Anxiety and worry
When your mind will not settle and everything feels urgent.
Online Counselling and Therapy · Poole
Online Counselling and Therapy in Poole
Online counselling and therapy for Poole, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Poole, from the quay and the old town to the streets around the harbour, with the same BACP-registered, confidential support as an in-person session, and no journey.
BACP registered member25+ years of experienceLived experience
ConfidentialA safe, private space
Person-centredThe therapy fits you
In and around Poole
Counselling and Therapy for Poole, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Poole: from the quay and the old town to Branksome, Parkstone and Canford Heath
- Known for
- The harbour, Sandbanks and the quay
- Region
- South West (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- Steps2Wellbeing, NHS Talking Therapies Dorset
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Poole
Why people in Poole get in touch
There is a version of Poole in the brochures and a version people actually live in. The harbour is beautiful, the summer is busy, and you can walk along the quay in July feeling entirely disconnected from all of it. Nothing has gone badly wrong. You are simply flatter than you used to be, and it has lasted long enough now to be worth mentioning. Winter is long here once the visitors go, and jobs tied to the season leave gaps that give a person too much time to think. Around Broadstone and Canford Heath that goes largely unspoken. You do not need a label before you talk to somebody.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Poole
BranksomeParkstoneCanford HeathSandbanksHamworthyBroadstoneOakdaleCreekmoorLilliput
Wherever you are in Poole, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Poole
Official figures for Poole, for context rather than as a description of you.
22.1% of adults reported a high anxiety score in 2022/23, below the England average of 23.8%. Source: OHID Fingertips – Self-reported wellbeing: high anxiety score (2022/23).
recorded depression on GP registers stood at 13.3% of patients aged 18+ in 2024/25, below the England average of 14.3%. Source: OHID Fingertips – Depression: QOF prevalence (2024/25).
the rate of emergency hospital admissions for self-harm was 198 per 100,000 in 2023/24, above the England average of 117 per 100,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Emergency Hospital Admissions for Intentional Self-Harm (2023/24).
Reviewed June 2026.
What would we do together in counselling and therapy?
Counselling and therapy here is one steady starting point for whatever you are carrying, anxiety, low mood, addiction, relationships or the past, integrative and led by you, so we begin with what matters most and shape the work around you.
Rather than say the same thing on every page, the substance lives on the main counselling and therapy page, with how I work for the practical questions and how to check my registration for registration and ethics.
How does meeting by video work in practice?
Sessions run over a secure, encrypted video link, held to the same BACP confidentiality as meeting in person. After a free fifteen-minute call, you join from any private space on a phone, tablet or laptop.
This is served online, with Bradley in Hove. The first step is a free 15-minute call from wherever suits, so there is no waiting area and nothing to explain to anyone. Sessions after that run weekly, generally an hour, and can be arranged around seasonal hours, a hospital rota or school pick-up. If one session tells you this is not for you, that is a perfectly acceptable outcome.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What can counselling and therapy in Poole help with?
Low mood and depression
For the flatness, exhaustion and loss of interest that drain the colour from things.
Addiction and habits
Alcohol, drugs, gambling or behaviours that have stopped feeling like a choice.
Relationships
Conflict, distance and trust, as a couple or on your own.
Trauma and the past
When something you have been through still shapes your present.
Life feeling stuck
For the big transitions, losses and crossroads that leave you unsure which way to turn.
Counselling and Therapy in Poole
Why people in Poole come for counselling and therapy
Start here when the problem has no name yet. Most people booking a first session cannot describe what is wrong in a sentence, and that is not something to sort out beforehand. We work with the present: what your week actually holds, which parts you brace for, what has gone quiet. Naming it tends to fall out of that within a few sessions. Depression appeared on local GP registers for 13.3% of adult patients in 2024/25, slightly under the England average of 14.3%, and that measures people who reached a doctor rather than people who are struggling. The work is short to medium term, often six to twelve sessions, present-focused and free of jargon, and nobody will ask you to account for your childhood. Steps2Wellbeing, the NHS Talking Therapies service for Dorset, is free and takes self-referrals, with Dorset Mind alongside.
A free, unhurried first step
Not sure if it is right for you? A free fifteen-minute call is a no-obligation way to talk it through.
Book a free 15-minute callFinding support in Poole
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Poole, you can refer yourself directly to Steps2Wellbeing, NHS Talking Therapies Dorset for free NHS talking therapy, with no GP referral needed.
Private sessions with me usually mean you can start sooner and stay with the same counsellor throughout; I am glad to work alongside any NHS or GP support you already have.
Other local and national support verified for this area includes:
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. The Samaritans are free, day or night, on 116 123, or text SHOUT to 85258.
Poole questions
Online Counselling and Therapy in Poole: common questions
Is feeling flat really worth paying for help with?
It is the reason most people come. Flatness that has lasted months tends to keep going without something to interrupt it, and it is much easier to work with before it hardens. There is no threshold of seriousness you have to reach first.
What is the cost, and is anything paid in advance?
Sessions are paid one at a time, with no package to buy. An hour comes to £80, ninety minutes to £100, and a two-hour session to £120. Almost everyone starting out uses the hour. The 15-minute conversation that comes first is free of charge.
Should I try the NHS in Dorset before this?
Plenty of people do and it makes sense. Steps2Wellbeing accepts self-referrals across the county at no cost, and its focus is low mood and anxiety. Waiting times move about depending on the time of year. Dorset Mind is worth knowing about if the wait turns out to be long.
How does this differ from the psychotherapy on the site?
This is the shorter, present-focused work: what is happening now, and what would make it more bearable. Psychotherapy is longer and goes back into how you came to be as you are. People frequently do this first and never need the other.
My hours vanish in winter. Can I pause and pick it up again?
You can. Some people go weekly through the season and fortnightly afterwards, or take a planned break with a date to resume. Agreeing that openly works far better than simply stopping, because the work carries on from where it left off.
There's a big gap in Poole between Sandbanks and everywhere else. Does that come up?
It often does. Feeling that everyone around you is doing fine when you are not can be isolating, and it is something we can explore. Sessions are by secure video from home. The counselling room is in Hove, on the Sussex coast.
How quickly can I start online counselling in Poole?
Getting started in Poole is usually quick, within a week or two. A free 15-minute consultation comes first so you can see how it feels, then we arrange a first session. Sessions are online by secure video; the room is in Hove, near neither Parkstone nor Hamworthy but easy to reach on screen.
How much is counselling in Poole, and can I get it through the NHS?
This is a private practice, so sessions are self funded rather than through the NHS. A 60-minute session is £80, 90 minutes is £100 and 120 minutes is £120, and the first 15-minute consultation is free. People in Poole can also seek NHS Talking Therapies in Dorset via their GP if they prefer.
Is counselling in Poole delivered online, and are evening times available?
All sessions are held online by secure video, so you can meet from anywhere private in Poole, whether that is home in Parkstone or a quiet room near work. Some evening slots suit marine and port workers around the harbour working through the day. In-person visits only suit those able to travel to the Hove room.
Online Counselling and Therapy in Poole, whenever you are ready
A free fifteen-minute call is the simplest place to start, no obligation, just a chance to see if we are the right fit.
Also available online across South West: Bournemouth. See all of South West.
Also available in Poole: anxiety counselling, depression counselling and psychotherapy.
Some further reading, if that helps before getting in touch: how change actually sticks and where to start when you cannot name it.
Within reach of Sussex? counselling and therapy is offered in the room in Brighton as well as online; see the full list of areas.