Anxiety and worry
When your mind will not settle and everything feels urgent.
Online Counselling and Therapy · Preston
Online Counselling and Therapy in Preston
Online counselling and therapy for Preston, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Preston, from the city centre and the markets to the streets around the Harris Museum, 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 Preston
Counselling and Therapy for Preston, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Preston: from the city centre and the markets to Fulwood, Ashton and Ribbleton
- Known for
- The Harris Museum, the docks and the river Ribble
- Region
- North West (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Talking Therapies
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Preston
Why people in Preston get in touch
Preston has a habit of getting on with it. That serves people well until the day it does not. A great many people here spend months functioning perfectly, going to work, doing the school run in Ribbleton or Ashton-on-Ribble, studying at the University of Central Lancashire, whilst something underneath gets steadily heavier. There is no incident to point at, which is exactly what makes it hard to justify asking for help. The Royal Preston Hospital deals with what is acute. The rest, the flatness and the irritability and the loss of interest, usually goes unmentioned until somebody finally says it out loud to a stranger.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Preston
the city centreFulwoodAshton-on-RibbleRibbletonDeepdalePenworthamBroadgateIngol
Wherever you are in Preston, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Preston
Official figures for Preston, 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 18.1% of patients aged 18+ in 2024/25, above the England average of 14.3%. Source: OHID Fingertips – Depression: QOF prevalence (2024/25).
the rate of emergency hospital admissions for self-harm was 114 per 100,000 in 2023/24, below the England average of 117 per 100,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Emergency Hospital Admissions for Intentional Self-Harm (2023/24).
Reviewed June 2026.
What is counselling and therapy, in practice?
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.
What actually happens in the room is the same everywhere, so it is written up once: see the counselling and therapy page for the methods, session lengths and fees for fees and session lengths, and qualifications, registration and ethics if you want to check who you would be working with.
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.
Everything runs online from Hove, by video or phone, which makes a first session much easier to actually take. No referral is needed, nothing arrives in the post, and there is no journey into the centre after work. You can try one hour from your kitchen and decide afterwards. Nothing is prepaid and there is no minimum course. Voice-only sessions are available and plenty of people choose them for the first few weeks.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What can counselling and therapy in Preston 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 Preston
Why people in Preston come for counselling and therapy
This is where people start when they cannot yet name the problem. No diagnosis, no label, no requirement to explain yourself cleanly. The work is present-focused and short to medium term, often six to twelve sessions, and we review as we go rather than commit to a fixed course. Recorded depression on local GP registers stood at 18.1% of patients aged 18 and over in 2024/25, well above the England average of 14.3%, and a register only counts people who went and said something to a doctor. Plenty have not. The free route is NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Talking Therapies, which takes self-referrals directly without a doctor's involvement, and Lancashire Mind runs local support worth looking at. If drinking has quietly become part of the evening, Inspire Lancashire covers central Lancashire through Change Grow Live.
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 Preston
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Preston, you can refer yourself directly to NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Talking Therapies 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.
Preston questions
Online Counselling and Therapy in Preston: common questions
How soon could I have a first appointment?
Generally within a week or two, and the free 15-minute conversation usually happens within a few days of you making contact. Speed is one of the main reasons people use private counselling whilst also putting their name down for the NHS.
What does it cost and can I pay session by session?
Yes, session by session is how it works: £80 for 60 minutes and £100 for 90. There is nothing to pay in advance and nothing to cancel if you decide to stop. The initial consultation carries no charge at all.
Is NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Talking Therapies worth trying too?
Definitely. It is free, you can refer yourself without seeing a doctor first, and it works well for a lot of people. Waiting times vary through the year, so beginning here whilst you wait, then choosing between the two, is a perfectly sensible approach.
I do not think of myself as a depressed person. Can I still come?
Of course. Most people who get in touch would not use that word about themselves and would rather not. You do not need a category to qualify for an hour of attention, and we would work with your description of it rather than a clinical one.
What if a few sessions turn out not to be enough?
Then we say so honestly and look at what would fit, whether that is continuing for longer or something deeper. Nothing is decided at the start. Roughly half the people who begin short work finish it and never need to come back.
Do you cover the wider Lancashire area too?
Yes. Because we meet online, it makes no difference whether you're in Preston itself or the towns and villages around it, from Leyland to Chorley or further into the county. The connection is the same wherever you are, which helps when support otherwise means a long drive.
How quickly can I start counselling in Preston?
Generally within a week or so. Working online from Hove means I am not tied to a local waiting list, so after a free fifteen-minute call I can usually offer a first session soon after. Wherever you are, from Ribbleton to Ashton-on-Ribble, we meet by secure video or phone.
How much is counselling, and should I try the NHS in Preston first?
Sessions are £80 for the standard sixty minutes, with longer options at £100 for ninety and £120 for two hours. NHS Talking Therapies is free but often has a wait, so some people start privately with me while it comes through. The first fifteen-minute consultation costs nothing.
Do you offer evening sessions for people working around Preston?
Yes. Online work makes evenings and quieter daytime slots easier to hold, whether you are at the university, the county council or working shifts. We would agree one regular time and keep it consistent week to week, so it becomes something dependable rather than another thing to fit in.
Online Counselling and Therapy in Preston, 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 North West: Blackburn, Blackpool, Lancaster. See all of North West.
Close to this in Preston, there is anxiety counselling, depression counselling and psychotherapy.
You may also find it useful to read about where to start when you cannot name it and how change actually sticks.
Within reach of Sussex? counselling and therapy is offered in the room in Brighton as well as online; see the full list of areas.