Wimbledon · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Depression counselling for Wimbledon
Low mood doesn't always look like sadness. In Wimbledon it might be the walks on the Common you've quietly stopped taking, or a tiredness that sleep never fixes. If that sounds familiar, depression counselling with me happens by secure video: a regular hour where you don't have to pretend to be fine.
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 Wimbledon
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Wimbledon by car
- About 74 minutes with clear roads (47.7 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Merton Talking Therapies, 0203 513 5888
- 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 busy suburb, and a life that has gone quiet
Wimbledon is a busy place. Trains leave for Waterloo many times an hour, and on a bright weekend people spread out across Wimbledon Common and Cannizaro Park. When you're low, all that activity can make the flatness feel more private, as though everyone else was handed instructions you missed. It might be a retirement in Wimbledon Village that left the days without shape, or a flat near Wimbledon Park where you live alone and no longer bother cooking. It might be years of looking after a parent until there was nothing left over for you. Sometimes there's a clear reason, such as a death, a divorce or a redundancy. Sometimes there isn't, and that can feel even harder to explain. Grief in particular can settle into a long numbness that other people mistake for you having moved on.
Making room for the low, then finding what shifts it
We start with an honest picture of now: how you're sleeping and eating, what has slipped out of your week, who you still talk to, and whether anything still gives you a flicker of interest. You won't have to justify feeling this way. Then we get curious about what is keeping the low in place. It might be an inner critic that turns every setback into a verdict, a loss that never had room to be grieved, loneliness that crept in after a move or a separation, or a role such as parent or carer that left no space for your own needs. Change, when it comes, starts small and is yours to choose: replying to one friend, trying one of the Wimbledon Guild's support groups instead of another afternoon alone, ten minutes outside before the light goes. If you're taking antidepressants or wondering about them, that conversation belongs with your GP, and counselling can run beside it. If suicidal thoughts or self-harm are part of the picture, please tell me. I'll take that seriously and we can talk about it openly, and the urgent help box further down has numbers to call or text between sessions.
Four kinds of flat, and where to turn
Grief that went numb
Cruse Bereavement Support offers bereavement help through a national helpline, as there's no Merton branch. In our sessions, the loss itself gets the time it never had.
Too long without company
The Wimbledon Guild, a Merton community charity, runs the HomeFood Café alongside its support groups, which can be a way back into being around other people.
Carers with nothing left
Years of caring for someone can wear you down by degrees. Carers First Merton supports carers directly, and our hour is about your mood rather than theirs.
When a bad night tips into crisis
The South West London and St George's Recovery Cafés are NHS crisis cafés for adults. If you live in Merton or a neighbouring borough, you can walk in or refer yourself.
Free and low-cost support for Wimbledon
For low mood and depression, Merton Talking Therapies, also called Merton Uplift, is the free NHS option, and it takes self-referrals on 0203 513 5888. Your GP is the person to talk to about medication. The Wimbledon Guild runs counselling and support groups, and CDARS runs the Sunshine Recovery Café in Wimbledon for mental health support. Video counselling with me can carry on beside any of these.
- Free NHS talking therapyMerton Talking Therapies0203 513 5888Free 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 itVia Merton0300 303 4610Free and confidential.
- Local organisationWimbledon Guild counselling and support groups
- Local organisationCarers First Merton
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.
The South London NHS Mental Health Crisis Text Service is another option: text 80991 or WhatsApp 0303 330 1511. Local drop-in crisis support: Sunshine Recovery Café, Wimbledon; South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust Recovery Cafés (check opening times before you go).
What people in Wimbledon ask before starting
Can I go straight to Merton Uplift for depression if I live in Wimbledon?
Yes. Merton Talking Therapies, also known as Merton Uplift, accepts self-referrals for low mood and depression on 0203 513 5888. It's free, although you may have to wait. If you'd rather choose your own counsellor, private sessions with me are another route. Should you use both, tell each of us about the other so the work doesn't pull in two directions.
I've lived in Wimbledon for years but feel cut off from everyone. Is that depression?
Possibly. Loneliness and depression often travel together, and one can drag the other down. You don't need a label to begin. If what used to please you now feels like a chore, that's worth talking about, and the free 15-minute call is a gentle place to say so.
Would I ever need to come to Hove for depression counselling from Wimbledon?
No. With Hove around 74 minutes away by car, video is the sensible arrangement from Wimbledon, and the hour runs the same way. On heavy days it means no travel and no getting ready. If you'd one day like to meet in the room, we can arrange it, but it's never required.
What should I do in Wimbledon if I feel unsafe before we've even started?
Don't hold on for our first appointment. If you think you could act on suicidal thoughts, call 999, or ring 111 and choose the mental health option. You can text 80991 or send a WhatsApp to 0303 330 1511 for the South London crisis text service, ring Samaritans free on 116 123, or walk into one of the NHS crisis cafés named in the urgent help box.
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.
One call, on a day you have the energy
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.