Littlehampton · in person in Hove or online
Counselling and therapy for Littlehampton
Whether home is in Wick, Toddington, Courtwick or a flat near the Arun, if something has sat heavily with you for months, one-to-one counselling offers a private place to set it down and look at it. I'm BACP registered, and sessions happen either in my room on Western Road in Hove or by secure video, joined from wherever you feel private at home.
The practical facts for Littlehampton
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Littlehampton by car
- About 37 minutes with clear roads (20.4 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- Direct trains from Littlehampton towards Brighton call at Hove on the way.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- NHS West Sussex Talking Therapies – South Team, 01903 703540
- 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.
Between the harbour, the seafront and a long shift
Littlehampton sits where the River Arun meets the Channel, a working harbour town that fills up in summer around Harbour Park and the East Beach Cafe and empties out again when the season turns.
A lot of the town's working life is spent looking after other people or serving them: at the 2021 Census, 18.2% of residents in the built-up area worked in health and social work, and the same share in wholesale and retail. Care shifts and shop rotas tend to leave little room for your own worries, and they can sit quietly for months. Home may be a rented flat rather than a house with space to yourself, and a walk along the promenade past the Longest Bench can clear your head for an hour without changing what you go back to. The town has changed shape around you too, from the post-war estates that absorbed the old villages to the loss of The Body Shop headquarters in the north of the town, once a major employer.
Not knowing what is wrong is a reasonable place to begin
People often get in touch without a label for it. You might be sleeping badly, snapping at the people you live with, drinking a bit more in the evenings than you'd like, or carrying something from years ago that has started to surface again. You don't need to work out whether it's anxiety, grief, stress or something else before we speak. The first sessions are for that: what is happening, when it started, what makes it heavier and what has helped so far. If you spend your working day caring for patients, residents or customers, it can feel strange to be the one who is listened to, and some people need a session or two before that feels comfortable. We go at the pace you set. I draw on several approaches, Human Givens among them, and choose between them for you session by session instead of working to a set script. I've been doing this for more than 25 years, and my own past includes recovery, so very little you bring will surprise me. Some people come for a handful of sessions to get steady again; others stay longer because there is more to look at.
Things people in Littlehampton often bring to counselling
Caring for others all day
Work in health or social care, one of the town's biggest sources of jobs, can leave you giving out patience at work and running on empty by the time you get home.
Busy summers, quiet winters
A seaside resort with Harbour Park on the beach has a seasonal rhythm. Shop and seafront work can rise and fall with it, and so can income, sleep and mood.
Little space to think at home
About a third of households in the Littlehampton built-up area live in a flat or maisonette, and if the walls are thin or you share, a private hour by video needs a little planning.
Knowing which free door to try
West Sussex Mind has a Pathfinder hub on Maltravers Drive, and Arun Wellbeing is a free service from the councils. Private counselling can sit alongside either.
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 Littlehampton
Some of the free help is in Littlehampton itself. West Sussex Mind's Pathfinder hub at 23 Maltravers Drive holds one-to-one and group sessions, starting with its Help Point. Arun Wellbeing, run by the county and district councils, includes a free Alcohol Reduction Service. Worry that won't settle, or a long spell of feeling flat, can go straight to NHS West Sussex Talking Therapies by self-referral; its South Team covers the town, with no GP letter needed.
- Free NHS talking therapyNHS West Sussex Talking Therapies – South Team01903 703540Free 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 itWest Sussex Drug & Alcohol Wellbeing Network (DAWN)0330 128 1113Run by Change Grow Live. Free and confidential.
- Local organisationCarers Support West Sussex – support for carers of drug and alcohol users
- Local organisationWest Sussex Wellbeing – support for family and friends (council-run)
- Local organisationWest Sussex Mind Pathfinder support hub, LittlehamptonLocal West Sussex Mind hub.
- Local organisationSt Barnabas House bereavement servicesHospice bereavement 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.
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 Littlehampton ask before starting
Could I travel from Littlehampton to Hove for in-person sessions?
You can. My room is on Western Road in Hove, roughly 37 minutes' drive along the coast, or reachable on the direct line through Worthing towards Brighton. Off-peak trains run roughly hourly from Monday to Saturday and there is no Sunday service on that line, so we'd pick a time that fits the timetable. Video is the other option, and you can use both.
Is there free counselling or mental health support in Littlehampton?
There is. West Sussex Mind runs its Pathfinder hub on Maltravers Drive, with face-to-face and online sessions, and new clients start through the Mind Help Point. Anxiety or low mood can go straight to the South Team, which serves the Arun coast for NHS West Sussex Talking Therapies; you can refer yourself on 01903 703540. If things feel urgent, you can text SUSSEX to 85258.
How quickly can I start, and what happens first?
Book the free 15-minute consultation from Littlehampton by phone or video. It gives you a sense of me and a chance to ask anything. Should you want to go ahead, you pick from the times I have open, and that first full hour is spent getting to know what has led you to call and which part of your week by the harbour you most want to feel lighter.
I work in care and I'm used to supporting others. Is counselling for someone like me?
Very much so. Health and social care is one of the largest areas of work in Littlehampton, and people who spend their days holding other people's distress often put their own last. Counselling gives you an hour where nothing is expected of you, and we can look at tiredness, guilt or feeling numb without you having to perform being fine.
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, whenever you're ready, from Littlehampton
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.