Putney · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Counselling and therapy for Putney
If you live in Putney and want to talk to someone, but can't yet say exactly what about, this is a reasonable place to begin. I'm a BACP-registered counsellor working one to one. My room is in Hove, a long way south, so for anyone living in Putney, video is how we'd normally meet, with a visit to Hove now and then if you'd like one.
The practical facts for Putney
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Putney by car
- About 80 minutes with clear roads (58.1 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- From Putney, change at Clapham Junction for trains towards Brighton and Hove.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Wandsworth Talking Therapies, 0203 513 6264
- 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.
Six trains an hour and a high street that never empties
Putney is one of 35 major town centres named in the London Plan, and it can feel like it.
Off-peak, six South Western Railway trains an hour leave for Waterloo, and East Putney puts the District line on the doorstep too. On Saturdays the Putney Exchange and the high street fill up, and on the river more than twenty rowing clubs launch from Putney Embankment, some of them before it's light. It's a busy, sociable, well-connected place to live. That can make it oddly hard to admit, even to yourself, that you're struggling. Everyone around you seems to be managing, and a full diary leaves little space to notice that you've been sleeping badly for months, or that a low, flat feeling has settled in somewhere between West Hill and the station.
Starting before you can name the problem
You can get in touch before you have a word for what's going on. You might come with something clear, such as a breakup, a parent's illness or a job that has started to frighten you. Or you might simply have a vague sense that life has gone grey, that you're snapping at people you love, or that a drink at the end of the day has quietly become two or three. All of that is a fair place to start. Early on, the two of us map out what's actually weighing on you and what keeps it going, whether that's the pace of a London working week, loneliness in a crowded part of the city, or something older that has resurfaced. Then we decide what the work should focus on, and I'll be plain about whether one-to-one counselling with me is the right fit or whether something else would serve you better. My approach is integrative and drawn from several traditions, including Human Givens, and the how I work page has the detail. I bring more than 25 years as a counsellor and my own experience of recovery, so you can talk about drinking, shame or anything else without worrying that it will shock me.
Things people bring from a Putney week
The commute that frames every day
Packed trains to Waterloo or the District line from East Putney, and a working day that starts and ends tired, with little left over for anything you enjoy.
Busy town centre, quiet evenings
Living in one of London's 35 major town centres, surrounded by people, and still going home to an empty flat feeling alone with it all.
Early mornings on the river
If you row from Putney Embankment, the discipline of training can carry you, or it can become another place where you feel you must never falter.
Wanting free support as well
Wandsworth Talking Therapies lets you refer yourself directly, no GP letter needed, when worry or low mood is weighing on you, and the Putney Wednesday Club offers peer support, both of which can sit alongside our sessions.
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 Putney
Alongside private counselling, Putney has free support close to home. Wandsworth Talking Therapies, run by SWLStG, lets you refer yourself for anxiety and low mood. Allkind offers community mental health support across the borough. The Putney Wednesday Club is a Rethink Mental Illness peer group, and Lighthouse at Community Church Putney hosts a twice-monthly evening meal for people with mental health problems.
- Free NHS talking therapyWandsworth Talking Therapies0203 513 6264Free 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 itWandsworth Community Drug and Alcohol Service (WCDAS)020 3228 1777Free and confidential.
- Local organisationWandsworth Carers' Centre
- Local organisationSubstance Misuse Carer Support (Wandsworth Carers' Centre), for family and friends of people who drink or use drugs
- Local organisationWandsworth Bereavement 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.
The South London NHS Mental Health Crisis Text Service is another option: text 80991 or WhatsApp 0303 330 1511. Local drop-in crisis support: Tooting Recovery Café (Hestia) (check opening times before you go).
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 Putney ask before starting
Can I see a counsellor in Putney face to face?
My only room is in Hove, about 80 minutes' drive from Putney, so face-to-face sessions mean a trip south. Week by week, a secure video call from SW15 keeps the trip off your diary, and a Hove session can still be arranged from time to time when being in the same room matters. Some people like to make the first meeting in person and continue on video.
Is there a waiting list for counselling if I live in Putney?
The free 15-minute call comes before anything else. If we both want to carry on, I'll offer you the times I genuinely have free and you choose from those, so there's no long queue to join. As a Putney resident you can also call Wandsworth Talking Therapies, the borough's NHS service for anxiety or low mood, on 0203 513 6264 and refer yourself.
Where can I talk to someone in Putney tonight if things feel unbearable?
The Inner South West London Samaritans branch sits on Felsham Road in Putney, and Samaritans answer calls on 116 123 at any hour. In south London you can also text 80991 or WhatsApp 0303 330 1511 to reach the NHS crisis text service. Where life is at immediate risk, call 999. This page's urgent help box lists more crisis contacts for Wandsworth and south-west London.
I'm not sure counselling is for me. What happens on the first call?
The free call is 15 minutes, by phone or video, wherever you are in Putney. You sketch what has been happening, put any questions to me, and together we judge whether a second conversation makes sense. Nothing is booked unless you want it to be, and you're welcome to take time to think it over afterwards.
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 short first conversation from SW15
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.