Dorking · in person in Hove or online
Depression counselling for Dorking
If you've been low for weeks or months in Dorking, getting through the days but feeling very little, or carrying a loss that has turned to numbness, we can look at it together. Sessions are by secure video from your own room, or in Hove if you'd like to meet. You don't need a label, a referral or the right words before we begin.
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 Dorking
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Dorking by car
- About 54 minutes with clear roads (38.1 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- From Dorking Deepdene, change at Gatwick Airport 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.
Feeling flat where others come to unwind
Visitors come to Dorking for a good day out, a climb up Box Hill or an afternoon at Polesden Lacey.
Living in the middle of that can make low mood feel like something you have no right to, and if the view from Leith Hill does nothing for you any more, guilt can settle on top of the flatness. Depression rarely announces itself as sadness. More often it's sleeping badly, losing interest in people and things you used to enjoy, and finding that every small task takes twice the effort. Here it can follow the end of a long London career, when the trains carry on without you and the weeks lose their shape. It can follow years of caring for a parent, or a bereavement everyone else seems to have moved on from. Across Surrey, GP records for 2024/25 note depression for 13.0% of registered adults (England: 14.3% in 2024/25). That figure reflects what GPs have written down, not how widespread depression truly is, and it says nothing about you.
Working with flatness without pushing too hard
Depression drains exactly the energy you'd need to deal with it, so the work starts gently. Early on, we look at how your days really run: when you wake, what you eat, who you've stopped seeing, and the critical voice that says this is all your own fault. Then we look at what might be holding the low mood in place. That could be a loss never properly grieved, a role that vanished when work or caring ended, tiredness that has built up over years, or anger with nowhere to go that has turned inward. We set steps you can actually take, sometimes as small as one message answered or ten minutes outside, and notice what shifts, however slightly. Where grief is underneath, we give it room instead of hurrying it along. At some point I'll ask, calmly and directly, whether you've had thoughts of harming yourself or of not wanting to be alive. If you have, we'll talk about how to keep you safe, and the crisis numbers on this page are there day and night. Medication is your GP's territory, and counselling sits comfortably alongside antidepressants if you take them.
How low mood can look in a Dorking life
When the London career ends
Retirement or redundancy after years on the slow trains to Victoria or Waterloo, and suddenly no structure, no colleagues and no sense of being needed.
Years of caring
Looking after a partner or parent until there's little left of you. Action for Carers Surrey supports carers in their own right, alongside our sessions.
Grief that went quiet
A death others have moved on from while you still feel numb. Cruse Bereavement Support has Surrey East and South West Surrey branches, plus a national helpline.
Too flat for company
Mary Frances Trust's Community Connections wellbeing groups and courses in Mole Valley offer a gentle way back towards people when isolation has become part of the low mood.
Free and low-cost support for Dorking
The free NHS route for depression is Mind Matters Surrey, which provides NHS Talking Therapies and accepts self-referrals on 0300 330 5450. Mary Frances Trust runs wellbeing groups across Mole Valley, and Cruse Bereavement Support helps when grief is part of it. If the person struggling is a teenager or young adult, Heads Together Counselling in Dorking offers free counselling to those aged 11 to 24. Counselling with me can sit beside whichever of these you use.
- 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
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.
What people in Dorking ask before starting
Is there free NHS help for low mood and depression around Dorking?
Mind Matters Surrey is the NHS Talking Therapies service for Surrey, and you can refer yourself for low mood without a GP appointment on 0300 330 5450. Mary Frances Trust offers wellbeing groups in Mole Valley, and Cruse Bereavement Support helps if a loss sits underneath. Your GP is the person to ask about medication. Any of these can be combined with private counselling.
Is it worth coming to Hove from Dorking for depression counselling, or is video enough?
Both work, and the choice can change with your energy. Video removes the 54-minute drive, so a session can still happen on a day when getting dressed feels like a lot. Coming to Hove gives the week a fixed outing, which helps some and drains others. If you're unsure, start on video and try the room once you feel ready.
Since I stopped commuting from Dorking I've felt empty. Could it be depression?
It might be, or it might be the loss of a role that gave your days their structure and meaning, and the two often blur together. A doctor is the right person to say whether it's depression, so if the emptiness has lasted weeks, tell your GP. Counselling doesn't need a label first. We can look at what the work gave you, and what might start to replace it.
Who can I call in Dorking if low mood turns into thoughts of suicide at night?
The Surrey and Borders Partnership 24/7 mental health crisis helpline is on 0800 915 4644, and Samaritans answer on 116 123 at any hour. If you are in immediate danger, call 999. Telling me about these thoughts won't end our work or shock me. We'll talk about them openly and plan together how to keep you safe.
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.
One small step, on a day you can manage it
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.