Purley · in person in Hove or online
Counselling and therapy for Purley
If you're in Purley and you've started looking for a therapist without being sure what you'd say first, that's a fine place to begin. I'm a counsellor and psychotherapist working one-to-one, in my room in Hove, just under an hour's drive south, or by secure video from wherever you are in Purley, Woodcote or Riddlesdown.
The practical facts for Purley
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Purley by car
- About 55 minutes with clear roads (40.6 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Croydon NHS Talking Therapies, 0203 228 4040
- 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 quiet suburb on the edge of the Downs
Purley grew up around a railway junction in the 1920s and 1930s, and much of it still feels like that: semi-detached roads from the station out towards Woodcote Village Green, larger houses on the Webb Estate, and streets that climb steeply into the chalk of the North Downs at Riddlesdown and Peaks Hill.
From outside, a suburb like this can look settled and comfortable, and that can make it harder to admit that things aren't right at home. You might be juggling a London commute with the school run to The John Fisher School, Riddlesdown Collegiate or Thomas More, or looking after an older parent nearby. Money worries sit behind plenty of front doors too, and the Purley Food Hub at Purley United Reformed Church, next to the hospital, is kept busy. Quiet streets can hide a lot of strain.
A first session for Purley when the problem has no name yet
General counselling is the right door when you can't yet name the problem. Perhaps you've been short-tempered with the children, sleeping badly, or feeling a dull pressure behind each working day, and you wonder whether it's serious enough to talk about. It is enough. In a first session we simply look at what's been happening and what matters most to you, and the shape of the work follows from that. For some people in Purley it turns out to be about pressure at work, or the gap between how life looks from the street and how it feels inside the house. For others it's a loss, a relationship under strain, an old memory that has started to surface, or drinking that has crept up on weekday evenings. The way I work is integrative, shaped to the person in front of me, with each method explained on the How I work page. I've practised for more than 25 years, I came to counselling through a recovery of my own, and I'm a BACP-registered member, so you can expect plain, unhurried conversation with someone outside your local circle.
Things a Purley week can leave you carrying
Behind the suburban front door
Purley's tidy roads around Woodcote and the Webb Estate can make it feel as though everyone else is coping. Counselling is a place to say how it really is.
Changing trains at the junction
Long days on the Brighton Main Line through Purley station, then home late and wound up. We can look at what that pace is costing you.
Bills and money worry
If debt is part of what keeps you awake, the Purley Cross Centre offers CAP Debt Centre money advice, and our sessions can deal with the strain it puts on you.
Looking after an ageing parent
When a mother or father in Purley needs more of you each month, your own week shrinks. Carers First Croydon helps with the caring itself, and a weekly session keeps one hour free for your own thoughts.
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 Purley
There's free and low-cost help close to Purley. You can contact Croydon NHS Talking Therapies yourself about anxiety or low mood, and the head office of Mind in Croydon is now Orchard House on Purley Road in South Croydon. Purley Counselling Service at Purley Baptist Church offers sessions with fees on a sliding scale, and the Renew 23 wellbeing cafe meets there too. Seeing me privately fits comfortably alongside whichever of these you use.
- Free NHS talking therapyCroydon NHS Talking Therapies0203 228 4040Free 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 itCroydon Integrated Recovery Service (Drug and Alcohol Service - Croydon)0300 123 9288Run by Change Grow Live (CGL). Free and confidential.
- Local organisationMind in Croydon carers' services
- Local organisationCarers First Croydon
- Local organisationRowland Brothers Foundation 'Never Alone' bereavement drop-in, PurleyFree 'Never Alone' bereavement drop-in.
- Local organisationRenew 23 wellbeing cafe (Purley Baptist Church)
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 (SLaM) is another option: WhatsApp 0303 330 1511 or text 80991.
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 Purley ask before starting
Can I refer myself for free counselling in Purley?
Yes. Croydon NHS Talking Therapies, part of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, takes calls from Purley residents on 0203 228 4040 about anxiety or low mood, and no GP letter is needed. Purley Counselling Service at Purley Baptist Church on Banstead Road is a low-cost alternative, with BACP-registered counsellors and fees on a sliding scale. With me you book the free 15-minute call directly, and I'll tell you what regular times I have.
Is Hove close enough for weekly sessions from Purley?
At about 55 minutes by car it's a real trip, though a manageable one if you can set aside a morning or an afternoon. By rail you'd change at Three Bridges or East Croydon for Brighton. Video saves the travel on busy weeks, and you're welcome to alternate, coming to the Hove room some weeks and joining from home in Purley on others.
Where is Mind in Croydon now, if not Purley?
Mind in Croydon planned to leave its Purley building at the end of 2025, and its head office is now Orchard House, 15a Purley Road, South Croydon, a short walk from Purley Oaks station. Any listing that still gives a Purley address for the charity is out of date. Their services can run alongside private counselling with me.
What if I need help at night between sessions?
Text support from South London and Maudsley's crisis service is there on WhatsApp 0303 330 1511 or by texting 80991. Purley War Memorial Hospital is an outpatient site, so in an emergency go to the Emergency Department at Croydon University Hospital or call 999. Our sessions can pick things up once you feel steadier.
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.
Talk it through first, from Purley
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.