Hounslow · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Counselling and therapy for Hounslow
Perhaps something in your life has felt wrong for a while and you live somewhere in Hounslow, from Heston down to Hounslow Heath. I'm a BACP-registered counsellor and I work one to one. My only room is in Hove, 85 minutes away by car, so from Hounslow we'd normally meet on a secure video call, with a Hove visit whenever you'd like one.
The practical facts for Hounslow
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Hounslow by car
- About 85 minutes with clear roads (68.3 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- From Hounslow, change at Clapham Junction for trains towards Brighton and Hove.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Hounslow Talking Therapies, 0300 123 0739
- 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.
Heathrow rotas, Piccadilly trains and a growing borough
Hounslow is one of the 14 metropolitan centres in the London Plan, and the borough grew by 13.5% between 2011 and 2021, faster than London or England.
Many people here commute out to Heathrow, where there are many businesses and public sector jobs, while others ride the Piccadilly line from Hounslow West, Central or East towards central London. Some days are shaped by rotas, some by the Waterloo trains, and some by the Treaty Centre and a busy High Street. With so much movement, it's easy to keep going for months without stopping to ask how you really are. Neighbours change, families live close or very far away, and the quiet of Hounslow Heath or the grounds at Osterley can be the only time in a week that your own thoughts catch up with you. If those thoughts have started to feel heavy, that's worth paying attention to.
Coming along before you know what to call it
You don't need a label before you get in touch. Some people arrive with something definite: a loss, a marriage under strain, a job at the airport that has started to grind them down. Others only know they're short-tempered with the people they love, waking at four, or reaching for a drink more often than they'd like. Any of that is a reasonable starting point. Over the opening sessions, the two of us sort out which pressures matter most and why they have stuck. Perhaps it's the pull of early and late shifts, caring for relatives on top of long hours, or an old hurt that has returned. Then we settle on a focus, and if another service in the borough looks a better fit for what you're facing, I'll say so plainly. Internal Family Systems is one of several approaches I combine, and anyone curious will find the detail on the how I work page. I have over 25 years of practice and my own experience of recovery, so very little you say will surprise me.
From the airport perimeter to the High Street
Shifts around Heathrow
Working at or near the airport can mean early starts, late finishes and rotas that make it hard to sleep, see friends or hold onto any routine of your own.
A long ride into town
Up to an hour each way on the Piccadilly line or the Waterloo trains, and evenings that feel too short to do more than eat and sleep.
A borough on the move
With the borough's population up 13.5% in a decade, plenty of people here are fairly new, still building friendships and missing the families they left elsewhere.
Free help in your own language
Mosaic Minds Hounslow offers free trauma-informed counselling in Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, English and other languages, at the Star Centre or online, and can run alongside private sessions.
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 Hounslow
Private sessions can run next to Hounslow's free services. West London NHS Trust runs Hounslow Talking Therapies, and you can refer yourself there for anxiety and low mood. West London Mind and the Hounslow Wellbeing Network offer community support, and the Star Centre runs a drop-in for residents. Young people aged 11 to 25 can use the Hounslow Youth Counselling Service at no cost.
- Free NHS talking therapyHounslow Talking Therapies0300 123 0739Free 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 itARC Hounslow (Addiction Recovery Community)01895 488675Run by Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (CNWL). Free and confidential.
- Local organisationHounslow Council Carers Service
- Local organisationSamaritans Ealing branch (covers Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow)
- Local organisationAllkind suicide bereavement support
- Local organisationMosaic Minds Hounslow (EACH Counselling and Support)
For gambling, the National Gambling Helpline is free, day or night, on 0808 8020 133 (NHS gambling support).
Private counselling with me can run alongside any of these; you do not have to choose one or the other.
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 West London NHS Trust 24-hour mental health helpline (Mental Health Single Point of Access) is on 0800 328 4444.
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 Hounslow ask before starting
Can I have in-person counselling from Hounslow?
My room is in Hove, about 85 minutes' drive from Hounslow, or by rail, changing once at Clapham Junction. With that distance in mind, most people from Hounslow see me on secure video each week and save the trip. Should sitting together in person feel important, a Hove appointment can be booked now and then, perhaps for our first meeting.
How long will I wait for counselling if I live in Hounslow?
There's no list to join. Once we've had a brief free chat and agreed to carry on, I'll list the weekly slots I have free and you pick whichever fits around your Hounslow week. If you'd also like NHS support for anxiety or low mood, Hounslow Talking Therapies takes self-referrals on 0300 123 0739, and you can use it alongside or after our sessions.
I work shifts at Heathrow. Can sessions fit around my rota?
We can look for a regular slot that suits your pattern, and because sessions are by video you can join from home in Hounslow straight after a shift, without any extra travel. If your rota changes from month to month, tell me on the first call and we'll talk about how to keep sessions steady.
Who can I ring in Hounslow if everything feels too much tonight?
West London NHS Trust runs a 24-hour mental health helpline on 0800 328 4444 for people in Hounslow. Samaritans can be reached day or night on 116 123; the Samaritans branch covering Hounslow is the Ealing one. If someone's life is in immediate danger, ring 999, or head to the emergency department at West Middlesex University Hospital on Twickenham Road, Isleworth.
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.
Ten quiet minutes, then fifteen, from Hounslow
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.