Hastings · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Depression counselling for Hastings
If you live in Hastings or St Leonards and the low has gone on so long that it feels like part of who you are, depression counselling is a weekly hour to look at it with someone. From here we'd mostly meet by secure video, and I'll also be straight with you about the free and lower-cost help in the town itself.
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 Hastings
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Hastings by car
- About 67 minutes with clear roads (40.1 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- Direct trains from Hastings to Brighton; change there for Hove, one stop.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Health in Mind, 0300 0030 130
- 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.
A resort town once the visitors have gone
Hastings is a resort, and a resort lives two lives.
In summer the seafront, the Old Town and the beach by the Stade fill with visitors, and it is easy to be carried along by other people's holidays. When the season ends the town grows quieter, and if you're already low, the gap between the postcard and your own days can feel wider. Hastings is also tucked away: its urban area is by a sizeable margin the most populous in Britain with no direct dual-carriageway link to the motorway network, and from Ore or Silverhill, friends and family who live elsewhere can start to seem a long way off. Depression feeds on that sense of distance. It tells you that getting in touch is pointless, that nobody would notice if you didn't, and that this flatness is simply how life is now. It isn't a verdict on you, even when it speaks in your own voice.
Working against the narrowing, one week at a time
Depression narrows things. It shrinks the day to the few jobs you can't avoid and persuades you the rest isn't worth trying. Counselling pushes gently against that narrowing. In the first session I'll ask what an ordinary day looks like now compared with a year or two ago, and what you miss most. There's no programme to keep up with, and on some weeks the work is simply saying how heavy it has been. Over time we look at the stories depression tells you about yourself, what changed or was lost before it set in, and whether part of you has been holding everything together for far too long. Between sessions you might try one modest thing, such as a cup of tea at the Seaview Project Wellbeing Centre, where nobody needs an appointment. Health in Mind, the free NHS talking therapy service for East Sussex, also takes self-referrals for low mood, instead of me or as well. Across East Sussex, GP practices had depression on record for 17.4% of their adult patients in 2024/25, which reflects what gets written into GP notes rather than how many people feel this way. If you begin thinking about ending your life, tell me, and use the urgent help on this page straight away.
Hastings and St Leonards: low mood and local doors
When the visitors leave
If your mood follows the resort's year and sinks as the seafront empties, we can notice the pattern early and plan for the darker months before they arrive.
Lower-cost counselling in St Leonards
Counselling Plus Community has offered affordable counselling to Hastings and Rother residents aged 16 and over since 1992. It starts with a free assessment and is now at 66 London Road.
Evenings, when it gets worse
Staying Well Hastings at Carisbrooke House, Stockleigh Road, is a walk-in for mental health crisis, open from 5pm on weekdays and 3pm at weekends until 10.30pm.
If it's your child who is low
Eggtooth is a Hastings creative mental health charity for young people aged 5 to 25 and their families, with GP-referred funded sessions for 7 to 17 year olds in Hastings and St Leonards.
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 Hastings
Health in Mind is East Sussex's free NHS talking therapy service and takes self-referrals for low mood on 0300 0030 130. Counselling Plus Community offers affordable sessions in St Leonards after a free assessment. Mind in Brighton and Hove runs services across East Sussex, and Care for the Carers supports anyone worn down by looking after someone. If you'd like to combine one of them with sessions with me, we can work out how on the free call.
- Free NHS talking therapyHealth in Mind0300 0030 130Free 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 itSTAR Drug and Alcohol Service (East Sussex STAR)0300 303 8160Run by Change Grow Live. Free and confidential.
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 SUSSEX to 85258.
What people in Hastings ask before starting
Is Counselling Plus Community in St Leonards a better first step than private depression counselling?
It may be, particularly if money is part of what's weighing on you. They offer affordable counselling to Hastings and Rother residents aged 16 and over, beginning with a free assessment. With me, you arrange a regular time directly after a free 15-minute call, and we meet by video. It's perfectly reasonable to contact both and see which suits you.
Where can I go in Hastings in the evening if my low mood turns into something frightening?
Staying Well Hastings at Carisbrooke House, Stockleigh Road, is a walk-in for people in mental health crisis, open 5pm to 10.30pm on weekdays and 3pm to 10.30pm at weekends; you can ring 0800 023 6475 and choose option 2. Hastings and Rother Samaritans answer 116 123 day and night, and the Conquest Hospital's emergency department is open 24 hours. If you or anyone else is in immediate danger, ring 999.
My depression gets worse every winter in Hastings. Is autumn a sensible time to start counselling?
Yes, and starting before the darker months take hold can help. We'd look at what the last few winters were like, what changes for you when the town empties, and what tends to slip first, so there's a plan in place rather than a long wait for spring. It's worth mentioning the pattern to your GP as well, who can talk through other options with you.
Could I come to Hove from Hastings for depression counselling sometimes, or is it all video?
Either is possible. Most weeks video makes more sense, because the round trip by car is more than two hours and the direct train to Brighton runs about once an hour. If being in the room now and then would help, we can book an occasional longer session in Hove and plan it around your train. Some people never need to, and that's fine too.
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.
A first conversation that asks very little of you
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.