City of London · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Psychotherapy for City of London
Psychotherapy here means longer, deeper work on patterns that keep returning, for people who work in the Square Mile or live on its estates. With the Hove room about 100 minutes from the Square Mile by road, the weekly hour happens on secure video, and a Thameslink trip south for an occasional session in person is always possible. I'm a UKCP student member and a registered member of BACP.
The practical facts for City of London
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From City of London by car
- About 100 minutes with clear roads (54.1 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- City & Hackney Talking Therapies, 020 7683 4278
- 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.
High achievement, and what can sit underneath it
The City tends to reward a particular way of being.
Over half of its roughly 615,000 workers are in financial and professional services, near the Bank of England, Lloyd's of London and the London Stock Exchange, and students at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama train for careers judged on every performance. Precision, competition and being seen to cope are part of the place. Those qualities can carry someone for years while something older goes unexamined: a harsh inner critic, a dread of depending on anyone, a run of relationships that end in the same way. Away from the trading floors the Square Mile is quieter than its reputation, and just over half of City households, 51%, are a single person. The City's suicide prevention plan names single men in their 40s among the groups it focuses on. At St Bartholomew's Hospital, founded in 1123, illness and its aftermath can also reopen old questions about control and trust.
Following old patterns back, one week at a time
Shorter counselling usually starts from a present difficulty. Psychotherapy starts from the question of why the same difficulty keeps arriving. You might notice that every promotion brings dread instead of relief, that you go cold when someone gets close, or that weekends alone in a City flat feel emptier each year. We look at where those patterns began, often in family life long before work, and at what they once protected you from. The pace is yours, and nothing has to be relived in detail to be understood. How long it takes stays open: one piece of work settles within several months, another runs past a year, and we stop to take stock together at intervals instead of counting sessions down. A regular weekly time helps, because continuity is part of what makes deeper material feel safe enough to approach. I'm a counsellor and psychotherapist with over 25 years' experience and lived experience of recovery. I hold UKCP student membership, which is distinct from full UKCP registration. My integrative approach draws partly on Internal Family Systems, which suits work with a fierce inner critic.
Patterns the Square Mile can keep in place
The critic that drives the career
Where over half the jobs are in finance and professional services, a voice saying nothing is ever enough can pass for ambition for years before it is recognised as a pattern.
Close to no one, by habit
Half the City's households hold one person. Living alone can be a real choice or a long-standing way of keeping people at a safe distance, and longer work can tell the two apart.
After illness at Barts
Serious illness or treatment at St Bartholomew's Hospital can stir older fears about control and dependence. Maggie's Barts offers support there, and longer therapy can follow at your own pace.
Training at the Guildhall School
Studying music or drama under constant audition and judgement can sharpen perfectionism and self-doubt that were there long before the course began.
Free and low-cost support for City of London
Psychotherapy with me can run beside the City's own options. The City Wellbeing Centre, from Tavistock Relationships, offers low-cost psychotherapy on a sliding scale. Mind in the City, Hackney and Waltham Forest provides counselling and peer support, including for people bereaved by suicide. Self-referral is open at City and Hackney Talking Therapies if what weighs on you is anxiety or low mood, while Healthwatch City of London points people through the Square Mile's health and care services.
- Free NHS talking therapyCity & Hackney Talking Therapies020 7683 4278Free 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 itCity and Hackney Recovery Service0345 144 0050Free and confidential.
- Local organisationCentral London Samaritans
- Local organisationDragon Café in the City (Mental Fight Club)Free fortnightly wellbeing sessions, low-cost or fee-paying.
- Local organisationSt Joseph's Hospice bereavement serviceHospice bereavement counselling.
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.
What people in City of London ask before starting
How soon could I start psychotherapy if I work in the City?
After a free consultation by phone or video, I offer you the weekly times I have open, and the one you choose becomes your regular slot, so there is no waiting list to sit on. Early mornings or evenings suit a City working day, and we can plan around known pressure points, such as year end, rather than stopping the work whenever they arrive.
Where else in the City of London offers psychotherapy on a sliding scale?
The City Wellbeing Centre, run by Tavistock Relationships for the City of London Corporation, offers psychotherapy for individuals on a sliding scale. Mind in the City, Hackney and Waltham Forest also runs counselling and therapy. Either can be a good fit if cost decides it, and longer private work with me can sit alongside or follow on.
Can long-term psychotherapy really work over video from the Square Mile?
It can, provided the setting is steady: the same private room, the same time, the door closed and notifications off. Video asks a little more care at the start, and we talk about that openly. Because Hove is about 100 minutes from the City, video is the usual arrangement, with an in-person session in Hove whenever sitting face to face feels worth the trip.
Are you UKCP registered, and does it matter for psychotherapy in London?
I'm a UKCP student member, which is distinct from being UKCP registered, and I'm a registered member of BACP with over 25 years' experience as a counsellor and psychotherapist. Should a City employer's health scheme ask for a fully UKCP-registered therapist, check its rules before booking, and we can go over my training on the free call.
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.
Starting the longer conversation from the City
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.