Walton-on-Thames · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Counselling and therapy for Walton-on-Thames
If life in Walton-on-Thames has started to feel heavier than it should, even if you couldn't say exactly why, I offer one-to-one counselling. My room is in Hove, about 70 minutes away by car, so from Walton we usually meet by secure video at a regular time each week, with an occasional visit to Hove if you'd like one.
The practical facts for Walton-on-Thames
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Walton-on-Thames by car
- About 70 minutes with clear roads (56.0 miles); longer at busy times.
- 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.
A riverside market town that grew with the railway
Walton grew because of the railway. Between 1851 and 1911 its population more than quadrupled, and today the station still runs four trains an hour to London Waterloo, the semi-fast ones taking about 25 minutes. That makes it easy for a week to fill up with somewhere else. Around the historic centre, the Heart of Walton and the Mount Felix clock tower, the streets of Ashley Park, Rydens, Halfway and Old Walton look settled and calm, and on a walk along the Thames by Walton Bridge it can seem as though everyone else is coping. Behind front doors the picture is more mixed. Walton Charity's foodbank runs four sessions a week across Walton and Hersham, and its pantry, The Bridge, was set up for working families. Money worry, caring for someone, a job that never switches off: in a town this settled, they can be hard to mention.
Coming to counselling without a clear reason
Nobody expects you to turn up knowing what to call it. Some people come because sleep has gone, or they snap at the people they love, or a loss from years ago has started to surface again. Others feel flat without knowing why, or notice that a couple of glasses in the evening have become something they rely on. In a first session we simply look at what has been happening and which parts of it you most want to shift, then decide together whether weekly work makes sense. If your days revolve around the Waterloo line, we can find a time once you're home. If you're looking after a parent or a partner, we can fit sessions around that care on video from home, so a long drive never has to squeeze into an already full week. I draw on several approaches, including Internal Family Systems, and use whichever suits what you bring. My counselling career now spans over 25 years, and I came into it after finding my own way through recovery, so you won't shock me.
What Walton life can bring to the first session
Twenty-five minutes to Waterloo
Semi-fast trains make London close, so work can spread into early mornings and late evenings until home in Walton is mostly where you sleep.
Money worries behind a calm street
Walton Charity runs a foodbank and The Bridge pantry for working families. Counselling can sit beside that practical help when stress about money starts to affect everything else.
Caring for someone close
Supporting an ill parent, partner or child at home in Walton. Action for Carers Surrey and Rethink Carer Support - North Surrey support carers in Elmbridge alongside our sessions.
Feeling cut off as you get older
Loneliness after retirement or a loss. CHEER offers befriending for over-60s in Elmbridge, and weekly counselling gives you time to talk about what has changed.
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 Walton-on-Thames
Walton has some unusually local options. The Counselling Partnership, a low-cost counselling charity in the town, offers sessions in person in Walton-on-Thames, in Guildford or online, by easy self-referral. For anxiety and low mood, the free NHS option covering Elmbridge is Mind Matters Surrey. Catalyst Community Connections gives telephone support across West Elmbridge, and the new Walton Community Hub on Manor Road runs weekly wellbeing activities.
- 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 organisationRethink Carer Support - North Surrey
For gambling, the National Gambling Helpline is free, day or night, on 0808 8020 133 (NHS gambling support).
Private counselling with me can run alongside any of these; you do not have to choose one or the other.
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 Walton-on-Thames ask before starting
Is in-person counselling possible if I live in Walton-on-Thames?
With me, face-to-face sessions take place at my room in Hove, roughly 70 minutes' drive from Walton, so weekly work is usually by video. If you want to sit in a room in the town itself, The Counselling Partnership is a local charity that sees adults in person in Walton-on-Thames at low cost. Weighing a Walton room against video with me is something the free call can help you sort out.
Is there free counselling in Walton-on-Thames on the NHS?
There is a free NHS route if what you're facing is anxiety or low mood. Elmbridge's free NHS Talking Therapies provider is Mind Matters Surrey, a Surrey and Borders Partnership service, and ringing 0300 330 5450 lets anyone living in Walton refer themselves with no GP visit beforehand. Seeing me privately suits you if you want a say in who you talk to, or if what's troubling you reaches beyond those two areas.
How quickly could I start therapy from Walton?
Your first move is a free 15-minute call from wherever suits you in Walton. Should we agree to carry on, I'll list my open weekly slots, and the choice is yours, shaped by the Waterloo train or whatever else your week holds. The first full session can then be by video from home in Walton, with no travel needed.
What if I don't know whether I need counselling or something else?
That's a common place to start, and the free call is a good way to think it through. Some things are best taken to your GP, some to a charity such as Walton Charity for money worries, and some suit counselling. If more than one applies, they can run side by side, and I'll be honest about which seems the right fit.
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 Walton, at your pace
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.