Sittingbourne · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Counselling and therapy for Sittingbourne
Perhaps something in your Sittingbourne life has gone heavy and you can't yet put a name to it. That is a sound enough reason to get in touch. I'm a BACP-registered counsellor seeing adults one to one, and because my only room is in Hove, about 90 minutes from Swale by car, our sessions would usually happen over secure video, with a Hove visit whenever you'd like one.
The practical facts for Sittingbourne
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Sittingbourne by car
- About 90 minutes with clear roads (75.2 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- NHS Talking Therapies Kent and Medway, 0333 091 0414
- 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 paper town on Watling Street, half facing London
Sittingbourne was built on brick, barges and paper.
In 1912 its paper mill was the largest producer of newsprint in the world, with 1,200 employees, and the last reel came off it in 2007, while the Kemsley Paper Mill went up in 1924 alongside a model village for its workers. Today the station sends two Southeastern trains an hour to St Pancras and two to Victoria, so a home in Murston or The Meads can come with a working day in the capital. Others stay closer, around Kent Science Park or the town centre. The town centre and Milton Regis area is among the most deprived parts of Kent, and money worries can sit quietly under everything else. Whether your week runs on early trains, school runs to Borden Grammar or Fulston Manor, or caring for someone at home, the strain often builds slowly until one ordinary morning it feels like too much.
When you can't quite say what's wrong yet
General counselling suits the moment before you've worked out which sort of help fits. Maybe there is a clear trigger, like a separation, a parent going downhill, or a London job that has started to wear you thin. Or maybe all you know is that you've stopped enjoying things, that you're short with your children, or that a can or two after the train home has crept into most nights. Whichever it is, bring it as it comes. Over the opening sessions we sort through what weighs heaviest and why it hasn't shifted: long days split between Swale and the city, being the person everyone in the family leans on, or an older hurt that has woken up again. Then we settle on a focus together, and should another kind of support suit you better, I'll say so straight. I work integratively, with Internal Family Systems among the influences, and the separate how I work page gives the fuller picture. Behind that sit more than 25 years of practice plus my own recovery, which means a drink problem, embarrassment or a tangled family past can be talked about without anyone flinching.
Pressures that come home to ME10
Early trains, late homecomings
Leaving Sittingbourne station for Victoria or St Pancras before it's light and getting back after dark can leave no space at all for noticing how you actually are.
Money that never stretches
In the town centre and Milton Regis, one of the most deprived parts of Kent, a bill or a debt can sit behind sleepless nights and short tempers.
A town that changed around you
If your family worked at the old paper mill or at Kemsley, the mill's closure in 2007 can stir feelings about belonging that are hard to put into words.
Men carrying it on their own
Sittingbourne has its own men's mental health peer group, MenTalk Health, meeting on Tuesday evenings, which can run alongside one-to-one sessions if talking in a group appeals.
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 Sittingbourne
Private counselling can sit beside free help in Swale. Swale residents troubled by anxiety or a flat mood can ring countywide NHS Talking Therapies Kent and Medway themselves, no GP letter needed. Mid Kent Mind offers lower-cost counselling across Maidstone, Ashford and Swale, the Recovery College runs free courses at Heather House and Milton Creek, and Heather House Community Cafe has a Chatty Cafe table on Tuesday mornings.
- Free NHS talking therapyNHS Talking Therapies Kent and Medway0333 091 0414Free 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 itEast Kent community drug and alcohol service (The Forward Trust)0300 123 1186Free and confidential.
- Local organisationImago - Kent Carers Support (West Kent adult carers service)
- Local organisationMenTalk Health - Sittingbourne
- Local organisationRecovery College courses in Sittingbourne
- Local organisationCruse Bereavement Support - East Kent with SwaleBereavement support.
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 Release the Pressure Helpline - Kent is on 0800 107 0160.
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 Sittingbourne ask before starting
Could I sit down with you in person, coming from Sittingbourne?
In person we'd meet at Intergen House in Hove, about 90 minutes' drive from Sittingbourne, or by rail through London with one change. On an ordinary week a secure video session from home is far simpler. If sharing a room feels important, a Hove appointment can be arranged occasionally, perhaps as a longer 90 or 120-minute meeting that makes the trip worthwhile.
What is the wait for a counsellor if I'm in Swale?
Step one is the free 15-minute consultation, which you can take as a call or on screen. Should we decide to carry on, I'll give you the slots genuinely free in my diary and you choose, rather than joining a queue. Worry or lasting low mood is also something NHS Talking Therapies Kent and Medway sees on 0333 091 0414, with no GP appointment first.
Does video counselling work as well as sitting in a room together?
It is the same counsellor and the same hour, just without 75.2 miles of road between us. You need a private space where nobody will overhear, a steady connection and a pair of headphones if the house is busy. Some find it easier to open up from their own sofa in Sittingbourne, and a Hove session stays available if you'd value one.
Where can I talk to someone in Sittingbourne if I'm struggling tonight?
Samaritans answer on 116 123 at any hour, and in Kent the Release the Pressure Helpline, run by Rethink Mental Illness, takes calls free on 0800 107 0160. Where a life is at immediate risk, dial 999 straight away. The urgent help box on this page gathers these numbers and others, so they are quick to find.
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 Swale to the screen
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.