Kensington · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Depression counselling for Kensington
When getting up feels like wading, and the Kensington pleasures that once lifted you, a walk in Holland Park or an evening at the Royal Albert Hall, no longer reach you, depression counselling offers a steady weekly hour to talk. The Hove room is 95 minutes' drive away, so sessions from Kensington take place over secure video, and on the hardest mornings the session comes to you, wherever you are sitting.
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 Kensington
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Kensington by car
- About 95 minutes with clear roads (53.4 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Kensington and Chelsea Talking Therapies, 020 3317 4200
- 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 borough's colour stops reaching you
Kensington offers a great deal to look at: Kensington Gardens and the palace, the gardens of Holland Park, the museums along Exhibition Road.
Depression has a way of draining all of it. The parks are still there, but the wish to walk in them has gone. In Kensington and Chelsea, 1 in 12 residents has depression recorded by their GP practice. That counts cases logged by surgeries rather than everyone who feels low, so it misses people who have never told a doctor how they feel, and it says nothing about you personally. The borough also has a high proportion of single households, and many older residents live on their own. Low mood often grows in that quiet, after a bereavement, a retirement, a move away from family or the end of a relationship, and it can be hard to spot from the inside until it has settled in.
Counselling for the flat, heavy kind of low
Depression is often less like sadness and more like flatness: a loss of interest, a tiredness that sleep does not mend, a world that keeps shrinking. Counselling gives that a place. We look gently at what has been happening in your life, losses you may not have grieved, roles that have changed, and the self-criticism that tends to travel with low mood, and we look for small, workable steps back towards the things and people that matter to you. Solution-focused questions help here, noticing the slightly better days and what was different about them. I will not hurry you or expect cheerfulness. Should low mood bring thoughts of hurting yourself, or a sense that you would rather not be alive, tell me, and keep 0800 0234 650, the CNWL crisis line, and the urgent help box numbers within reach; I will treat it with full seriousness. Medication sits with your GP, who can work in step with our sessions. And if drinking has crept in to numb the evenings, we can talk about that too.
Kensington situations where low mood can settle in
After retirement or a loss
With many older Kensington and Chelsea residents living alone, a death or the end of working life can leave long empty days. Cruse's local branch supports grief, and counselling can sit beside it.
Caring for someone close
Looking after a partner or parent can wear your own mood down. Carers Network supports unpaid carers in the borough, while sessions give you an hour that is yours.
Stalled studies in South Kensington
A research project at Imperial College that has stopped moving can bring a heavy flatness. Students also have Imperial's counselling and mental health advice service.
Busy streets, a silent flat
The High Street can be crowded while home feels very quiet. In a borough with many single households, loneliness and low mood often keep each other going.
Free and low-cost support for Kensington
Anyone between Earl's Court and Holland Park can refer themselves for low mood to Kensington and Chelsea Talking Therapies, part of Community Living Well, on 020 3317 4200. Mind Within, West London Mind's low-cost counselling, is another option, and the Kensington and Chelsea and Hammersmith and Fulham branch of Cruse Bereavement Support helps when low mood follows a death. Central London Samaritans will listen at any hour.
- Free NHS talking therapyKensington and Chelsea Talking Therapies020 3317 4200Free 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 itTurning Point Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea (Drug and Alcohol Wellbeing Service)0330 303 8080Free and confidential.
- Local organisationCarers Network
- Local organisationImperial College London Student Counselling and Mental Health Advice 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.
Locally, the CNWL Mental Health Single Point of Access crisis line, London boroughs) is on 0800 0234 650.
What people in Kensington ask before starting
Should I see my Kensington GP before starting depression counselling?
You do not need a GP referral to start counselling with me. It is still worth booking an appointment if low mood has lasted weeks, affects sleep or appetite, or you are wondering about medication, because your GP can check your physical health and talk through options. Counselling and GP care can run side by side.
Can I refer myself for depression help on the NHS in Kensington and Chelsea?
Yes. You can refer yourself, online or on 020 3317 4200, to Kensington and Chelsea Talking Therapies, the low mood service within Community Living Well that CNWL runs for the borough. You can use it on its own, or alongside private sessions with me if you would like a fixed weekly counsellor.
Will video sessions from Kensington feel too distant when I'm this low?
It is a common worry. Joining from your own room can make it easier to turn up on a bad day, without having to dress for a train or face crowds at Victoria. We keep the same time every week, and I pay close attention to how you are, on screen as much as in person.
Who can I ring in Kensington at night if my low mood brings thoughts of suicide?
Ring the CNWL crisis line, its Single Point of Access, on 0800 0234 650, which answers 24 hours a day for the London boroughs it covers, or dial 999 straight away when a life is at immediate risk. Central London Samaritans will also listen at any time. Both also sit in the urgent help box, so they are never more than a scroll away.
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 gentle start from Kensington, at whatever pace you can manage
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.