Gosport · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Psychotherapy for Gosport
Psychotherapy is slower, deeper work for when the same feelings and patterns keep coming back. From Gosport we'd meet weekly by secure video, because my room in Hove is a long trip away, and keep the same hour for as long as the work needs. I'm a registered member of BACP and a UKCP student member, not a UKCP-registered psychotherapist.
The practical facts for Gosport
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Gosport by car
- About 82 minutes with clear roads (55.6 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- NHS Talking Therapies Hampshire, 023 8038 3920
- 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.
Growing up around the Navy, and what it leaves
If you grew up in Gosport with the Navy in the family, you may know what it is to have a parent come and go on a calendar nobody at home controlled.
Children of service families can move house and school more than once, learn to make friends fast and not to get too attached, and become very good at coping without asking for much. Habits like that make sense in a child. In an adult they can show up as keeping partners at arm's length, feeling restless whenever life settles, or being the person everyone leans on with nobody to lean on in turn. You don't need a naval background for this to apply. If you've never left Rowner or Alverstoke, it's easy to stay fixed in a role you outgrew long ago. Shorter help can ease a hard patch. Psychotherapy is for when you've noticed the same thing happening again, and want to understand where it began.
Open-ended work, carried on from a distance
Longer work with me has no set number of sessions. Sessions keep the same weekly slot, by video from a private room in your home, and every so often we stop and review together what's changing and whether to carry on. The first months are usually spent getting to know your history, including the parts you'd normally skip, and the ways you learned to keep yourself safe. Later we can turn towards the feelings underneath those habits, slowly enough that you stay steady between sessions. Life in Gosport can interrupt that rhythm. If you serve, or your partner does, a posting, a deployment or a course away can take weeks out of the diary. So we plan for the breaks: what to hold on to while we're apart, and how to pick up the thread when you're back. If you've already had short-term help, perhaps through NHS Talking Therapies Hampshire, bring what you learned about yourself, because it is a useful starting point. The more than 25 years' experience I bring is as a counsellor, and my psychotherapy training is still under way.
Patterns worth more than a few sessions
Always ready to leave
If a childhood of postings taught you not to settle, you may still pull away whenever a relationship or a job starts to matter. Longer work looks at where that began.
The one everyone relies on
Holding things together while a parent or partner was at sea can harden into a lifelong habit of coping alone and never asking for anything yourself.
When short-term help ran out
If a course with NHS Talking Therapies Hampshire, or support found through the Solent Mind wellbeing service, eased things but the same feelings returned, deeper work can ask why.
Breaks planned around the Navy
With HMS Sultan in the town, a course or posting can interrupt weekly sessions. We agree in advance how to pause, and how to take the work up again afterwards.
Public health figures for the area
These are local authority figures from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. "Similar to England" means the difference is not statistically significant. The figures describe a whole population over a period, not any one person.
Free and low-cost support for Gosport
Longer work can sit alongside free support. The Solent Mind Fareham and Gosport Wellbeing Service runs groups, workshops and one-to-one emotional support, and can point you towards other help. Anchoring Minds brings serving sailors, marines and their families together for peer support. If you need more than a weekly session can offer, your GP can talk you through NHS options.
- Free NHS talking therapyNHS Talking Therapies Hampshire023 8038 3920Free 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 itInclusion Recovery Hampshire0300 124 0103Free and confidential.
For gambling, the National Gambling Helpline is free, day or night, on 0808 8020 133 (NHS gambling support).
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.
In this area you can also text HANTS to 85258.
What people in Gosport ask before starting
Can I have long-term psychotherapy from Gosport entirely online?
Yes. From Gosport I'd expect almost all of it to be by secure video, because the trip to Hove takes well over an hour each way. What matters more is a private room where you can't be overheard and a time you can keep each week. If meeting in person ever feels important, an occasional longer session in Hove is possible.
Is psychotherapy available free on the NHS near Gosport?
The free service you can contact yourself is NHS Talking Therapies Hampshire, on 023 8038 3920, which offers shorter, structured help for anxiety and low mood. For longer or more complex difficulties, ask your GP what the NHS can offer around Gosport. The Solent Mind Fareham and Gosport Wellbeing Service can also signpost you after a telephone assessment.
What happens to psychotherapy if I'm deployed or posted away from Gosport?
We plan for it. If you know the dates, we use the weeks before you go to prepare for the gap and agree how to restart. If you'll have a private space and a reliable connection while you're away, video sessions may carry on. If not, we pause, and we talk about picking the work up again when you're home.
Are you a UKCP-registered psychotherapist?
No, and it's a fair thing to ask. UKCP counts me as a student member rather than a registrant, and my registration is with BACP, where I am a registered member. My practice over more than 25 years has been as a counsellor, with the psychotherapy training continuing alongside it. If you specifically want someone who already holds UKCP registration, say so on the call and I'll understand.
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.
Ask about longer work on a short first call
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.