Anxiety and worry
When your mind will not settle and everything feels urgent.
Counselling and Therapy · Kemp Town
Counselling and Therapy in Kemp Town
Counselling and Therapy for Kemp Town and the surrounding area, in person or online. Kemp Town, on Brighton's eastern side, runs from St James's Street down to the Marina, with its Regency crescents and village atmosphere. From my room in nearby Hove I offer a calm, confidential space to do this work.
BACP registered member25+ years of experienceLived experience
ConfidentialA safe, private space
Person-centredThe therapy fits you
In and around Kemp Town
Counselling and Therapy for Kemp Town, at a glance
- Known for
- St James's Street, Brighton Marina and the Kemp Town Enclosures
- Area
- Brighton & Hove, East/West Sussex
- Getting to the Hove room
- From Kemp Town the room is about fifteen to twenty minutes away, heading west along the seafront through Brighton into Hove by bus, taxi or car.
- Local NHS / support route
- the Brighton and Hove Wellbeing Service
- Format
- In person at my private Hove room, or by secure video UK-wide.
Life in Kemp Town
Why do people in Kemp Town reach out?
Kemp Town is full of people living close together and not necessarily knowing each other. A room in a shared flat near Upper Rock Gardens, a busy street outside, the sea at the end of it, and a week that somehow passes without a real conversation in it. There does not have to be a reason. You may be sleeping badly, or dreading things that never used to bother you, or simply going through the motions and unable to say why. Working shifts makes it harder to tell what is exhaustion and what is something else. This is the page for people who cannot name it yet, and that is a fine place to start from.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Kemp Town
St James's StreetSussex SquareLewes CrescentQueen's ParkSt George's RoadMarine ParadeUpper Rock GardensBristol Estate
Wherever you are in Kemp Town, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Kemp Town
These figures are local context from official sources, not a description of you, but they show the scale of what people in and around Kemp Town are living with, and why local support matters.
26.7% of adults reported a high anxiety score in 2022/23, above the England average of 23.8%. Source: OHID Fingertips – Self-reported wellbeing: high anxiety score (2022/23).
recorded depression on GP registers stood at 14.1% of patients aged 18+ in 2024/25, below the England average of 14.3%. Source: OHID Fingertips – Depression: QOF prevalence (2024/25).
the rate of emergency hospital admissions for self-harm was 161.8 per 100,000 in 2023/24, above the England average of 117 per 100,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Emergency Hospital Admissions for Intentional Self-Harm (2023/24).
Local data last reviewed June 2026. Each figure shows the year and links to the official source it was read on.
What actually happens in counselling and therapy?
Counselling and therapy here is one steady starting point for whatever you are carrying, anxiety, low mood, addiction, relationships or the past, integrative and led by you, so we begin with what matters most and shape the work around you.
Rather than say the same thing on every page, the substance lives on the full counselling and therapy page, with how I work, sessions and fees for the practical questions and qualifications, registration and ethics for registration and ethics.
How do sessions work, in person or online?
Sessions take place in a private, comfortable room at Intergen House on Western Road in central Hove, held to the strict BACP confidentiality you would expect. We begin with a free fifteen-minute call to check we are a good fit, and the same sessions are available by secure video if travelling is difficult or you would simply prefer it.
Sessions run in the Hove room, fifteen to twenty minutes west along the front by bus, taxi or car. Booking one appointment to see whether it helps is completely acceptable, and there is no course you are signing up to. When shifts, sleep or the sheer effort of crossing town make travelling unrealistic, we can meet online by secure video and switch to the room later if you want to. The hour is the same in either format.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What does counselling and therapy help with?
Low mood and depression
For the flatness, exhaustion and loss of interest that drain the colour from things.
Addiction and habits
Alcohol, drugs, gambling or behaviours that have stopped feeling like a choice.
Relationships
Conflict, distance and trust, as a couple or on your own.
Trauma and the past
When something you have been through still shapes your present.
Life feeling stuck
For the big transitions, losses and crossroads that leave you unsure which way to turn.
Counselling and Therapy in Kemp Town
Why people in Kemp Town come for counselling and therapy
Come here if you cannot yet name the problem. That is the whole purpose of this door, and it is why nothing is asked of you in advance. We start with your actual week, and what is going on tends to become clear across the first two or three sessions rather than being settled at the outset. From there we stay in the present: sleep, worry, what you are avoiding, what used to help and has gone. It is shorter, more focused work than psychotherapy, often six to twelve weekly hours, and reviewed openly so that carrying on is always a decision rather than a default. Many people get what they came for and finish there. Where something long-standing appears underneath, we can talk about deeper work later. In 2022/23, 26.7% of adults across the city reported a high anxiety score, a little above the 23.8% recorded for England. The Brighton and Hove Wellbeing Service is the free NHS route and takes self-referrals.
A free, unhurried first step
Not sure if it is right for you? A free fifteen-minute call is a no-obligation way to talk it through.
Book a free 15-minute callFinding support in Kemp Town
My counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Kemp Town, you can refer yourself directly to the Brighton and Hove Wellbeing Service for free NHS talking therapy, with no GP referral needed.
Seeing me privately usually means you can start sooner and stay with the same counsellor throughout, working at greater depth and pace; the two can run side by side, and I am glad to work alongside any NHS or GP support you already have.
Other local and national support verified for this area includes:
If you need urgent help now
This is not a crisis service. If anyone is in immediate danger call 999. For urgent mental health support, call NHS 111 and choose the mental health option. The Samaritans are free, day or night, on 116 123, or text SHOUT to 85258.
Kemp Town questions
Counselling and Therapy in Kemp Town: common questions
Where do Kemp Town sessions take place, and can I meet online instead?
In a private room at Intergen House on Western Road in central Hove. From Kemp Town the room is about fifteen to twenty minutes away, heading west along the seafront through Brighton into Hove by bus, taxi or car. Every service is also available by secure video across the UK, so you can meet from any private space in Kemp Town or blend the two.
I work nights. Are there appointments that fit around that?
Some, and they are worth asking about directly during the free 15-minute call. Daytime slots that suit almost nobody else can suit a night worker very well. What matters more is a time you can hold each week without sacrificing sleep to get there.
What does it cost to try this once?
An hour is £80, ninety minutes £100 and two hours £120, and you pay for each appointment as you have it. Beforehand there is a 15-minute consultation, free, to see whether this is worth your time. If you come once and decide it is not for you, that is the end of it with nothing further owed.
Should I contact the Brighton and Hove Wellbeing Service instead?
It is the free NHS Talking Therapies service for the city, open to self-referral without a GP appointment, so it is generally worth putting yourself forward. Waits vary and the work is structured and time-limited. Starting here while you wait is a common and sensible arrangement.
My flat is shared and thin-walled. Where would I do an online session?
Headphones and a closed door manage it for most people, and some join from a car or during a break at work. If nowhere at home is genuinely private, coming across to Hove in person solves the problem, and the journey along the seafront is not a long one.
I cannot tell if I am depressed or just permanently tired. Where do I even begin?
You begin by describing the week and we untangle it together. Shift work blurs that line for a great many people, and it is not something you should have to work out alone before booking. Sorting out which is which is part of the early sessions, not a prerequisite.
How do I get to counselling in Hove from Kemp Town?
Allow around fifteen to twenty minutes. The 7 bus along St James's Street heads towards the centre, where you continue by bus or taxi west to Western Road; driving follows the seafront the same way. On weeks when that feels like too much, we can meet online instead.
How do I reach your Hove counselling room from Kemp Town for a first appointment?
Book a free fifteen-minute call, then head west from St James's Street. The 7 bus runs towards the city centre, with a change or short taxi on to Western Road, roughly fifteen to twenty minutes. When crossing town feels like too much, the same counselling runs online.
How much is counselling, and can I get free NHS talking therapy in Kemp Town?
My fees are £80 for sixty minutes, £100 for ninety and £120 for two hours, with a free fifteen-minute consultation. The NHS offers free talking therapies through your GP or self-referral, though waiting lists can be long, so many Kemp Town clients prefer to start privately without delay.
Is online counselling as private as coming in, and do you work evenings for Kemp Town?
Yes. In a close-knit place like Kemp Town, some clients particularly value online sessions by secure video, entirely private from home, while others welcome the change of scene the Hove room brings. Both are equally confidential, evening slots are available, and you can blend the two as suits.
Counselling and Therapy in Kemp Town, whenever you are ready
A free fifteen-minute call is the simplest place to start, no obligation, just a chance to see if we are the right fit.
Also available nearby: Brighton, Woodingdean, Rottingdean. See all areas I cover.
If counselling and therapy is not quite what you are looking for, anxiety counselling, depression counselling and psychotherapy may fit better in Kemp Town.
You may also find it useful to read about where to start when you cannot name it and how change actually sticks.
Prefer to meet remotely? The same counselling and therapy is available online by secure video across the UK, or see online counselling by region.