Petersfield · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Depression counselling for Petersfield
If life in Petersfield has gone grey, if you're getting through the days but feel very little, sleep badly or can't remember the last thing you looked forward to, depression counselling over secure video means we can meet without you leaving home. You won't need a label or a GP's letter first, and the opening 15-minute conversation is free.
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 Petersfield
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Petersfield by car
- About 71 minutes with clear roads (43.7 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- From Petersfield, change at Havant 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.
Feeling low somewhere everyone calls lovely
Living inside the South Downs National Park, with the Heath and Butser Hill nearby, can make low mood feel ungrateful, as though you have no right to it here.
So it often stays private. It might come when a parent is discharged from Petersfield Hospital and you, suddenly their carer, notice that your own life has shrunk to their needs. It might follow a bereavement, especially a sudden one, and leave a flatness that friends mistake for coping. It can also arrive with no reason at all, which can be harder still to explain. GP practices across Hampshire had depression on record for 16.4% of adult patients in 2024/25 (England: 14.3% in 2024/25). Those are recorded cases, showing how often depression is noted and coded in GP records, not how common it is, and they say nothing about you.
What depression counselling involves, at your pace
When you're low, even booking a session can take effort, so we start where you are, with no pressure to be insightful or cheerful. Early on we'll talk about how the low mood shows up day to day: sleep, appetite, energy, the things that have dropped away, and the voice that tells you it's your own fault. We look at what might be feeding it, such as exhaustion, an unresolved loss, a role that has swallowed you, or anger you've never been allowed to show, and at small, realistic things that put a little back into the week. Grief may need more patience than a list of goals. If a parent you care for is declining, or someone close to you died suddenly, the flatness may partly be sorrow that hasn't had anywhere to go. At some point I'll ask, gently, about any thoughts of hurting yourself or ending your life. If they're there, we make a plan for your safety between us, and the crisis contacts lower down this page can be reached day or night. Your GP is the person for medication questions, including antidepressants, and counselling can carry on while you take them.
Where the heaviness can come from here
Flat in a beautiful place
Inside the National Park, low mood can feel ungrateful, so you hide it from friends who assume life here must be easy.
When a parent comes home from hospital
A discharge from Petersfield Hospital can make you a carer overnight. The Princess Royal Trust for Carers in Hampshire supports carers in their own right.
Loss to suicide, and the silence after
Losing someone to suicide can leave grief tangled with shock and guilt. Cruse has a service for exactly this loss across Hampshire, and you can use it while you see me.
When it is more than counselling
If the low has become severe, your GP can involve the community mental health teams at Petersfield Hospital, and our sessions can carry on beside their care.
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 Petersfield
For low mood and depression, the free NHS service is NHS Talking Therapies Hampshire, previously italk. Petersfield Counselling Service provides low-cost counselling in the town, Havant and East Hants Mind runs local support, and Cruse runs the Support After Suicide Service for people bereaved this way. Private sessions can go alongside any of them.
- 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. Local drop-in crisis support: Havant Adults' Safe Haven (Havant & East Hants Mind) (check opening times before you go).
What people in Petersfield ask before starting
Where do I start with depression in Petersfield if I can't face a GP appointment?
Without seeing a GP first, you can contact NHS Talking Therapies Hampshire directly on 023 8038 3920 if you're feeling low or depressed. Booking a free call with me needs no referral either. If you're barely eating or sleeping, can't get through the day, or keep thinking about ending your life, please call NHS 111 or text HANTS to 85258 today, because that needs more than counselling alone.
Is video counselling from Petersfield enough when I'm this low?
It can be. Depression often makes leaving the house the hardest part, and video removes that, along with the 71-minute drive to Hove. What matters is a quiet, private spot and a regular time, so the sessions become one fixed point in the week. If a screen ever feels too distant, tell me, and we can think about an occasional session in the Hove room.
My partner in Petersfield seems depressed but won't get help. What can I do?
You can't make another adult go to counselling, but you can tell them what you've noticed, without blame, and leave the door open. Showing them the NHS Talking Therapies Hampshire details, or this page, may help. Look after yourself as well, and Havant and East Hants Mind is a local place to ask about support. If you think they're at risk of harming themselves, call 999 or NHS 111.
I've lost interest in everything since a loss. Is that depression or grief?
It can be either, or both, and only a doctor can tell you whether it's depression. Losing interest, sleeping badly and feeling flat for weeks on end are worth mentioning to your Petersfield GP. In counselling we don't need a label to start: we can make room for the loss and look at the low mood together. After a death by suicide, Cruse offers specialist help too, through its Support After Suicide Service for Hampshire.
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 short first call, whenever you can face it
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.