Orpington · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Psychotherapy for Orpington
If you're looking for a psychotherapist in Orpington because short spells of help have eased things without changing them, I offer open-ended integrative psychotherapy by secure video. We'd meet weekly at a fixed time, going as deep as you choose. I hold BACP registered membership and student membership of UKCP, and I've practised for more than 25 years.
The practical facts for Orpington
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Orpington by car
- About 67 minutes with clear roads (54.3 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- From Orpington, change at London Bridge for trains towards Brighton and Hove.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- NHS Bromley Talking Therapies, 0300 003 3000
- 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.
Living a few streets from where you grew up
If you grew up in Orpington, in Broom Hill, Ramsden or Goddington perhaps, you may now live a short drive from the house your parents still own, with your own children reaching the age you were when things got complicated.
Being close to family has real comforts, like help with the school run and people who knew you before you were anyone in particular. It can also mean sliding back into an old role at every visit, the reliable one or the one who causes trouble, and discovering that you can run a meeting in central London but lose your voice at your mother's table. If you moved here from somewhere else, the pattern may run the other way, with family far off and old history arriving only by phone. In psychotherapy we take those roles apart slowly, asking where each one came from and whether it still earns its place in your life.
Why psychotherapy takes longer, and what fills the time
Counselling often concentrates on one present difficulty. Psychotherapy with me reaches wider and further back, to patterns that keep turning up whatever the circumstances: choosing partners who can't be relied on, working until you're ill, keeping everyone at arm's length, or feeling like a fraud however well things go. We look at the early experiences that made those patterns sensible at the time, and at the parts of you that still act on them. Sometimes a pattern shows up between the two of us, in how you expect me to react, and noticing that as it happens can be among the most useful moments in the work. Internal Family Systems is often part of it. There's no set number of sessions; this kind of work commonly runs for many months, and we review it together every so often. A steady weekly rhythm matters more than session length, so from Orpington I'd suggest a regular video slot that can survive a heavy quarter at work or a run of family obligations. Stopping is always your decision, and when the time comes we'd plan an ending together instead of letting it drift.
Orpington patterns worth a slower look
Old roles at family gatherings
Living near your parents in Orpington and finding that, within an hour of arriving, you're back to being the child who keeps the peace or takes the blame.
Back in a classroom as an adult
Starting a course at the University Centre in The Walnuts and finding old feelings about being clever enough, or about being found out, arriving with the reading list.
When a course opened a door
Recovery and wellbeing courses at Anchor House may have given you words for what's going on. Psychotherapy can take that understanding into your own history, one week at a time.
A confident role on the morning train
Hours a week between Orpington and Cannon Street or Charing Cross, playing someone assured at work, then coming home unsure who you are once the role comes off.
Free and low-cost support for Orpington
For women who experienced sexual abuse in childhood, Bromley Woman's Service is an NHS psychotherapy service from Oxleas, with evening clinics in Orpington. The Bromley Mental Health Hub, an Oxleas partnership with South East London Mind, assesses Bromley adults aged 18 to 64 and directs them to suitable services; its public line is 020 8659 2151, option two, on weekdays. Longer private work with me can sit beside either.
- Free NHS talking therapyNHS Bromley Talking Therapies0300 003 3000Free 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 itChange Grow Live (CGL) Bromley Drug and Alcohol Service020 8289 1999Free and confidential.
- Local organisationBromley and Orpington SamaritansLocal Samaritans branch.
- Local organisationCruse Bereavement Support, Bexley and Bromley branchBereavement support.
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.
The South London NHS Mental Health Crisis WhatsApp Service () is another option: WhatsApp 0303 330 1511.
What people in Orpington ask before starting
Can I get longer-term psychotherapy free on the NHS from Orpington?
The NHS door in the borough is the Bromley Mental Health Hub, where Oxleas and South East London Mind assess adults aged 18 to 64 and direct them to suitable services. If you're a woman who was sexually abused as a child, Oxleas also offers Bromley Woman's Service, evening psychotherapy held in Orpington; ask your GP or the Hub about being referred. Private psychotherapy can begin while you wait.
Is it really psychotherapy if you're a UKCP student member?
It's a fair thing to ask. My registration is with BACP, my practice goes back more than 25 years, and with UKCP I'm a student member, so I'm not on the UKCP register. I use the word psychotherapy for the kind of work we'd do, which is longer and reaches back to patterns that have run through your life. Any question about my training is welcome on the free call.
Will psychotherapy by video from Orpington feel too distant for deep work?
It doesn't have to. Depth in psychotherapy comes from trust built week after week, and that can grow through a screen. From Orpington the practical need is a private room and a fixed time you protect, perhaps the same weekday evening each week. If you'd like to share a room with me occasionally, a 90 or 120-minute session in Hove is possible.
How do I begin psychotherapy from Orpington, and how long will it go on?
After the free 15-minute call, I'll be plain about when a weekly slot might open. The first full session is about what you want to understand, and whether we suit each other. After that it's open-ended. Some pieces of work last months, others longer, and we check regularly that it's still worth your time and money.
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.
Tell me what keeps coming back
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.