Gravesend · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Depression counselling for Gravesend
When getting through a day in Gravesend feels like wading through mud, and the things you used to enjoy have gone quiet, depression counselling gives you a steady weekly hour to say how it really is. We'd meet by secure video, which matters on days when leaving the house is beyond you, and a free 15-minute call is how we'd 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 Gravesend
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Gravesend by car
- About 79 minutes with clear roads (64.9 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- From Gravesend, change at London Bridge for trains towards Brighton and Hove.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- NHS Talking Therapies Kent and Medway, 0333 091 0414
- 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.
Low mood behind an ordinary Gravesend week
Depression can hide inside a week that looks normal from outside.
You still get to work, still collect the children, still answer when someone asks how you are. What has gone is quieter: a Sunday walk in the Fort Gardens, or messages to friends in Chalk or Windmill Hill that now sit unanswered for days. Evenings shrink to the sofa and a screen, and sleep doesn't refresh you. Sometimes there's a clear reason, such as a bereavement, a marriage ending, a redundancy or years of caring for someone. Sometimes there isn't one you can name, which can be harder to admit. Grief can turn into this too, once the raw early weeks are over and what's left is a grey distance that other people assume has passed. Long stretches of night work or early starts can deepen it, because exhaustion and low mood feed each other.
What we do when energy is scarce
Sessions for depression go more slowly than people expect. You don't have to arrive with a topic, and silence is allowed. We begin with how the low lives in your days: when it lifts slightly, when it's worst, and what it has taken from you. Over time we look at what holds it in place. For one person that's a critical inner voice that never rests; for another it's years of putting a parent, a partner or a rota first until nothing is left over. Steps we agree are sized for a bad day, such as one message answered or one walk by the river. Where grief sits underneath, the person you've lost gets real room in the sessions. One figure you may come across: GP practices in Kent recorded depression in 17.1% of their adult patients in 2024/25. That reflects what practices record, not how many people are depressed, and it says nothing about you. Medication stays with your GP. If thoughts of harming yourself or not wanting to be alive come up, please say so, and if you feel unsafe between sessions, use the urgent contacts on this page.
Quieter shapes of low mood here
Worn down by caring
Years of looking after a parent or partner can drain the colour from everything. Imago's Kent Carers Support helps adult carers in West Kent, and our sessions give you an hour that is only yours.
Studying at NKC Gravesend College
If you're an adult learner and coursework piles up while you can't make yourself start, low mood may be part of it. It's worth talking about before one bad term decides things for you.
Company on the harder weeks
North Kent Mind's wellbeing groups across Dartford, Gravesend and Swanley include ones on managing depression and on self-esteem, and you can go to one while also seeing me.
Open all night in Gillingham
If the low turns frightening after midnight, Medway Safe Haven at Medway Maritime Hospital is open around the clock, on 07850 901 151.
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 Gravesend
For low mood, NHS Talking Therapies Kent and Medway accepts self-referrals, with no GP appointment needed. After a death, the Cruse Bereavement Support national helpline is there to talk. North Kent Mind offers low-cost counselling through its Affordable service and qualified counsellors through Fast Track. You can use any of them while you're seeing me privately.
- Free NHS talking therapyNHS Talking Therapies Kent and Medway0333 091 0414Free 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 itWest Kent community drug and alcohol service (Change, Grow, Live)0330 128 1113Run by Change Grow Live (CGL). Free and confidential.
- Local organisationImago - Kent Carers Support (West Kent adult carers service)
- Local organisationSamaritans of Medway, Gravesham and SwaleLocal Samaritans branch, Priory Road, Strood, Rochester ME2.
- Local organisationNorth Kent Mind Counselling & Therapy 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.
Locally, the Release the Pressure Helpline - Kent is on 0800 107 0160. Local drop-in crisis support: Kent and Medway Safe Havens (Mental Health Matters); Dartford Safe Haven (Mental Health Matters) (check opening times before you go).
What people in Gravesend ask before starting
For depression in Gravesend, is it NHS Talking Therapies Kent and Medway or private counselling?
You don't have to choose. The NHS service is free, takes self-referrals on 0333 091 0414, and offers structured help for low mood, though there may be a wait. Going private means you pick the person, the length of session and the time. It's still worth seeing your GP, who can check for physical causes of tiredness and talk about medication if you want to.
Since a death in the family I've felt numb rather than sad. Can depression counselling from Gravesend help with that?
It can. Grief doesn't always look like tears, and a flat, far-away numbness months later is common. It may be grief that has had nowhere to go, or it may have tipped into depression, and the label matters less than giving it room. We can make space for the person you've lost, and the Cruse helpline is there between sessions.
Can depression counselling from Gravesend be done entirely by video?
Yes. With the Hove room about 79 minutes' drive away, video is the realistic way to keep a weekly hour from Gravesend, and the work is the same as in a room. On the worst weeks it means a session can still happen without getting dressed or travelling. A longer session in Hove is possible later if you want one, but nothing rests on it.
How soon could I start, and what should I do in Gravesend if things get worse while I wait?
When we speak for the free 15 minutes, I'll be honest with you about how soon a regular weekly slot is likely to be free. If thoughts of suicide grow stronger before then, don't wait: call 999 if you might act on them, or Samaritans free on 116 123, whose local branch covers Medway, Gravesham and Swale. Release the Pressure, the Kent helpline, is on 0800 107 0160, and Medway Safe Haven is open day and night.
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.
You only need to say you've been low
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.