding school hard, and need an hour where the attention is on you. Or something older may be surfacing. I draw on the Rewind Technique among other approaches, and we choose what fits you rather than working through a set programme. I've done this for more than 25 years, with my own recovery in the background.
Things people in Haslemere often bring to a first session
Living half your week elsewhere
When the Waterloo line takes your mornings and evenings, home can start to feel like somewhere you only sleep, and the strain shows up with the people waiting there.
Caring for someone close by
In Grayswood or Hindhead, years spent caring for someone close, a partner, parent or child, can wear you down. Action for Carers runs a drop-in office in Haslemere, and counselling can give the carer an hour of their own.
Worry about money or housing
Debt, benefits or a housing problem can sit behind low mood for months. Citizens Advice South West Surrey has a drop-in office in Haslemere for the practical side.
Known by name on the High Street
In a town where people know each other, video sessions from home let you talk freely without anyone noticing where you're going or why.
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 Haslemere
Haslemere has low-cost counselling close to home to weigh alongside private sessions. The 'Talk to Me' Counselling Service at the Haslewey Community Centre offers adults sessions with BACP-member counsellors for a modest suggested contribution. Crossways Counselling Service sees individuals, couples and young people aged 11 to 18 whose household income is lower, while anxiety or low mood can go to Mind Matters Surrey, which runs NHS Talking Therapies for Haslemere and beyond.
- Free NHS talking therapyMind Matters Surrey0300 330 5450Free 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 iti-access0300 222 5932Free and confidential.
- Local organisationAction for Carers Surrey
- Local organisationCommunity Mental Health Recovery Service (CMHRS) Waverley: Haslemere clinicNHS community mental health clinic for adults.
- Local organisation'Talk to Me' Counselling Service, Haslewey Community Centre
- Local organisationHaslemere Bereavement CafeFree monthly drop-in peer bereavement group.
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 Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS FT Mental Health Crisis Helpline is on 0800 915 4644.
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 Haslemere ask before starting
Can I get counselling in person in Haslemere?
My one room is in Hove, about 65 minutes' drive away, so from Haslemere our sessions would normally run over secure video, with a trip to Hove only occasionally, if at all. For face-to-face sessions in the town itself, the 'Talk to Me' service at the Haslewey Community Centre on Lion Green sees adults there on Wednesday and Thursday mornings.
Is there free NHS counselling for Haslemere residents?
Yes. Surrey and Borders Partnership runs Mind Matters Surrey, which brings NHS Talking Therapies to Haslemere and the rest of Surrey, and someone troubled by anxiety or low mood may ring 0300 330 5450 to self-refer, with no GP appointment needed beforehand. If you're registered at Haslemere Health Centre on Church Lane, your GP there can also talk through other options with you.
From Haslemere, how quickly could sessions begin?
We'd begin with a free 15-minute phone call, a chance to sketch out what has brought you here from Haslemere and to put any questions to me first. Should it feel right to us both, I'll send over the slots I have open, perhaps around your Waterloo commute, and you choose the one that works. From Haslemere we'd then normally begin on video, so there's no travel to arrange.
I live near Haslemere but on the West Sussex side. Does that matter?
For private counselling with me it makes no difference, because video works the same from Camelsdale, Fernhurst or Hammer as it does from Hindhead or Wey Hill. It can matter for free NHS services, which depend on where you live and which GP you're registered with, so check with your surgery if you're near the border.
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 from Haslemere, at your own pace
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.