Sessions that survive the week
No travelling, no waiting room, no rearranging the day around a commute. Therapy helps most when it keeps happening.
Online Counselling
Online Counselling and Therapy, Anywhere in the UK
Online counselling is the same therapy, held over a secure video link instead of in a room. The same hour, the same confidentiality and the same BACP‑registered counsellor, wherever in the UK you are, without the travelling.
How online counselling actually works
Once we have spoken on a free 15‑minute call and agreed a time, I email you a link to a private, encrypted video room. A few minutes before your session you click it, allow your camera and microphone, and we begin. Nothing to install, no account to create.
Sessions last an hour and, wherever possible, happen at the same time each week, because a predictable rhythm makes the work easier. Nothing is recorded. I sit in the same private room in Hove I use for face‑to‑face clients, door shut and headphones on.
If your connection drops, I ring you and we carry on by phone. Plenty of people blend the two as well, coming into the Hove room sometimes and meeting online the rest of the time.
Why online works
What online sessions make possible
The right therapist, not the nearest one
If you live somewhere with few counsellors, or none who work with what you are facing, distance stops being the thing that decides who you see.
Your own space to speak from
Some people find the hardest sentences come out more easily from their own sofa, particularly early on, when shame is doing most of the talking.
What I help with online
Full support, delivered by video
Anxiety
Practical tools to settle your nervous system and quieten anxious thinking. Anxiety counselling →
Depression
Steady, structured support to rebuild energy, motivation and connection. Depression counselling →
Addiction
Understanding and re‑patterning the cycle, and the pain sitting underneath it. Addiction counselling →
Relationships
Work on communication and connection, on your own or as a couple. Relationship counselling →
Trauma
Gentle, paced trauma work, including the Rewind Technique, by video. Trauma counselling →
Not sure where it fits?
Start with general counselling and therapy, or longer‑term psychotherapy. We can work out the name for it together.
Is it right for you
Who online counselling suits, and who it does not
Online work suits most of the people I see, and particularly if you live a long way from Hove, work shifts, travel for work, have small children at home, find leaving the house hard, or have tried to arrange therapy before and given up because the times never fitted.
There are situations where it is not the right choice, and I would rather say so now than after you have paid. If you have nowhere private to sit for an hour, online work becomes a strain rather than a relief. If you are in crisis or at risk of harming yourself, you need a service that can respond immediately; a private practice cannot, but the numbers at the foot of this page can.
If you drink heavily or use drugs every day, do not stop suddenly on your own. Withdrawal can cause seizures and can be dangerous. Speak to your GP or a local drug and alcohol service first, and they can arrange a safe, medically supported withdrawal. Counselling works alongside that, not instead of it.
And if what you need is a diagnosis, a prescription, or a report for a court, an employer or a benefits claim, I cannot provide those. Your GP or an NHS service is the right route.
What happens in a first session
Before anything is booked there is a free 15‑minute call, by phone or video, so you can hear how I work and decide whether I am the right person. There is no obligation on either side, and if I am not the right fit I will say so and suggest where else to look.
The first full session is mostly listening. You say what has been happening and what you would like to be different, in whatever order it comes out. I will ask some practical questions too, about sleep, drinking, medication, who is around you and whether you have had counselling before, because that shapes what we do next.
Towards the end we agree how to work: how often we will meet, roughly what we are aiming at, and how we will know whether it is helping. None of it is fixed, and we review it as we go. You do not need to prepare anything beforehand, or have your story in order.
Ethics & privacy
Confidentiality, BACP ethics and your notes
What you say stays between us. I am a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, membership number 00569589 and registered member number 109340, working within its Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions and its complaints procedure. You can check both numbers on the BACP Register, or see the credentials page. I am also a student member of the UKCP while I continue advanced training.
There are three limits to confidentiality, and they are the same online as in the room: regular clinical supervision, in which you are not identified and my supervisor is bound by the same confidentiality; a serious risk of harm to you or to someone else; and anything I am required to share by law or a court order. Wherever possible I would talk to you about it first.
Sessions are not recorded, and I ask that you do not record them either. I keep brief written notes, held securely; the privacy policy sets out how your information is stored and what rights you have over it.
Getting started
What you will need
01
A private hour
Somewhere you can talk without being overheard or interrupted. A parked car counts.
02
A device and a connection
A laptop, tablet or phone with a camera, and broadband or a decent mobile signal. Headphones help.
03
A free 15‑minute call
We talk first, at no cost, to check the fit and answer whatever you want to ask.
04
Your session link
I email a secure link. You click it at the agreed time, and that is the whole of the setup.
Fees
What online counselling costs
Online sessions cost the same as sessions in the room. A standard hour is £80. A 90‑minute session is £100, which some people prefer for trauma work where a longer settling‑in and settling‑down time helps. A two‑hour session is £120. The first 15‑minute consultation is free, with no obligation after it.
Payment is by bank transfer or card. Longer sessions are available on request, subject to availability, and most ongoing work happens in the standard hour. How many sessions you need varies enormously from one person to another; we review as we go, you decide when to stop, and you are always welcome to come back later. There is more under how I work.
Across the UK
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
BACP registration covers the whole of the United Kingdom, so I can work with you by video wherever you live, and nothing about the counselling changes at a border. What does change is the NHS route around you, which matters if you want free or lower‑cost help alongside private work, or while you decide.
England. You can refer yourself to NHS Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression without going through your GP. It does not take referrals for drug or alcohol problems; for those, use the NHS drug and alcohol service finder or speak to your GP.
Scotland. Start with NHS inform or your GP practice. Breathing Space is free and confidential on 0800 83 85 87.
Wales. The CALL Community Advice and Listening Line is free, day or night, on 0800 132 737.
Northern Ireland. Lifeline is free and confidential, around the clock, on 0808 808 8000.
The cities and towns I already work with online are listed on the online areas page. If you live outside the UK, get in touch and we can talk about whether it would work, including the time difference.
Online or in person
How video sessions compare with the room
The therapy itself is the same: the approach, the hour, the confidentiality and the training behind it do not change because we are on a screen.
What changes is practical. You lose the travelling either side, which for some people was useful thinking time worth replacing with ten quiet minutes before and after. You see less of one another, so I will ask more often what you are noticing in your body rather than reading it across a room. Occasionally the connection wobbles.
What you gain is reach and steadiness. A delayed train, a sick child, a week working away or a move to another city need not cost you a session. And if you can reach Hove you do not have to choose: some people come in person at first and move online later, others do the reverse, or alternate. You can see where I work face‑to‑face on the areas I cover page.
Book your first online session
Wherever you are, we can start with a free 15‑minute call and talk through what is going on and whether working online would suit you.
Questions
Online counselling FAQs
Is online counselling as confidential as meeting in person?
Yes. Sessions run over an encrypted video link, nothing is recorded, and the same three limits apply as in the room: clinical supervision in which you are not identified, a serious risk of harm to you or someone else, and anything I am required to share by law or a court order. The part that changes is at your end, so it is worth thinking about where you will sit and who else is in the house.
What do I need for an online session?
A laptop, tablet or phone with a camera, a connection that holds up for an hour, and somewhere private where you will not be overheard. Headphones help more than anything else, both for sound and for privacy. There is nothing to install and no account to set up.
How much does an online counselling session cost?
A 60-minute session is £80, a 90-minute session is £100 and a two-hour session is £120. Online sessions cost the same as sessions in the Hove room, and the first 15-minute consultation is free.
Can I have online counselling anywhere in the UK?
Yes. I work by secure video with people in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. BACP registration covers the whole of the UK, so the counselling itself does not change depending on where you live, although the NHS services around you do.
Is online counselling suitable for addiction?
It can be, and a good deal of my addiction work happens by video. Physical safety comes first, though. If you drink heavily or use drugs every day, speak to your GP or a local drug and alcohol service before you stop or cut down, because withdrawal can cause seizures and can be dangerous. Counselling works alongside medically supported withdrawal, not instead of it.
What if I have nowhere private at home?
It is a common problem and usually solvable. A parked car works well and plenty of people use one, as does a bookable room at a library or an office out of hours. If nothing works, say so on the free call and we will look at whether the phone or the room in Hove suits you better.
What happens if my internet drops during a session?
I phone you and we finish the session on the phone. It happens from time to time, it does not waste the hour, and all you need do is make sure I have a number that reaches you.
Can I switch between online and in-person sessions?
Yes, and many people do. If you can get to Hove you can mix the two however your weeks work, and you can change your mind at any point. It is the same counsellor and the same piece of work either way.
Do you see couples online?
Yes. You can sit together at one screen, or join from two different places if you are apart. Being in separate places suits some couples and not others, so it is worth raising on the free call.
Are you registered and insured to work online?
I am a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, membership number 00569589 and registered member number 109340, working within its Ethical Framework and complaints procedure, and I am insured for online practice across the UK. You can verify my registration on the BACP Register.
If you need urgent help now
This is not a crisis service. If anyone is in immediate danger call 999. For urgent mental health support, call NHS 111 and choose the mental health option in England or Wales, NHS 24 on 111 in Scotland, or Lifeline on 0808 808 8000 in Northern Ireland. The Samaritans are free, day or night, on 116 123, or text SHOUT to 85258.