Staines-upon-Thames · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Counselling and therapy for Staines-upon-Thames
If you live or work in Staines and want to talk to someone, but aren't sure yet what kind of help you need, you can start here. As a counsellor registered with the BACP, I see people from Staines mostly over secure video, with the room in Hove there for the occasional session in person.
The practical facts for Staines-upon-Thames
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Staines-upon-Thames by car
- About 75 minutes with clear roads (63.0 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- From Staines, change at Clapham Junction for trains towards Brighton and Hove.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Mind Matters Surrey, 0300 330 5450
- 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.
Planes overhead, trains to Waterloo, the river at the door
Staines sits about 17 miles west of central London, where the Colne meets the Thames, with Heathrow close enough that much of the town's post-war housing was built for people working at the airport.
Today the town also holds the national headquarters of British Gas and Siemens Building Automation, and Samsung's UK research institute. So a Staines week can mean a desk in a corporate office, an early shift near the runways, or one of the six off-peak trains an hour to Waterloo. It can be hard to tell where the pressure is coming from when it arrives from several directions at once. The river shapes life here too. Much of the town stands on gravel islands above the floodplains, and if your street was among those flooded in 2014, a wet winter can still bring back the worry of that year, quietly, on top of everything else.
Not knowing what's wrong is a good enough reason to begin
People often wait until they can describe the problem neatly before asking for help. You don't have to. You might come with something clear, such as a bereavement or a relationship ending, or with a vaguer sense that sleep has gone, that a job at one of the big offices by the M25 now takes more than it gives, or that they've become snappy with the people they love. Early on, we unpick together what has been accumulating between the office, the commute and home, and sketch how a calmer few weeks in Staines might feel, going as slowly as you need. From there the work follows you rather than a script. I work integratively, with Human Givens among the approaches I draw on, and the rest is explained under how I work. What matters more is that you feel heard and that the sessions stay practical. If drinking has started to creep into the way you cope, we can talk about that openly too. Over 25 years in this work, and a recovery of my own behind me, mean you won't need to soften what you say for my sake.
Things a Staines life can pile up
Corporate pressure by the M25
A role at a national headquarters or a large branch office in Staines, where the targets, restructures or long hours keep running in your head on the walk home.
Life on the Heathrow clock
Work linked to the airport next door, with early starts and late finishes that leave sleep, meals and family time out of step with each other.
Squeezed by the Waterloo commute
Six trains an hour to London off-peak, and still the days feel too short, with little left for yourself once you're back in Staines at night.
After the 2014 floods
If the water reached your home or street, the disruption and the worry about the next wet winter can linger long after the clean-up was done.
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 Staines-upon-Thames
Private sessions can sit beside free help in and around Staines. Mind Matters Surrey, part of NHS Talking Therapies, lets you refer yourself about anxiety or low mood on 0300 330 5450. For money, housing or work worries, Citizens Advice Runnymede and Spelthorne holds a Thursday morning drop-in at Staines Library in the Elmsleigh Centre. Spelthorne Mental Health Association runs The Grange Day Centre in Ashford, reached through a health or social care professional.
- Free NHS talking therapyMind Matters Surrey0300 330 5450Free 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 iti-access0300 222 5932Free and confidential.
- Local organisationAction for Carers Surrey
- Local organisationSpelthorne Social Prescribing (Spelthorne Borough Council)
- Local organisationCREST Cancer SupportLocal volunteer-run charity.
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 Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS FT Mental Health Crisis Helpline is on 0800 915 4644.
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 Staines-upon-Thames ask before starting
From Staines, is meeting in person an option?
Yes, in Hove. The room is about 75 minutes' drive from Staines, or a train ride that involves a change at Clapham Junction, so it suits an occasional visit better than a weekly one. For regular sessions, video from home in Staines or Laleham tends to be more workable, and some sessions can be online with the odd one in the room.
Is there free counselling in Staines through the NHS?
Across Spelthorne, NHS Talking Therapies comes through Mind Matters Surrey, a Surrey and Borders Partnership team supporting people with anxiety or low mood. You can contact it directly on 0300 330 5450, with no need to go through your GP first. Your GP surgery can also tell you about other community support in Spelthorne.
If I contact a counsellor from Staines, when could sessions begin?
Everything starts with a free 15-minute phone call, which gives you a chance to explain roughly what has brought you here and to put any questions to me. Should we agree to carry on, you pick from the slots I genuinely have open, and since video means no trip out of Staines, the only thing to line up is a private hour at home.
What should I do if things get bad in Staines between sessions?
Day or night, Spelthorne residents can reach a person on 0800 915 4644, the crisis helpline run by Surrey and Borders Partnership, also listed in the urgent help box here. The closest A and E for Staines is at St Peter's Hospital in Chertsey, and if anyone is in immediate danger, ring 999. Our weekly sessions carry on alongside these services.
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.
Start with a short call from Staines
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.