Fleet · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Depression counselling for Fleet
If you live in Fleet or Church Crookham and the colour has drained out of things, so that you sleep badly and feel very little about anything, you can talk to me about it by secure video. You don't need a label or a GP referral first, and it begins with a free 15-minute call.
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 Fleet
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Fleet by car
- About 89 minutes with clear roads (74.6 miles); longer at busy times.
- 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 commuters leave and the day stretches
By mid-morning in a commuter town, the people who caught the early trains to London Waterloo are long gone, and Fleet's suburban streets can go very still.
If you're at home, on sick leave, between jobs, caring for someone or newly retired, that stillness can stop feeling restful and start to feel heavy. The hours stretch. The kettle, the washing and the post all start to need a run-up. Depression can also follow a loss, as a flatness that friends mistake for coping, or settle in after an illness, a hospital stay or a slow recovery at home. Hampshire GP records show depression noted for 16.4% of registered adults in 2024/25 (England: 14.3% in 2024/25). Those numbers reflect how often GPs record depression, not how common it really is, and they can't tell you anything about yourself.
What we do in sessions when you have little to give
You don't have to arrive with anything prepared, or even with much to say. Early sessions can be very concrete: how the nights are going, what the mornings are like, which small jobs have started to pile up. Gradually we look for what the low is tangled up with. Sometimes that's a loss, sometimes years of putting a family or a job ahead of yourself, sometimes a sense of being stuck in a life you didn't quite choose. Sometimes there's no clear story, and that's allowed too. Between sessions we might agree one manageable thing, a phone call returned or a short walk to the end of the road. Some weeks nothing gets fixed, and being listened to without being jollied along still counts for something. I'll ask about self-harm and suicidal thoughts, gently, and I'll ask again later on. If those thoughts are there, we'll work out together how to keep you safe, and the urgent help on this page is available at any hour. Questions about antidepressants belong with your GP, and counselling can sit beside them.
How low mood can sit in a Fleet life
The empty middle of the day
At home while the town's commuters are in London, with long weekday hours, little reason to get dressed, and nobody noticing that you haven't been out.
Bereaved by suicide
When someone close has taken their own life, low mood can be bound up with shock and unanswerable questions. Cruse runs a dedicated Support After Suicide Service across Hampshire.
A weekday reason to go out
Andover Mind's Hart and Rushmoor Wellbeing Centre is recovery-focused and needs no referral. Its listed site is in Aldershot, so check the details before you set off.
Looking after someone at home
Caring for a partner or parent in Fleet can slowly empty you. The Princess Royal Trust for Carers in Hampshire supports carers, and the hour with me is for you.
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 Fleet
If your GP surgery is in Fleet, your free NHS talking therapy for low mood is Talk Plus, which takes self-referrals. The NHS Talking Therapies Hampshire number given just below is for patients of surgeries in Hook, Hartley Wintney and Odiham, so Fleet patients should go to Talk Plus instead. Hart Voluntary Action's 121 Adult Counselling offers up to 10 free weekly sessions to adults who live in Hart or have a Hart GP, and you can refer yourself.
- 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 organisationAndover Mind - Hart and Rushmoor Wellbeing CentreMental health charity.
- 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).
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.
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 Fleet ask before starting
Can I get free help for depression in Fleet without waiting for a GP appointment?
Yes. If your GP surgery is in Fleet, you can refer yourself to Talk Plus, which offers free NHS talking therapy for low mood, without seeing a GP first. Hart Voluntary Action also takes self-referrals for up to 10 free sessions. If you're struggling to eat, sleep or get through the day, or having thoughts of ending your life, please see a GP or call NHS 111 as well.
What if I'm too low to turn up, or cancel at the last minute?
Depression makes keeping appointments hard, and I won't take a missed session as a sign you don't care. Because sessions from Fleet are by video, there's no long drive to talk yourself out of, and you can join from bed if that's all you can manage. If you can't face it, send a short message, and we'll look at what got in the way next time.
Talk Plus or private counselling: which should I choose for depression in Fleet?
You don't have to choose one for good. Talk Plus is free and NHS-run, for people registered with a GP in Fleet, Crondall or Yateley. Private sessions let you pick who you see, meet at a time that suits you, and continue without a set limit. You could start one while waiting for the other, or use both.
What happens after I get in touch from Fleet?
You book a free 15-minute call, and on it you only need to say a little: that things have been low, and roughly for how long. You'll hear from me plainly when a regular weekly slot can open up. If we go ahead, the first session is mostly listening. There's no fixed number of sessions, and every few weeks we check together whether it's helping.
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.
When you have a little energy, start with a call
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.