Kew · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Counselling and therapy for Kew
When life in Kew has felt off for some time and you can't name why, talking with a counsellor is a sensible first step. You'd be talking to me, a BACP-registered counsellor. My one room is in Hove, roughly 90 minutes by car from Kew, so normally we'd talk on secure video from your home each week, with Hove only if you ask.
The practical facts for Kew
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Kew by car
- About 90 minutes with clear roads (70.8 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Richmond Talking Therapies (NHS Richmond Wellbeing Service), 020 3513 4455
- 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.
Glasshouses, archives and a quiet front door
From outside, Kew looks like a settled place to be.
There's the Royal Botanic Gardens and Kew Palace at one end, St Anne's Church on Kew Green, Kew Pier on the Thames, and The National Archives keeping Domesday Book in its care. District line and Overground trains stop at Kew Gardens station all day long. Behind the front doors of an expensive riverside suburb, though, plenty goes unsaid. At the 2021 Census, 66.2% of Kew's working residents said they worked mainly at or from home, against 58.8% across Richmond upon Thames, a figure taken during lockdown guidance, so it describes that spring rather than today. Even so, a lot of working days here pass at a kitchen table. When the laptop closes, the only person to talk to about a creeping worry, a strained marriage or a drink that comes earlier each evening may be you.
Not knowing what is wrong is a fine place to begin
Some people from Kew arrive with something definite: a bereavement, a relationship coming apart, a parent growing frail, a job that has started to frighten them. Or you only know everything has gone grey, or that you wake at four and lie there rehearsing. Both are reasons enough to get in touch. The early sessions are for sorting, between us, which parts of this are the heaviest and why they have not shifted on their own. It might be the isolation that home-working can bring, the expectation that a comfortable postcode means you should be fine, or something much older that has come back. Then we choose a focus, and if what you need sits with your GP or a specialist team, I'll be honest and help you reach them. With 25+ years of practice behind me, and recovery that is part of my own life story, I hear about drinking, shame, anger and grief without flinching, so you can say them plainly. I combine several methods; the how I work page sets them out.
Pressures that build up behind Kew front doors
Working days at the kitchen table
Two-thirds of working residents were home-based at the 2021 Census. Without colleagues or a commute, worry can circle all day with nowhere to go.
Living alone in a lovely place
Nearly three in ten Kew households are one person, much like the rest of Richmond. A beautiful street can still feel very quiet in winter.
District line days into town
Six District line trains an hour from Kew Gardens make a central London job easy to reach, and long days easy to fall into.
Free support close by
You can contact Richmond Talking Therapies yourself about worry or a heavy mood, and Richmond Borough Mind offers community support, alongside our 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 Kew
Our sessions can run alongside Richmond's free support. Richmond Talking Therapies (NHS Richmond Wellbeing Service) accepts self-referrals for low mood and anxiety. Richmond Borough Mind runs community mental health support, and Richmond Carers Centre helps people looking after someone else. If you live alone and would welcome regular company, the Kew Neighbourhood Association offers free befriending for TW9 residents.
- Free NHS talking therapyRichmond Talking Therapies (NHS Richmond Wellbeing Service)020 3513 4455Free 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 itWithYou Richmond020 3228 3020Run by We Are With You (WithYou). Free and confidential.
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 is another option: text 80991 or WhatsApp 0303 330 1511.
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 Kew ask before starting
Would sessions in a room be possible for someone living in Kew?
The counselling room I use is in Hove, around 90 minutes from Kew by car, or two trains via Clapham Junction from North Sheen. From Kew, weekly sessions therefore usually happen by secure video, which keeps the hour itself and drops the travel. An occasional longer Hove session can be arranged when in-person time matters.
If I live in Kew, how soon could counselling begin?
After a short first call, I offer you the times I actually have available and you choose one that suits, so there's no long list to sit on. If you would also like NHS support, you can refer yourself to Richmond Talking Therapies on 020 3513 4455 for anxiety or low mood, without going through your GP first.
Does video counselling work if I already work from home in Kew all day?
It can, with a little care. One option is to sit in a different room or chair from the one you work in, or to step outside for ten minutes beforehand, so the session feels separate from the job. Headphones help with privacy if others are at home. The counselling itself is the same as in the Hove room.
Who can I contact in Kew if I am struggling tonight?
In south-west London the NHS crisis text service runs day and night: text 80991 or WhatsApp 0303 330 1511. Richmond Borough Mind also runs an out-of-hours crisis cafe in Twickenham. Should a life be at immediate risk in Kew or anywhere else, ring 999 straight away. The urgent help box on this page lists further contacts for Richmond upon Thames.
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.
Fifteen unhurried minutes on the phone, then decide
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.