Wimbledon · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Counselling and therapy for Wimbledon
This page is for anyone in Wimbledon, up in the Village or down near the station, who has been carrying something alone and would like to talk it through with someone outside their own world. Sessions with me usually happen by secure video, because my one room is in Hove, a long way south of Wimbledon.
The practical facts for Wimbledon
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Wimbledon by car
- About 74 minutes with clear roads (47.7 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Merton Talking Therapies, 0203 513 5888
- 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.
Hilltop village, station town, one borough
Wimbledon comes in two halves. The Village sits on the hill around the High Street, and the town grew up below it around the railway station, where South Western Railway, Thameslink, the District line and Tramlink all meet. Off-peak, around 14 trains an hour leave for London Waterloo, and if you're on one of them most mornings, a working week can turn into platforms and screens. Then there's the Championships at the All England Club, and the quieter Wimbledon of the Common, Cannizaro Park, a match at Plough Lane or a show at the Polka Theatre. None of that stops you lying awake at three in the morning with your thoughts going round. If sitting in a local waiting room would feel awkward, you can talk instead to a counsellor who has no part in Wimbledon life.
What you could bring, and how the first weeks go
In Wimbledon you already have more than one door to knock on, so it's worth weighing them honestly before you pick one. Merton Talking Therapies, which also goes by Merton Uplift, is the NHS door in Merton for worry that won't switch off or a mood that has sunk, and you can approach it directly. The Wimbledon Guild, a Merton charity, runs its own counselling too. Private sessions with me give you a counsellor you choose yourself, no set number of sessions, and a weekly time you can fix around the trains from Wimbledon station. I also have no link to the Village, the school gates or your office, which can make it easier to talk about the people in them. You might bring worry that has started to run your days, a grief, a marriage gone quiet, or drinking you'd privately like to understand, and you don't need the right word for it. In the first session I mostly listen and ask what a better few months would look like for you. After that we follow what you bring, at your pace.
Wimbledon pressures worth bringing
The Waterloo train that follows you
With around 14 trains an hour from Wimbledon station to London Waterloo, work is never far away, and your head can stay at the desk long after the ride home.
When the front door feels heavy
If leaving the house has become hard, we can start by video from your own sofa, with no trip to Hove until you want one, if ever.
Grief without a Merton branch
After a death, Cruse Bereavement Support has no Merton branch but runs a national helpline, and weekly counselling with me can sit alongside it.
Drinking you'd like to understand
If wine or anything else has crept up, we can talk about it plainly, with no lecture attached. Via Merton, on 0300 303 4610, can help with the drinking itself.
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 Wimbledon
If cost matters, or you'd like something local, the Wimbledon Guild runs counselling and support groups, including free counselling for people of Black and Asian heritage, for refugees and asylum seekers, and by phone or online for anyone who struggles to leave the house. Merton Talking Therapies takes free self-referrals for anxiety or low mood. If things feel acute, the South West London and St George's Recovery Cafés take walk-ins from Merton residents in crisis.
- Free NHS talking therapyMerton Talking Therapies0203 513 5888Free 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 itVia Merton0300 303 4610Free and confidential.
- Local organisationWimbledon Guild counselling and support groups
- Local organisationCarers First Merton
- Local organisationCommunity Discovery and Recovery Services
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.
The South London NHS Mental Health Crisis Text Service is another option: text 80991 or WhatsApp 0303 330 1511. Local drop-in crisis support: Sunshine Recovery Café, Wimbledon; South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust Recovery Cafés (check opening times before you go).
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 Wimbledon ask before starting
Do I need to come down to Hove from Wimbledon?
No. Counselling from Wimbledon would almost always run by secure video, since the room is about 74 minutes' drive away. Should a face-to-face hour or two appeal, you're welcome at Intergen House on Western Road in Hove, and booking 90 minutes rather than 60 can make the trip feel more worthwhile.
If I'm in Wimbledon, how soon could a first session be?
Book the free call and we'll spend a quarter of an hour on what's going on and what you'd want from sessions. Should we both want to carry on, we agree a first appointment and a regular slot. By video that slot can sit before your train, at lunchtime or once the house has gone quiet.
Is the Wimbledon Guild's counselling the same as seeing you?
Not quite. The Wimbledon Guild is a Merton charity whose counselling begins with an assessment in person, and some of its places are free for particular groups. With me you choose your counsellor directly, there's no assessment queue, and we meet by video at a time you fix.
I'd hate to bump into my counsellor on Wimbledon Common. Is that a risk?
Not with me. My only room is in Hove, so there's no local waiting room to be seen in, and on video nobody sees you arrive anywhere. You can talk about family, neighbours or colleagues knowing I'm not part of that circle. What you say stays confidential, within the usual safety limits I'll explain at the start.
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.
Ask your questions on a free call
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.