Reading · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Counselling and therapy for Reading
If something in your Reading life feels heavy and you're not sure what to call it, this is a sensible first stop. My work is one-to-one counselling. The room I use is in Hove, 100 minutes away by car, so for Reading it's usually a secure video call, with nothing lost except the drive.
The practical facts for Reading
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Reading by car
- About 100 minutes with clear roads (81.3 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- NHS Berkshire Talking Therapies, 0300 365 2000 (press option 2)
- 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 commercial hub with a high cost of living
Reading Borough Council calls the town the principal regional and commercial centre of the Thames Valley, and the working week here shows it.
Information technology and insurance firms fill the business parks at Green Park and Thames Valley Park, and the station is the second busiest interchange outside London, with the Elizabeth line now ending there. The council also describes a thriving night-time economy. In the same breath it is candid that the high cost of living, and of housing above all, has had a significant impact on local communities. So a Reading week can mean a demanding job, a rent or mortgage that takes most of the pay, and very little slack for anything going wrong. By the council's 2021 Census count, 46.5% of residents belong to a Black and Minority Ethnic community, so people bring many family histories, languages and expectations to those same pressures. Any of that can be reason enough to want an hour that belongs only to you.
Starting when you can't yet put it into words
Getting in touch from Reading doesn't call for a neat explanation first. You might arrive with something specific: redundancy from an office job at Green Park, a parent's decline, or a breakup that has left you paying for a flat you can't really afford alone. Or you might only know that you've been short-tempered for months, sleeping badly, or reaching for a glass more often than you'd like. Early on, the two of us untangle which strands matter most and why they've stuck. It may be the load of a demanding role, worry about money, distance from family who live in another country, or something from much further back that has woken up again. Once that picture is clearer, we agree what to focus on, and I'll say plainly if your GP, an NHS service or one of the Reading charities named on this page looks a better fit for now. A quarter of a century in this work, and recovery of my own, sit behind how I listen. You can read about the methods I blend on the how I work page, so our time stays focused on your life in Reading.
Weights that a Reading week can add
Housing that swallows the pay
The council itself says housing costs have hit local communities hard, and living with that pressure month after month wears down sleep, patience and hope.
Long days in the business parks
Office hours in IT or insurance at Green Park or Thames Valley Park, then the trip home, can leave nothing in reserve for you or the people you live with.
A long way from family
Living far from parents and siblings, or carrying their hopes for you, can sit quietly beneath everything else in a busy Reading life.
Ringing the NHS yourself
For anxiety or a lingering low mood, a call to NHS Berkshire Talking Therapies on 0300 365 2000, option 2, needs no GP letter and fits beside 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 Reading
Private sessions can sit beside the free help Reading already has. NHS Berkshire Talking Therapies accepts direct contact for anxiety and low mood. Berkshire West Breathing Space offers six pre-booked wellbeing sessions from 1A Rupert Square for adults in emotional distress. Hope Counselling Service and No5 Young People both provide lower-cost counselling in the town, and the Reading Men's Mental Wellbeing Service runs drop-ins and one-to-one support for men.
- Free NHS talking therapyNHS Berkshire Talking Therapies0300 365 2000 (press option 2)Free 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 itDrug & Alcohol Service Reading (Change Grow Live)0118 955 7333Free and confidential.
- Local organisationMind in Berkshire, Berkshire West servicesMental health charity.
- Local organisationReading & West Berkshire Carers Partnership
- Local organisationReading Men's Mental Wellbeing Service (Together for Mental Wellbeing)Community mental wellbeing service for men in Reading.
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.
Locally, the Berkshire Healthcare Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team is on 0800 129 9999.
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 Reading ask before starting
Is there a counsellor near me in Reading, or is it all online?
In-person meetings happen at Intergen House in Hove, about 100 minutes' drive from Reading, so our regular sessions would happen over secure video. You get the same counsellor and the same attention, from your own home in Whitley, Earley or the town centre. Anyone keen to sit in the same room can book an odd Hove visit via the North Downs line, and some make the opening session that one.
If I'm in Reading, how soon could we have a first session?
Nobody in Reading needs to queue for this. A free 15-minute call or video chat opens things, and if you want to go on, you pick a weekly time from my real openings, maybe one before your train from Reading station. For anxiety or low mood, NHS Berkshire Talking Therapies is a free option you can contact directly on 0300 365 2000, pressing option 2.
Are there charities offering counselling in Reading as well?
Hope Counselling Service offers affordable counselling for adults at 229 Kings Road, near the Cemetery Junction bus stop, from Tuesday to Thursday. No5 Young People provides free counselling for 11 to 25 year olds and low-cost weekly sessions for older adults, now from Holybrook House on Castle Street. Either may suit you well, and private work with me stays open if you'd prefer it.
Who can I call in Reading if I'm struggling tonight?
Berkshire Healthcare's Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team answers around the clock for adults on 0800 129 9999. Samaritans listen at any hour on 116 123, and Reading Samaritans also replies to emails. If someone's life is in danger, call 999. The Berkshire crisis contacts are repeated in the urgent help panel here.
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.
Fifteen minutes to see whether it fits
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.