Heathfield · in person in Hove or online
Counselling and therapy for Heathfield
If you live in Heathfield or a nearby village and life has started to feel heavier than it should, a first conversation with a counsellor can help you sort out what you need. I'm registered with BACP and work from a room in Hove, 43 minutes' drive away, or by secure video from your home in the High Weald.
The practical facts for Heathfield
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Heathfield by car
- About 43 minutes with clear roads (26.8 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Health in Mind, 0300 0030 130
- 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 market town where familiar faces are everywhere
Heathfield is a market town of 7,667 people at the 2021 Census, set where the A267 meets the A265, with the High Weald all around it.
Life spreads out across the parish, into Old Heathfield, Waldron, Broad Oak, Cade Street and Little London. In a place this size, the GP receptionist, the person behind you at the High Street shop and the parent at the Community College gate can all be people you know. That closeness can be a comfort, and it can also make it hard to say out loud that you're struggling. A walk along the Cuckoo Trail can clear your head for an hour, and the same thoughts may be waiting when you get back. Talking to someone who sits outside the town's web of connections can feel easier to begin with.
No label needed before you get in touch from Heathfield
You may not yet be able to put a name to what's happening. It might be sleep that has gone, a temper that flares more than it used to, a loss that hasn't settled, or a sense that the days have gone flat. You don't need a label before we speak. Early on we look at what's been happening, what seems to keep it in place, and what you'd want your weeks to feel like instead, at a pace you set. Wealden is one of the older districts in the South East, and what weighs on you might be retirement, a partner's illness, or living alone for the first time in decades. Or you may be younger, juggling work, children or caring for a parent across the parish. I mix methods such as Internal Family Systems to suit what you bring from Heathfield, rather than following a set script. I've practised for over 25 years, and I bring my own experience of recovery to how I listen. If drinking has crept into how you cope, we can talk about that too, without judgement.
What people around Heathfield often bring
Living alone in later life
In 2021, 16.0% of Wealden households were one person aged 66 or over, against 12.8% across England. Quiet weeks can bring old thoughts to the surface.
Raising a grandchild or a relative's child
Kinship caring can be loving and exhausting at once. The Heathfield Kinship Support Group meets at the Union Church on the second Friday of each month.
Men who would rather not talk
If opening up doesn't come easily, the Mankind group meets on Thursday evenings in the High Street, and private sessions can sit alongside it.
Caring for someone in the parish
Looking after a partner or parent leaves little room for your own feelings. Care for the Carers helps with the practical side across East Sussex, and our sessions can look at the toll the caring takes on you.
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 Heathfield
There is free help close to Heathfield as well as private counselling. If worry or a lowered mood is the main thing, you can contact Health in Mind yourself, as it provides NHS Talking Therapies across Wealden and the rest of East Sussex. Mankind runs a free weekly peer-support group for men at the Union Church, and the Heathfield Youth Hub on the High Street welcomes young people. Mind in Brighton and Hove also runs East Sussex services.
- Free NHS talking therapyHealth in Mind0300 0030 130Free 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 itSTAR Drug and Alcohol Service (East Sussex STAR)0300 303 8160Run by Change Grow Live. Free and confidential.
- Local organisationCoastal Routes Recovery
- Local organisationCare for the Carers
- Local organisationHeathfield Kinship Support 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.
In this area you can also text SUSSEX 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 Heathfield ask before starting
Is there anywhere I can have counselling in person from Heathfield?
Yes, at my room on Western Road in Hove, which is about 43 minutes' drive from Heathfield. Without a train from the town, the public transport route is the Regency 29A bus from St Catherine's Court or the High Street, through Uckfield and Lewes to Brighton, a long ride for one session. Mixing secure video at home with an occasional visit in person is a pattern that suits the distance.
Is there free NHS counselling near Heathfield?
Health in Mind provides NHS Talking Therapies across East Sussex, delivered by Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, and it supports adults with anxiety and low mood. You can refer yourself without seeing your GP, on 0300 0030 130 or through its website, and private sessions can run alongside or after it.
Living near Heathfield, how soon could counselling begin?
We'd begin with a free 15-minute consultation, a short conversation in which you can sketch what has been happening in Heathfield or your village and put any questions to me first. Should you want to carry on afterwards, I'll share the session times I have open and you choose whichever sits best in your week.
I'm worried someone in Heathfield will find out I'm having therapy. Is it private?
Sessions are confidential, and you won't be sitting in a waiting room in Heathfield where a neighbour might see you. Video means you can talk from home in the town or one of the villages, with nobody watching you arrive anywhere. On the free call I'll explain the limits of confidentiality, such as when someone's safety is at serious risk.
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.
Talk it through first, with no pressure to decide
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.