Communication and conflict
Breaking the cycle of the same argument.
Online Relationship Counselling · Poole
Online Relationship Counselling in Poole
Online relationship counselling 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
Relationship Counselling 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
Poole puts two very different lives within a mile of each other, and couples feel that more than most. A household in Creekmoor or Oakdale watching every outgoing sits a short drive from Sandbanks, and comparison is corrosive stuff for a partnership. The work is seasonal at both ends of the scale: busy summers around the harbour and the quay, then quiet months where the income drops and the same conversation about money starts again. Boatbuilding at Sunseeker and shifts at Poole Hospital keep their own hours. Between Parkstone and Hamworthy a lot of couples are perfectly organised, entirely functional and no longer really talking to one another.
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.
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).
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).
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).
Reviewed June 2026.
What is relationship counselling, in practice?
Relationship counselling here, for couples or individuals, slows down the pattern you are caught in and builds healthier ways of hearing and being heard.
What actually happens in the room is the same everywhere, so it is written up once: see relationship counselling in detail for the methods, session lengths and fees for fees and session lengths, and how to check my registration if you want to check who you would be working with.
What do I need for an online session?
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.
Poole is an online location. Bradley works from Hove, so relationship sessions run by video and neither of you has to get across town at five o'clock or explain an absence at work. You can take the appointment together from one sofa, or separately if one of you is out on a job. Longer slots give two people room. If your partner will not come, start on your own.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What can relationship counselling in Poole help with?
Trust and repair
Rebuilding safety after betrayal or addiction.
Distance
Finding your way back to closeness.
Long-distance couples
Sessions you can join from different places.
Anxiety and reassurance
Working with people-pleasing and the need for control.
Individual work
You do not need to come as a couple to change the dynamic.
Relationship Counselling in Poole
Why people in Poole come for relationship counselling
What brings couples here is usually accumulation rather than catastrophe. A run of short answers. Two people who now discuss logistics and nothing else. The particular loneliness of living beside someone and feeling unseen by them. Seasonal income makes it worse, because a lean winter turns every disagreement into a financial one. Where drink has become part of the evening, the other partner slides into monitoring, and monitoring corrodes trust faster than almost anything. In 2022/23 the share of adults reporting a high anxiety score was 22.1%, marginally under the England average of 23.8%, though averages have never described anybody's marriage. The sessions look at how the two of you speak, what trust was actually built on and what repair would take. The NHS route across Dorset is Steps2Wellbeing, the county's NHS Talking Therapies service, and Dorset Mind offers local support.
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 Relationship Counselling in Poole: common questions
How long is the wait for a first couples appointment?
Short. A free 15-minute call comes first, then weekly appointments usually within a week or two. Nothing needs a referral. If your work around the harbour means summer evenings are impossible, that is worth saying at the outset rather than later.
Is the fee higher because there are two of us?
It is not. One session, one fee: £80 for sixty minutes, £100 for ninety, £120 for two hours. Ninety minutes tends to suit couples, since two people rarely say what they mean in the first quarter of an hour. The 15-minute consultation at the outset carries no fee.
What NHS help exists locally for relationship strain?
Steps2Wellbeing is the NHS Talking Therapies service across Dorset and takes self-referrals without a GP appointment, though it is aimed at anxiety and depression rather than couples work. Dorset Mind runs local support. Using both together is common and causes no difficulty.
We row about money constantly. Can that be worked on?
It can, and it is one of the most frequent subjects. Money arguments are usually carrying something else, about fairness, security or whose effort counts. Separating the practical problem from the older feeling underneath it changes the temperature of the conversation quite quickly.
One of us works away on the boats. Does that rule this out?
Not at all. Sessions can run with one of you at home and the other wherever the work has taken them, provided there is a private connection. Couples who spend part of the year apart often find video sessions easier to sustain than anything in person.
Can relationship counselling work around seasonal harbour or tourism hours in Poole?
Yes. Because we meet by secure video, sessions can be arranged around the busy summers and quieter winters of harbour and resort work, with you both joining from home. The counselling room is in Hove, so Poole couples are seen online.
How soon can couples in Poole start online relationship counselling?
Most Poole couples get going within a week or two, since there is no local waiting list. A free 15-minute call comes first, then we book a full session together. With the room in Hove, Poole is served online by secure video wherever you both are.
What does couples counselling cost in Poole, and is it available on the NHS?
Relationship work here is private rather than NHS funded. Sessions are £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 minutes and £120 for two hours, with a free 15-minute consultation first. Poole couples can also seek NHS Talking Therapies in Dorset through a GP, though many prefer to start privately without a wait.
Can partners in Poole join from different places, and are evening slots offered?
Yes. Because sessions are online, one partner can join from Parkstone and the other from work or away, which suits Poole couples juggling marine and port workers around the harbour. Some evening appointments help those tied up in the day. The room is in Hove, so we meet by secure video wherever you both are.
Online Relationship Counselling 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.
If relationship counselling is not quite what you are looking for, counselling and therapy, trauma counselling and addiction counselling may fit better in Poole.
You may also find it useful to read about the Imago dialogue for couples.
Closer to the Sussex coast? The same relationship counselling is available in person, in Brighton, or see every area I cover.