Portsmouth · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Counselling and therapy for Portsmouth
If you live on Portsea Island or up in Cosham, Drayton or Paulsgrove and want a counsellor you've chosen yourself, I see adults over secure video each week. My only room is in Hove, more than an hour away, so most sessions from here are on screen, though a direct train makes an occasional visit possible.
The practical facts for Portsmouth
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Portsmouth by car
- About 69 minutes with clear roads (48.4 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- Direct trains from Portsmouth & Southsea to Hove.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- NHS Talking Therapies Portsmouth, 0300 123 3934
- 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.
An island city with very little room to breathe
After London, no UK city is more densely populated than Portsmouth, and most of it is packed onto Portsea Island.
The University of Portsmouth had about 29,000 students in 2021/22, and HMNB Portsmouth, home to two-thirds of the UK's surface fleet, means a lot of households live with deployments and naval shift patterns. Queen Alexandra Hospital, the city's main NHS hospital, is in Cosham on the mainland side. Add the international port and Gunwharf Quays, and it can feel as if there are people everywhere. When neighbours are close and the house is shared, a private hour to talk honestly can be hard to find. You might also prefer a counsellor who has nothing to do with your street, your ship or your course, and who you won't run into in Southsea or North End.
Saying the things the city doesn't ask about
What you weigh up depends on where you stand in the city. If you serve at HMNB Portsmouth, FLAGS offers alcohol and gambling support on the base, and a private counsellor who is independent of the Navy is a different kind of space again. If your partner is the one at sea, a deployment can be the time to talk about how you are coping at home. If you work shifts at Queen Alexandra Hospital, we can set a weekly time around the rota. If you study at the University of Portsmouth, sessions sit entirely outside your course. And if money is tight, Compass Counselling at Portsmouth Central Library prices its sessions on income. In 2023/24, Portsmouth's figure for alcohol-specific hospital admissions stood at 932.3 per 100,000, above England's 611.7 per 100,000. That figure counts hospital admissions across the city and isn't a description of you. If drinking is part of what worries you, you can bring it here without being lectured. We'd start with what's going on now. For memories that still land hard, from service, childhood or anywhere else, the Rewind Technique offers a way in that spares you retelling the details. Behind this sit my own recovery and over 25 years spent working as a counsellor.
Four doors into a first session
Shifts and broken sleep
Nights at Queen Alexandra Hospital, the international port or the dockyard, and a body that never quite knows what time it is any more.
Far from home at university
A student at the University of Portsmouth, under pressure to look fine on the outside, with nobody nearby who really knows you.
Service, and life after it
Postings from HMNB Portsmouth, long spells away, or leaving the Navy and working out who you are once the routine has gone.
Using to get by
Drinking, drugs or gambling that began as a release and now sits at the centre of your week. The Portsmouth Recovery Hub is the city's own service, and here you can say how it really is.
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 Portsmouth
Private counselling can run alongside free and low-cost help in the city. Solent Mind runs the Portsmouth Wellbeing Centre, Compass Counselling offers sessions priced on income at Portsmouth Central Library and online, and for drug or alcohol worries the Portsmouth Recovery Hub is the city's own service. If you're serving in the Royal Navy or Royal Marines, FLAGS at HMNB Portsmouth is there too.
- Free NHS talking therapyNHS Talking Therapies Portsmouth0300 123 3934Free 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 itPortsmouth Recovery Hub023 9229 4573Run by The Society of St James (SSJ) with Inclusion. Free and confidential.
- Local organisationPortsmouth Recovery peer support
- Local organisationRebound Carer's GroupSupport for families and friends.
- Local organisationPortsmouth Carers Service (Portsmouth Carers Centre)
- Local organisationCompass Counselling Service
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.
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 Portsmouth ask before starting
Do you run a rehab in Portsmouth?
Rehab, detox and residential care in the city come through the Portsmouth Recovery Hub, while I offer counselling by video and from one room in Hove. For drug or alcohol treatment, call the Portsmouth Recovery Hub, run by The Society of St James with Inclusion, on 023 9229 4573. Weekly sessions with me could help you get ready to contact them, give you a private hour during their treatment, or support you once it's finished.
Where can I find free counselling on Portsea Island?
NHS Talking Therapies Portsmouth, on 0300 123 3934, is open to self-referral when anxiety or low mood is what you're mainly struggling with. Compass Counselling, run by the Diocese of Portsmouth, offers a free initial assessment and then sessions priced according to income. Choosing private counselling means you pick your counsellor and agree times directly with me.
Is it worth getting the train to Hove for sessions from Portsmouth?
It can be, now and then. There are direct trains from Portsmouth and Southsea to Hove, and the drive is about 69 minutes, so an occasional in-person session is realistic. For weekly work, though, video saves you more than two hours of travel each time. Mixing the two as your weeks change is fine.
I'm a student at the University of Portsmouth. Can I see you privately?
Yes. Counselling with me is entirely separate from the university, so nothing is shared with your course or your department, within the usual safety limits, which we go over in the first session. Video works from a room in halls or a shared house, as long as you can talk without being overheard. Start with a free 15-minute call, after which we agree together how often to meet.
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.
Start on screen from Southsea, or on the train to Hove
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.