Mayfair · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Counselling and therapy for Mayfair
If you live near Mount Street or spend long days in a Mayfair office, and something has been weighing on you without a clear name, this is a sensible place to start. I'm a BACP-registered counsellor whose only room is in Hove, about 100 minutes' drive south, so from Mayfair we would normally meet on secure video, with a visit to Hove now and then if you'd like one.
The practical facts for Mayfair
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Mayfair by car
- About 100 minutes with clear roads (55.1 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Westminster Talking Therapies, 030 3333 0000
- 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.
Quiet squares inside a crowded West End
Mayfair can be a strange place to feel unsettled.
Grosvenor Square and Mount Street Gardens are calm early in the day, yet Westminster's population of about 230,000 grows to over a million on an ordinary weekday as workers, visitors and tourists pour in. Homes here sit right beside that traffic, from the pubs and small restaurants of Shepherd Market to the hotels along Park Lane. The people who live here are more varied than the postcode suggests: young families, older residents, disabled neighbours, and tenants in social housing a few streets from the grandest addresses. Others know Mayfair only as a workplace, whether that's a desk near Berkeley Square, a gallery off Bond Street, an auction room, an embassy or a hotel shift. Wherever you fit, the area can make it awkward to admit you're struggling. Discretion is the local habit, and it can slide into keeping things even from yourself.
Bringing something you can't yet put into words
A first session doesn't need a tidy explanation. It may be something concrete: a separation, a parent growing frail, or a Mayfair role that has begun to feel unmanageable. Or you might only know that you're sleeping badly, getting short with people, or reaching for a drink after work more than you'd like. Any of those is a reasonable starting point. Our early sessions sort through what's bearing down and why it hasn't eased, whether that's long hours for a demanding employer, living at the edge of a district that rarely switches off, caring for someone, or an older pain that has come back. When things are clearer we decide where to aim the work, and if another service suits your circumstances better, I'll tell you and help you get to it. Over 25 years of counselling, an integrative way of working that includes Human Givens, and my own recovery mean you can speak plainly about shame, drinking or anything else that's there. If your work depends on reputation, it may help to know that what you say stays between us, apart from the few safety exceptions I set out in our first meeting, and your employer has no part in any of it.
Pressures particular to Mayfair streets and offices
Working where reputations matter
Offices, auction houses, galleries and embassies around Berkeley Square and Bond Street can reward composure so well that admitting strain starts to feel like a professional risk.
Living beside the late-night streets
Shepherd Market keeps a real residential community among its pubs, clubs and small restaurants, and a home in the middle of all that rarely feels fully off duty.
Looking after someone in Westminster
If you care for a parent, partner or child, Carers Network gives unpaid carers free support, and our sessions can give the weight of caring some room of its own.
A quieter hour on Fridays
Mayfair Library on South Audley Street hosts a free meditation session on Friday evenings from 5:45pm to 6:45pm, a gentle wellbeing activity that can sit beside counselling.
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 Mayfair
Free help in Westminster can sit beside our private sessions. Westminster Talking Therapies, part of Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, accepts self-referrals from residents troubled by anxiety or low mood. Carers Network supports unpaid carers across the borough, Central London Samaritans are there to listen, and Meditation at Mayfair at the library offers a weekly wellbeing session rather than clinical care.
- Free NHS talking therapyWestminster Talking Therapies030 3333 0000Free 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 itTurning Point Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea (Drug and Alcohol Wellbeing Service, DAWS)0330 303 8080Free 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.
Locally, the CNWL Mental Health Single Point of Access is on 0800 0234 650.
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 Mayfair ask before starting
Is there a therapist I can see in person in Mayfair?
My one counselling room is at Intergen House, Hove, around 100 minutes' drive from Mayfair, or a short Victoria line ride and a direct train from London Victoria. Week to week, secure video is usually far easier, joined from home or a private office. Should meeting face to face feel important, Hove sessions can be booked now and then, the very first meeting included.
How soon could I start counselling if I live or work in Mayfair?
We begin with a free consultation of about a quarter of an hour, by phone or video, taken from a quiet corner of home or work. Should we both feel it's worth continuing, you pick from my actual free slots, so nobody is placed on a list. Westminster residents worried about anxiety or low mood may also self-refer to Westminster Talking Therapies on 030 3333 0000.
Can I join video counselling from a Mayfair office?
You can, as long as the room is private and you won't be overheard or interrupted. A meeting room with the door shut at the start of the day can work, though you may find it easier to feel unguarded at home. Headphones help wherever you are. If your building feels too exposed, an occasional session in Hove is an alternative worth considering.
Who can I call in Westminster if I need help urgently tonight?
For urgent help out of hours, use the crisis contacts in the urgent help box on this page rather than waiting for a session. CNWL's Mental Health Single Point of Access is a 24/7 crisis line covering Westminster on 0800 0234 650, and Central London Samaritans belong to the Samaritans network, which answers calls at any hour. Where a life is at immediate risk in Mayfair or anywhere else, dial 999.
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.
Begin quietly, from a Mayfair desk or home
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.