Bexleyheath · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Depression counselling for Bexleyheath
If you're in Bexleyheath and the colour has gone out of things, if you're getting through the days but feel very little, or a loss has left you numb, I offer depression counselling by secure video. You don't need a GP's referral, and we go at the pace your energy allows.
If you are thinking about ending your life, call 999 or the Samaritans free on 116 123, day or night. More urgent help is on this page.
The practical facts for Bexleyheath
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Bexleyheath by car
- About 76 minutes with clear roads (63.2 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- From Bexleyheath, change at London Victoria for trains towards Brighton and Hove.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- NHS Bexley Talking Therapies, 020 8303 8932 (option 1)
- 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.
When the days lose their shape
Often the first sign is that the things that used to carry you stop meaning much.
The walk round Danson Park becomes something you skip, then something you can't imagine bothering with. Friends you bump into on the Broadway get a wave instead of a coffee. In Bexleyheath it can follow a change that looked like relief from the outside: retirement after years of commuting into London, or the end of caring for a parent, which leaves grief and an empty diary at the same time. It can arrive with a long winter, or for no reason you can name, which is often the hardest thing to explain to family. You might sleep too much or too little, snap at people you love, or tell yourself everyone else copes. It deserves to be taken seriously, even if you are still getting to work or to the shops every day.
Small steps, taken at your own speed
When you're depressed, even booking a call can take everything you've got, so I try to make the start easy. Early on, I want to understand an ordinary day for you: when you wake, whether you eat, who you still talk to, and the voice in your head that turns every slip into evidence against you. From there we look for what is pressing down. It might be grief that never had room, a lost role after retirement or caring, years of tiredness, or anger that has turned inwards. We keep goals deliberately modest, perhaps a short walk to the Clock Tower and back, or one message to an old friend in a fortnight, and if one slips, we look at what got in the way. If a death sits underneath, we give the grief time instead of steering round it. At some point I'll gently ask whether things have got dark enough that you've thought about hurting yourself or ending your life. If they have, we make a plan for keeping you safe, and the urgent help on this page is there day and night. Antidepressants are a conversation for your GP in Bexleyheath, and our sessions can carry on alongside them.
How flatness can arrive in a Bexleyheath life
After the last commute
Years on the trains to Charing Cross or Cannon Street end with retirement, and the structure that held your weeks together leaves with them.
Grief that went quiet
Months after a funeral, sadness can harden into numbness. Cruse Bereavement Support for Bexley and Bromley is a free place to talk about the loss alongside our sessions.
Back in your old bedroom
Living with your parents in Barnehurst or Welling in your twenties or thirties, watching friends move on, can steadily wear down your sense of where life is heading.
Mind in Bexley, in the town
Mind in Bexley is headquartered in Bexleyheath and runs a Recovery Service. It also delivers NHS Bexley Talking Therapies, which takes self-referrals for low mood.
Free and low-cost support for Bexleyheath
NHS Bexley Talking Therapies accepts self-referrals for low mood at no charge. Cruse Bereavement Support covers Bexley and Bromley if a death sits behind how you feel, and the Bexley and Dartford Samaritans have their branch in Bexleyheath for the nights when everything feels heavy. You can see me privately while you use any of these.
- Free NHS talking therapyNHS Bexley Talking Therapies020 8303 8932 (option 1)Free 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 itThe Pier Road Project (Bexley Drug and Alcohol Service)01322 357940Free and confidential.
- Local organisationMind in Bexley Carers Service
- Local organisationCarers' Support (Bexley)
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 WhatsApp Service () is another option: WhatsApp 0303 330 1511. Local drop-in crisis support: Bexley Crisis Cafe (Mind in Bexley) (check opening times before you go).
What people in Bexleyheath ask before starting
Is there free NHS help for depression near Bexleyheath?
NHS Bexley Talking Therapies is the free NHS route, delivered by Mind in Bexley, and you can refer yourself for depression or low mood on 020 8303 8932, option 1, without seeing a GP first. Counselling Matters Bexley offers low-cost counselling, and Cruse supports people after a bereavement. You can use any of these and see me privately as well.
Can I have depression counselling from Bexleyheath on days I can barely get out of bed?
Yes. Video means there is no 76-minute drive and no platform to stand on, so a session can happen from bed or the sofa if that's what you can manage. All you need is some privacy and a screen. If a day comes when even that feels too much, tell me, and we'll talk about what would make it easier.
I retired after years of commuting from Bexleyheath and now feel nothing. Is that depression?
It might be, or it might be the loss of a working identity, and the two often tangle together. Your GP is the person to assess whether it's depression, so if the flatness has lasted for weeks, tell them. In counselling we don't need a label to begin. We can look at what the work gave you and what could start to take its place.
How quickly could I start, and what if things get worse while I wait?
The free 15-minute call is where you'll hear, plainly, how soon a weekly slot could begin. If things get darker before then, don't hold on for a slot. Samaritans answer free on 116 123, and the Bexley and Dartford branch is in Bexleyheath itself. Oxleas lists a South London crisis line on WhatsApp, 0303 330 1511. Call 999 if anyone's life is at immediate risk.
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.
Get in touch on a day that feels possible
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.