Southsea · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Counselling and therapy for Southsea
Maybe home is a rented flat off Albert Road, a family house in Eastney or a place near the seafront, and something feels wrong that you can't yet name; one first conversation is a sound place to begin. I'm a counsellor and psychotherapist, and from Southsea most weekly sessions happen over secure video, with my one room in Hove there for occasional visits.
The practical facts for Southsea
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Southsea by car
- About 71 minutes with clear roads (48.0 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- Direct trains from Fratton towards Brighton call at Hove on the way.
- 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 old resort with the city's nightlife behind the front
Southsea grew as a Victorian seaside resort and still has the feel of one, with Southsea Castle, South Parade Pier and Clarence Pier all on its seafront.
Away from the front, a lot of it is rented, student and busy late into the night. Central Southsea, together with Fratton, is where University of Portsmouth students most often rent privately, and the streets around Albert Road and Palmerston Road hold much of the city's nightlife, with the Wedgewood Rooms and the Kings Theatre nearby. Each August, Victorious Festival fills Southsea Common. That makes it a lively place to live, and it can be a lonely one too, sometimes in the same week. Walls between flats can be thin, a housemate is often in the next room, and a bar is never far away. If you've been here for years, you may have watched the area change around you while your own circle got smaller.
You can start before you know what you need
Whatever has prompted you to reach out from Southsea, turning up without a neat word for it is completely fine. It might be a low patch that hasn't lifted, a relationship ending, the strain of looking after someone, or a sense that the nights out have stopped being fun and become a way of getting through the week. In the first sessions we pick apart what weighs most on you from day to day, and picture together what an easier month in Southsea could hold. If you care for a parent, partner or child, that can include room for your own tiredness and resentment, which carers are rarely asked about. If drinking or drugs have crept into the picture, you can say so plainly here and we'll talk about it without judgement; for specialist help with that side, the Portsmouth Recovery Hub has its drop-in in Southsea itself, at Campion Place on Elm Grove. I blend approaches to fit the person in front of me instead of running one set course, and the how I work page describes them. Over 25 years in this work sit behind those sessions, and recovery is part of my own life story too. Sessions are a private hour, kept apart from your landlord, your course and your employer.
What Southsea life can bring to a first session
Rented rooms and thin walls
Central Southsea is where many students choose to rent privately, and a shared house can leave you short of a private place to talk. Together we can find an hour when your housemates are out.
When nights out stop helping
Albert Road and Palmerston Road hold much of the city's nightlife. If going out has become how you cope, we can look at what it covers, with the Recovery Hub drop-in on Elm Grove alongside.
When you are the carer
Portsmouth Carers Centre is on Orchard Road in Southsea, and counselling can give you an hour that is only about you, alongside the support the Carers Service offers.
Lonely in a lively place
Friday Fridge at St Jude's Church began as a late drop-in for people leaving Southsea's pubs and clubs, and now offers company to anyone who is lonely. Weekly counselling can sit alongside it.
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 Southsea
Southsea has free help close by that can sit alongside private sessions. NHS Talking Therapies Portsmouth can be contacted directly, without a GP, for anxiety and low mood, and the Portsmouth Mental Health Hub offers an NHS advice line and live chat. Compass Counselling prices its sessions by income, Portsmouth Carers Service supports people looking after someone, and Friday Fridge at St Jude's Church offers food and company each week.
- 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 organisationRebound Carer's GroupSupport for families and friends.
- Local organisationRowans Hospice Bereavement Support
- Local organisationVeterans Outreach Support (VOS)
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 Southsea ask before starting
Could I meet you in the room rather than online, coming from Southsea?
Yes, in Hove. Sessions face to face take place on Western Road in Hove, about 71 minutes' drive from Southsea, or a direct train from Fratton with one service an hour off-peak. Because that is a long trip for a weekly hour, regular work from Southsea usually suits secure video, with a visit to Hove now and then, perhaps for a longer session that makes the travel worthwhile.
Is there a waiting list to start counselling if I'm in Southsea?
A free 15-minute consultation comes first, giving you room to question me and decide whether a Southsea week could make space for this kind of work. Should it feel right to carry on, I'll tell you which weekly slots are open and you choose the one your week allows. For free support while you decide, NHS Talking Therapies Portsmouth accepts calls direct from you on 0300 123 3934 if what troubles you most is anxiety or a low mood.
Who can I contact in Southsea for mental health advice when it isn't an emergency?
Try the Portsmouth Mental Health Hub, an NHS advice and access line with live chat from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare, open to anyone 16 or older living in Portsmouth's PO1 to PO6 postcodes or registered with a GP in the city, so Southsea's PO4 and PO5 are covered. That Portsmouth line handles advice and access, not emergencies, so ring 999 if life is at immediate risk, and see the urgent help box here for further numbers.
I'm a student renting in Southsea. Will video sessions work from a shared house?
They can, with a little planning. Pick a time when housemates are out, wear headphones, and sit somewhere you can't be overheard. Counselling with me is entirely separate from the University of Portsmouth, so nothing reaches your course, within the usual safety limits we go over at the start. If privacy at home is hard, we can work out the options on the free call.
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.
Begin with a quiet conversation from Southsea
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.