Soho · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Psychotherapy for Soho
Psychotherapy is for the pattern that has followed you through several jobs, flats and relationships in and around W1. Soho is about 101 minutes' drive from my one room in Hove, so this longer work runs by secure video as a rule, with an occasional session in person if you want one. For work this deep from W1, credentials matter: BACP registers me as a member, and UKCP lists me as a student member.
The practical facts for Soho
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Soho by car
- About 101 minutes with clear roads (54.3 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Westminster Talking Therapies, 030 3333 0000
- 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.
A district that rewards performance, where patterns hide
Soho has been one of London's main entertainment districts since the 19th century, and a lot of its work still asks you to be on: front of house at a theatre, pitching in a Wardour Street meeting room, grading a film for a client who wanted it yesterday.
Westminster describes Soho and its adjoining streets as home to a concentration of media and creative companies, and freelance creative work tends to reward whoever can absorb pressure without showing it. That skill often began much earlier, in a family where you learned to read the room before you could name what you felt. Along Old Compton Street, some people found the first place they could be fully themselves, and still carry the years that came before it. Over in Chinatown, others hold the hopes of parents who gave up a great deal. A district this lively can keep a lifelong pattern busy, and out of sight, for a very long time.
What open-ended work looks like when you live by deadlines
Shorter counselling usually takes one difficulty and works on it for a set number of weeks. Psychotherapy asks a slower question: why does the same thing keep happening, whoever you are with and wherever you work? Perhaps you take every job offered because a gap in the diary feels like proof you are finished. Perhaps you are funny and generous in company and flat the moment the door closes. Perhaps closeness with a partner tips, every time, into an urge to leave. We start with what is pressing this month and follow its threads back, at a pace you set, into the family and the years that taught you to cope this way. Those same habits tend to show up between us, as a wish to be an easy client or to cancel when something tender comes near, and we treat that as useful material, never as failure. Among the approaches I draw on is Internal Family Systems, which listens to the part of you that drives and the part that hides as voices worth hearing out. Nothing fixes the number of sessions in advance. Every few months we pause to ask whether the pattern you brought from W1 is loosening, and the choice to continue, take a break or stop is yours.
Patterns that Soho working life keeps busy
Worth measured by the next booking
Freelance work across Soho's media and post-production companies can turn every quiet week into a verdict on your value, a belief that is often far older than your career.
Out at last, still braced
Finding a home around Old Compton Street does not always undo the years of hiding that came first, and longer work makes room for shame that arrived before the freedom did.
Loyalty carried across a language
When a parent's hopes travelled across a language barrier, old loyalties can shape every adult choice. For practical matters, the Chinese Information and Advice Centre gives free advice in Chinatown.
Short-term help that faded
If a course with Westminster Talking Therapies eased anxiety or low mood but the same knot returned, open-ended work can ask why it keeps coming back.
Free and low-cost support for Soho
Free and private help can sit side by side here. Westminster Talking Therapies takes self-referrals on 030 3333 0000 for worry and low mood. Central London Samaritans listens at any hour, Carers Network supports unpaid carers, and the monthly Grief Café at St Anne's Church welcomes anyone carrying an old or recent loss. Weekly psychotherapy by video can carry on while you use them.
- Free NHS talking therapyWestminster Talking Therapies030 3333 0000Free 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 & Chelsea (Drug and Alcohol Wellbeing Service, DAWS)0330 303 8080Free and confidential.
- Local organisationGrief Café at St Anne's Church, Soho (with The Good Grief Trust)Free monthly bereavement drop-in.
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.
Locally, the CNWL Mental Health Single Point of Access is on 0800 0234 650.
What people in Soho ask before starting
I'm looking for a psychotherapist in Soho. Are you UKCP registered?
My professional registration is with BACP, and with UKCP I am a student member, which is different from UKCP registration. Both registers are public, so you can check them yourself. I have worked in this field for more than 25 years, with recovery in my own background, and the free 15-minute call lets you test how we get on before you commit to anything longer.
Can long-term psychotherapy by video work around Soho working hours?
It can, as long as the hour is protected. Rehearsals, edits and late services move about, so we agree a regular time your week can usually keep, and plan ahead when a shoot or a run of evenings is coming. Join from home rather than a shared edit suite or dressing room if you can. Hove is about 101 minutes away by car, which is why video carries the weekly work.
Is there free longer-term therapy on the NHS in Westminster?
The free NHS route in Westminster is Westminster Talking Therapies, on 030 3333 0000, which accepts self-referrals and focuses on anxiety and low mood. If you are already under a mental health team, ask them about longer options. Private psychotherapy with me can follow on from Talking Therapies or run at the same time.
I've had short courses of therapy in Soho before and things came back. How long would this take?
There's no fixed length. It may be several months or a good deal longer, and we review together regularly so it never simply drifts. You can stop whenever you choose; I'd suggest one ending session so the work closes properly. Deeper work can stir things up for a while, and if a week feels too heavy, the CNWL crisis line on 0800 0234 650 answers at any hour.
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.
Begin with a short call, then decide on longer work
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.