Mitcham · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Counselling and therapy for Mitcham
Perhaps you live in Mitcham and a worry, a loss or a heaviness has been sitting with you longer than you'd like, named or not. This page is a fair first stop. I'm a BACP-registered counsellor whose one room is in Hove, 69 minutes' drive away, so from Mitcham our sessions would usually run over secure video, at home, with no tram to catch. A Hove visit stays open if you ever want one.
The practical facts for Mitcham
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Mitcham by car
- About 69 minutes with clear roads (45.3 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Merton Talking Therapies, 0203 513 5888
- 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 village green inside a stretched London borough
Mitcham still has the bones of the Surrey village it once was.
There's the Cricket Green, which claims to be the oldest cricket ground in continual use, the open sweep of Mitcham Common, and old houses such as The Canons and Eagle House. Around them run six Merton wards of ordinary south London streets, from Figge's Marsh and Lavender Fields to Longthornton and Eastfields. Life here can be stretched. Merton's own ward profiles name Cricket Green as the most deprived ward in the borough, with Figge's Marsh and Pollards Hill also among the most deprived, and in East Merton 14% of households are overcrowded. None of that says anything about you. It does mean that finding a spare hour, and a door to close, can take some planning, and that worry about money, family or work can go a long time without anyone asking how you are.
Coming with something unnamed, or something very clear
General counselling suits you if you haven't yet decided what kind of help you need. You might arrive with something definite, such as a death in the family, a relationship coming apart or a job that has worn you thin. Or the trouble may be vaguer: an irritability you don't recognise in yourself, nights spent turning things over, or the sense that you're holding a household together with nothing left for you. Caring for a parent, or for a child with extra needs, belongs here too, and so does drinking that has crept up, if you'd like to look at it. Over our first few meetings we untangle which load is heaviest and what keeps propping it up, then agree where to put our attention. My way of working is integrative, drawing on Human Givens among other approaches, and you'll find the fuller picture on the how I work page. Twenty-five years and more of counselling, plus recovery I've lived through myself, mean very little you say will surprise me. Video suits this kind of open-ended start well. You can talk from a bedroom in Pollards Hill or a parked car beside Mitcham Common, and there's no waiting room on London Road for a neighbour to see you walk into.
What a Mitcham week can put on your shoulders
Not enough room to think
When home is shared and crowded, a private hour is hard to come by. We can set video sessions for whenever the house is emptiest, or you can join from a quiet spot you choose.
Caring for someone close
Caring for someone at home, whether partner, parent or child, can leave no room at all for what you need. Carers First Merton and Avanti's carers peer group at the Vestry Hall can support you alongside our sessions.
Getting older, feeling lonelier
Age UK Merton at the Elmwood Centre runs befriending and activities for people over 50, and counselling by video can sit beside that from your own armchair.
Fear for a relative's mental health
If a family member seems to be slipping, the Merton Assessment Team at Wilson Hospital accepts referrals from worried relatives, while counselling gives you a place for your own fear and exhaustion.
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 Mitcham
Mitcham has free help of its own, and private sessions can run alongside any of it. Merton Talking Therapies, also called Merton Uplift, accepts referrals straight from you for worry or low mood on 0203 513 5888. Wilson Wellbeing runs a daily drop-in at The Wilson for signposting and company, Avanti Mental Wellbeing CIC holds free evening groups at the Vestry Hall, and the Commonside Community Development Trust runs a community cafe and social groups at the New Horizon Centre.
- Free NHS talking therapyMerton Talking Therapies0203 513 5888Free 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 itVia Merton0300 303 4610Free and confidential.
- Local organisationCarers First Merton
- Local organisationInner South West London SamaritansSamaritans branch whose listed area includes Mitcham.
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 Mitcham ask before starting
Could I meet a counsellor in person, coming from Mitcham or Mitcham Junction?
Face-to-face work happens at Intergen House in Hove, 69 minutes' drive from Mitcham, or a tram and Thameslink ride via East Croydon. For weekly counselling, secure video from home is usually far easier. Should an in-person meeting feel important, we can plan occasional sessions in Hove, perhaps 90 minutes long so the trip feels worth making.
How do I get NHS counselling in Mitcham, and how long is the wait?
Merton Talking Therapies is the free NHS service for Merton residents with anxiety or low mood, and a call to 0203 513 5888 refers you directly, no GP needed. They can tell you their current waiting times. With me, once we've had a short free consultation, you choose from the evenings and daytimes I genuinely have open, so starting doesn't hinge on a list.
My home in Mitcham is crowded, so would video sessions really work?
Usually yes, given a bit of forethought. Headphones help, and we can choose a time when the house is quietest, early in the morning or late in the evening. A parked car works too, if you can speak freely there. If privacy is truly impossible for a spell, an occasional session in Hove is another option worth weighing.
Who can I contact in Mitcham if things feel too much tonight?
At any hour, a text to 80991 or a WhatsApp to 0303 330 1511 reaches the NHS crisis text line covering south London. Samaritans answer 116 123 day and night, and their Inner South West London branch covers Mitcham. Where a life is at risk right now, dial 999 without waiting. You'll find further numbers for Merton in the urgent help box on this page.
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 from Mitcham, at your pace
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.