Farnborough · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Depression counselling for Farnborough
If life in Farnborough has gone flat and the things you used to enjoy no longer reach you, we can work on it together over secure video. My only room is in Hove, so we'd meet on screen from wherever you're comfortable, and we'll 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 Farnborough
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Farnborough by car
- About 85 minutes with clear roads (71.8 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- From Farnborough North, change at Gatwick Airport for trains towards Brighton and Hove.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- NHS Talking Therapies Hampshire, 023 8038 3920
- 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 work that defined you stops
If your working life was tied up with Farnborough Airport, Cody Technology Park or another of the town's technical employers, retirement or redundancy can take more than a salary.
It can take the routine, the colleagues and the sense of being needed, and what's left can feel like one long grey afternoon. Depression doesn't always arrive as sadness. Often it shows up as flatness, in the garden you've stopped tending or the evenings in front of the television that never feel like rest. It can grow out of caring for a partner or parent whose needs keep rising, or out of grief that turned to numbness once the funeral was over. In Hampshire, depression was recorded for 16.4% of adults registered with a GP in 2024/25 (England: 14.3% in 2024/25). That figure reflects how often GPs have recorded depression, which isn't the same as how common it is, and it tells you nothing about your own situation.
Small, honest steps when energy is low
With depression, we start where your energy actually is. In early sessions we look at how your days run now: sleep, food, who you see, what you've let slide, and whether there are any moments, however short, when the weight eases. We also look at what has been lost. If work gave you purpose and company, part of the task is finding those again in a new shape, perhaps a course at Farnborough College of Technology or one regular phone call with an old colleague. Steps stay small, so a first aim might be a single walk or one reply to a message. If grief sits underneath, we make room for it without hurrying you towards moving on. If you lost someone to suicide, the Support After Suicide Service from Cruse Bereavement Support covers Hampshire and can sit alongside our sessions. Antidepressants, and any change to them, are for your GP to advise on, and counselling can continue in parallel. Please tell me if thoughts of ending your life, or of harming yourself, are part of what you're carrying. I'll ask about them directly and calmly. The numbers to ring are in the urgent help box further down, including the line Surrey and Borders Partnership staffs day and night.
Where flatness can come from in Farnborough
After the last day at work
Retiring from aviation or engineering work in Farnborough can remove routine, colleagues and the feeling of being useful, and that gap can slowly settle into low mood.
Worn thin by caring
Looking after someone at home can empty you without anyone noticing. The Hampshire Carers Support Service supports carers, and our sessions give you an hour that's about you.
A week with some shape
Andover Mind's wellbeing centre offers recovery-focused groups to people living in Hart or Rushmoor, a regular fixture that can sit beside one-to-one counselling.
A new parent, alone all day
With a partner commuting and the house quiet from early morning, new parenthood in Cove or Southwood can feel lonely and flat, and it's worth talking about before it settles in.
Public health figures for the area
These are local authority figures from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. "Similar to England" means the difference is not statistically significant. The figures describe a whole population over a period, not any one person.
Free and low-cost support for Farnborough
Talk Plus, the NHS Talking Therapies service for Farnborough GP patients, takes self-referrals for low mood, with no GP appointment needed. Andover Mind's wellbeing centre for Hart and Rushmoor runs groups once you've registered, and the Aldershot Safe Haven offers an evening and weekend drop-in for adults in crisis. Any of these can sit beside private counselling.
- Free NHS talking therapyNHS Talking Therapies Hampshire023 8038 3920Free 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 itInclusion Recovery Hampshire0300 124 0103Free and confidential.
- Local organisationThe Princess Royal Trust for Carers in Hampshire (Hampshire Carers Support Service)
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.
In this area you can also text HANTS to 85258. Locally, the Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Mental Health Crisis Helpline is on 0800 915 4644. Local drop-in crisis support: Aldershot Safe Haven (check opening times before you go).
What people in Farnborough ask before starting
How do I start depression counselling from Farnborough when everything feels like too much?
Keep the first step as small as you can. A brief message through the contact page is enough to arrange the free 15-minute call, and you don't need a GP referral or the right words. Tell me roughly how long you've felt this way and when you could manage a session. I'll let you know plainly whether there's room in my week now or when there will be.
Should I try free NHS talking therapies before private counselling for depression in Farnborough?
It's a sensible first step if you want free help. If your GP surgery is in Farnborough, you can contact Talk Plus about low mood yourself, without seeing your GP first. Private counselling may suit you better if choosing your own counsellor or having longer sessions matters to you. Using both at once is fine.
Can depression counselling work over video from Farnborough?
Yes. From Farnborough the Hove room is about 85 minutes' drive away, and video spares you that on days when getting dressed feels like a lot. A fixed weekly time on screen can still give a shapeless week something to hold on to. If you ever want one session in person, we can arrange it, but it's never expected.
What if I have thoughts of suicide while I'm waiting to start?
Please don't wait for a first session. From Farnborough, the NHS crisis number for North East Hampshire is 0800 915 4644, answered at any hour; you can also text HANTS to 85258, or ring the Samaritans on 116 123. If you might act on the thoughts, ring 999, or get to the emergency department at Frimley Park Hospital.
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, free conversation to begin
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.