Kensington · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Psychotherapy for Kensington
Psychotherapy suits someone in Kensington who has noticed the same knot returning, in work, in love or in how they treat themselves, and wants time to understand it properly. Because Hove lies about 95 minutes away by road, this longer work is held weekly by secure video, with an occasional extended session in the room. On credentials, I am registered with BACP and belong to UKCP as a student member.
The practical facts for Kensington
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Kensington by car
- About 95 minutes with clear roads (53.4 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Kensington and Chelsea Talking Therapies, 020 3317 4200
- 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.
Exacting standards from Exhibition Road to the High Street
Kensington gathers people whose working lives reward exacting standards.
Researchers and doctoral students at Imperial College's South Kensington campus, musicians practising for hours at the Royal College of Music, designers at the Royal College of Art and journalists at Northcliffe House all do work that is judged closely and often. That intensity can be a gift. It can also sit on top of older patterns: an inner voice insisting nothing is ever good enough, a habit of earning affection by achieving, or a pull towards relationships that repeat what went wrong before. The borough's health profile describes a densely populated area with a high proportion of single households, and it is quite possible to live among museums, concert halls and close neighbours and still feel that nobody sees the person underneath. In psychotherapy, that overlooked self is what each weekly hour is about, and the work continues for as many months as the old patterns take to loosen.
How longer work unfolds over months from W8
Shorter counselling usually starts from one problem and a fairly clear goal. Psychotherapy begins more openly. We follow what keeps coming back, notice where it first took shape, and pay attention to how it shows up between us in the sessions themselves. There is no set number of weeks; some pieces of work run for months, others for longer, and we review together how it is going rather than letting it drift. My approach is integrative, and one strand of it is Internal Family Systems, useful when parts of you seem to pull in opposite directions, one driving you to perform while another wants to give up. Alongside more than 25 years of practice I have lived experience of recovery, so compulsive habits woven into a pattern, such as drinking to come down after a demanding day, can be named openly. My registration is with the BACP, and my UKCP membership is as a student, which I mention so you know exactly who you are working with. Your GP remains the person for medication and can work alongside our sessions.
Patterns worth longer work in Kensington
Research that never feels finished
At Imperial College, a thesis or a grant can quietly become proof of worth. Psychotherapy explores where that equation came from, and current students also have Imperial's own counselling service.
Practice rooms and a harsh critic
Years of training at the Royal College of Music or the Royal College of Art can leave an inner critic that keeps going long after the performance or the crit is over.
A byline and a restless mind
News work at Northcliffe House rewards speed and constant alertness. When that state never switches off at home, longer work can trace what it protects you from.
Living alone in a crowded borough
Kensington and Chelsea has a high proportion of single households. Psychotherapy can look at why closeness feels hard to find or to keep, at a pace you choose.
Free and low-cost support for Kensington
Should longer private therapy not fit your budget yet, West London Mind runs Mind Within at low cost, and you can refer yourself to Kensington and Chelsea Talking Therapies, part of Community Living Well, for anxiety or low mood. Imperial students can use the Imperial College London Student Counselling and Mental Health Advice Service. Any of these can come first, run beside our sessions or follow on from them.
- Free NHS talking therapyKensington and Chelsea Talking Therapies020 3317 4200Free 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 itTurning Point Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea (Drug and Alcohol Wellbeing Service)0330 303 8080Free and confidential.
- Local organisationCentral London Samaritans
- Local organisationCruse Bereavement Support, Kensington and Chelsea and Hammersmith and Fulham branchBereavement support.
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.
Locally, the CNWL Mental Health Single Point of Access crisis line, London boroughs) is on 0800 0234 650.
What people in Kensington ask before starting
How long does psychotherapy last when you are working from Kensington?
There is no fixed length. We agree a weekly video time, and after the first few weeks we pause to ask whether the work is opening up and what you want from it. The work might last a season, or carry on beyond a year; we decide that together. Distance makes no difference to the length, because the sessions happen on screen rather than on the road.
Is it worth travelling from Kensington to Hove for psychotherapy in person?
For the weekly sessions, usually not: about 95 minutes each way by car, or the Circle line and a Southern train from Victoria, adds a lot to an hour of therapy. Where it can be worth it is an occasional longer session, 90 or 120 minutes, planned for a day you can give to the work and the trip.
Can I begin psychotherapy from Kensington straight away?
Yes: once we have spoken on the free 15-minute call, you pick a weekly slot from my current openings, and the first session can follow without a queue. Community Living Well's Talking Therapies service for the borough costs nothing, takes self-referrals on 020 3317 4200 and works with anxiety and low mood, while Mind Within charges reduced fees. You can use either alongside or instead of longer private work.
I'm a doctoral student at Imperial. Is long-term therapy realistic around term and lab hours?
It can be. Video lets you keep one fixed weekly slot whether you are in South Kensington, at home or away for the summer, which matters in longer work where continuity counts. Imperial's student counselling service is free while you are enrolled, and some students start there; private psychotherapy simply carries on regardless of term dates or graduation.
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.
Making room for the longer conversation, from Kensington
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.