Midhurst · in person in Hove or online
Counselling and therapy for Midhurst
Perhaps life in Midhurst has felt heavier lately and you couldn't yet say why. That uncertainty is a perfectly good reason to make contact. I'm a BACP-registered counsellor whose one room is in Hove, a little under an hour away by road, and the town lost its railway long ago, so our sessions would normally run by secure video from home, with a Hove session whenever you'd rather meet in person.
The practical facts for Midhurst
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Midhurst by car
- About 58 minutes with clear roads (33.9 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- NHS West Sussex Talking Therapies – West Team, 01273 265967
- 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.
A small market town where faces are familiar
Midhurst sits on the River Rother inside the South Downs National Park, about 12 miles north of Chichester, and it is small: the parish had 4,914 residents at the 2011 census.
Much of the work here runs through small firms serving the farms and villages around it, the shops, cafes, garages, builders and hotels. If one of those businesses is yours, there is seldom anyone to pass the worry to when the door is locked at night. In a town this size, the people you might confide in are often the same people you meet at the Grange Leisure Centre, outside Midhurst Rother College at pick-up time, or sitting in the Riverbank Medical Centre waiting area. That closeness is part of what makes Midhurst a good place to live. It can also make it surprisingly hard to admit, out loud, that you aren't coping, because the news might travel further than you meant it to.
Coming along before you've found the words
There's no need to arrive with a tidy explanation. You might bring something you can point to: a business that has stopped paying its way, years of caring for a parent, a retirement that has felt emptier than you expected, or a partner's illness that has rearranged everything. Or you may only know that sleep has gone, your temper is shorter than it was, and the evening glass of wine has quietly become the evening bottle. Each of those counts as a starting point. Worry is common enough around here, too: nearly a quarter of West Sussex adults, 24.5%, gave a high anxiety score in 2022/23, a share similar to England's 23.8%. That figure says nothing about you personally, but it may help to know that wanting support is ordinary. In our opening sessions we sketch out what is pressing on you and what keeps it going, then agree what to focus on. Should another kind of help suit you better than one-to-one counselling, I'll tell you plainly and help you find it. Twenty-five years of counselling, and my own years in recovery, mean very little you bring is likely to startle me.
What small-town life around the Rother can weigh on you
Carrying a small business alone
When the shop, garage or building firm serving the rural hinterland is yours, the takings, the staff and the bad months all come home with you.
Under five thousand neighbours
In a parish of 4,914 people at the 2011 count, familiar faces are everywhere, so a video session from your own home keeps counselling away from curious neighbours.
Miles from the nearest station
Midhurst lost its passenger trains in 1955. If you don't drive, buses to Chichester or Haslemere shape the day, and the villages around can feel very cut off.
Free support in the town
One-to-one appointments with West Sussex Mind take place at the Community Hub inside the South Downs Centre, and you can refer yourself through the Mind Help Point.
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 Midhurst
Free help in and around Midhurst can sit beside private sessions with me. NHS West Sussex Talking Therapies – West Team welcomes self-referrals when worry or a lowered mood has taken hold. West Sussex Mind has a mental health worker you can see through Riverbank Medical Centre, and runs a support service at the South Downs Centre. Chichester Wellbeing advisors help with stress and emotional wellbeing across the district.
- Free NHS talking therapyNHS West Sussex Talking Therapies – West Team01273 265967Free 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 organisationBuild on Belief (BoB), lived-experience recovery community
- 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 Support Service at the South Downs Centre Community Hub, Midhurst
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.
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 Midhurst ask before starting
Could I meet you in person from Midhurst, or would it all be online?
Face-to-face sessions happen in Hove, a drive of about 58 minutes, or the number 60 bus to Chichester and then a direct Southern train along the coast. For weekly sessions, secure video from your own home in Midhurst saves that time, and the conversation itself is just as real. You're welcome to come to Hove for a first meeting, or now and then, whenever sharing a room feels important.
How long would a Midhurst resident wait to start counselling?
After a brief free call, I'll offer whichever slots are genuinely free in my diary and you choose, so there's no queue to join. The NHS route can run at the same time: Midhurst residents may refer themselves to NHS West Sussex Talking Therapies – West Team on 01273 265967 if anxiety or flat, low spirits are what you're living with.
Is there any free counselling in Midhurst itself?
Yes, some. West Sussex Mind offers one-to-one support by appointment at the Community Hub in the South Downs Centre, booked through its Help Point, and it has a mental health worker attached to Riverbank Medical Centre. If you or someone close to you has a life-limiting illness, the Midhurst Macmillan Service at Midhurst Community Hospital offers counselling too.
Will people in Midhurst find out I'm having counselling?
Not through me. Our conversations are confidential, apart from the safeguarding exceptions I'll go through with you at the outset. Because we'd usually meet by video, there's no car parked outside a therapy room for anyone to notice, and you can join from a spare bedroom, a parked car or anywhere private. In a small town, that discretion can make the first step much easier.
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 quiet word, from wherever you are in Midhurst
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.