Petworth · in person in Hove or online
Depression counselling for Petworth
If you're in Petworth and everything has gone dull and distant, so that you sleep badly and keep going mostly from habit, I offer counselling for depression by secure video, or in person in Hove. You won't need a referral or a label, and the first conversation, 15 minutes by phone or video, costs nothing.
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 Petworth
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Petworth by car
- About 48 minutes with clear roads (27.4 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- From Pulborough, change at Barnham for trains towards Brighton and Hove.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- NHS West Sussex Talking Therapies – West Team, 01273 265967
- 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 quiet stops feeling peaceful
In a small town, depression may not look like sadness at all.
It can look like letting invitations lapse, giving up the walk in Petworth Park you used to love, or no longer calling in at Newlands House Gallery, and telling anyone who asks that you've just been busy. If you live alone, a few days can pass without a real conversation, and on a dark winter afternoon that silence can press in. For some it follows a death, retirement, or the end of years spent caring for someone, when the purpose that held the days together suddenly goes. For others there's no obvious cause at all, which can be harder to explain. GP records across West Sussex showed depression for 14.5% of adults on their lists in 2024/25 (England: 14.3% in 2024/25). That figure counts cases noted in GP records, not how many people are living with depression, and it says nothing about you.
Starting where you are, not where you think you should be
Asking for help takes energy that depression has already used up, so we keep things manageable from the first session. I won't expect you to be articulate or hopeful. We'll talk about how the low mood shows itself day to day: how you're sleeping and eating, what has happened to your energy, which pleasures have quietly gone, and the harsh inner voice that often comes with it. Next we consider what might be keeping it going, perhaps grief that hasn't had room, exhaustion, loneliness, or a loss of role after work or caring ended, and we look for small steps that bring a little life back into the week. Where grief is at the heart of it, we go more slowly, and the person you've lost can take up as much of the hour as the low mood does. I'll ask gently about thoughts of self-harm or about wishing you weren't here, because it matters and it is safe to say here. If those thoughts are present, we make a plan together, and the crisis contacts lower on this page are there to use whenever you need them. If you take antidepressants or are wondering about them, that's a conversation for your GP, and our sessions don't depend on what you decide.
Where the low can come from in a small parish
When caring comes to an end
After years of looking after someone, their death or move into care can leave a hollow. Carers Support West Sussex supports carers, and our sessions can hold the grief.
Telling everyone you're just busy
In a parish where people notice, it can feel easier to explain your absence than admit how flat you are. Weekly sessions give you one place to stop pretending.
The walk you've stopped taking
If the park on your doorstep no longer tempts you out, that loss of interest is worth taking seriously, even when it's easier to blame laziness or the weather.
A self-referral, no GP needed
From Petworth you can approach NHS West Sussex Talking Therapies yourself about low mood or depression. It is free, and private work can run alongside or instead.
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 Petworth
From Petworth, low mood and depression can be taken to NHS West Sussex Talking Therapies free of charge; its West Team covers the town, and you can contact them yourself on 01273 265967. West Sussex Mind offers support across the county, while Carers Support West Sussex helps anyone worn down by looking after someone. Private counselling can sit beside any of them.
- Free NHS talking therapyNHS West Sussex Talking Therapies – West Team01273 265967Free 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 Sussex Drug & Alcohol Wellbeing Network (DAWN)0330 128 1113Run 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).
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 Petworth ask before starting
Who can I talk to about depression in Petworth if I can't face my GP?
Without seeing a GP, you can ring NHS West Sussex Talking Therapies on 01273 265967, and its West Team covers Petworth. A free call with me can be booked directly too. If you've stopped eating or sleeping, please see your GP or call NHS 111 today. If you're thinking about ending your life, text SUSSEX to 85258, or call 999 if you might act on it.
Is video counselling enough when I'm too low to drive to Hove from Petworth?
It can be. Video takes away the 48-minute drive on days when it would be beyond you, and we can still talk properly through a screen. What helps is a private spot and a regular time, so each session becomes something steady in an otherwise shapeless week. If the screen ever feels too distant, we can talk about meeting in Hove.
I live alone near Petworth and have felt flat since my partner died. Is that grief or depression?
It may be grief, depression, or both, and whether it's depression is a question for a doctor. Weeks of flatness, poor sleep and losing interest are worth raising with your GP. In counselling we don't need the label first: we can give the loss its due and look at the low mood beside it, at a pace that respects both.
If I'm depressed in Petworth, how soon could counselling begin?
Begin by booking the free 15-minute call; there's no need to explain everything on it. On the call I'll say plainly which regular times are open, and we can start on video so there's nothing to arrange. If you're on a waiting list for NHS West Sussex Talking Therapies, sessions with me can bridge the gap or carry on afterwards.
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.
Let one short conversation be enough for today
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.