Broadstairs · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Couples therapy and relationship counselling for Broadstairs
When things between you and your partner in Broadstairs have grown tense, distant or stuck, couples counselling gives you both a regular hour to hear each other with someone neutral in the room. With the Hove room over two hours away by road, we would meet by secure video, the pair of you sharing one screen at home or joining from separate places, and one partner can start before the other.
The practical facts for Broadstairs
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Broadstairs by car
- About 129 minutes with clear roads (108.4 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free NHS talking therapy (for one of you)
- NHS Talking Therapies Kent and Medway, 0333 091 0414
- 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.
Long marriages, late moves and caring for each other
Couples in Broadstairs are often further along than the usual picture of relationship counselling suggests.
Thanet's median age reached 45 in 2021, against 40 for England, and you and your partner may have shared decades, just retired together, or moved to the coast for a slower life that has turned out harder than expected. When one partner becomes the other's carer, the balance of a marriage changes. The Town Council's Dementia Friendly Scheme and the carers' coffee mornings at Pierremont Hall are there for couples living with exactly that. Younger couples feel different strains. Summer work along the seafront and Harbour Street can mean long, uneven hours, then a thin winter when money tightens. Whatever stage you're at, a quiet house in St Peter's or Reading Street can hold a lot of unspoken resentment.
Couples work when you have years of history together
In joint sessions each of you gets equal time, and I won't take sides or try to settle who was right. Together we look at the pattern you keep falling into: one of you raising a worry and the other going quiet, the same argument about money or family that never ends, or the slow drift where you talk only about practical things. After retirement, two people suddenly sharing every day can rub against each other in new ways, and it helps to say so out loud. If one of you is now caring for the other, we can make space for grief about the life you planned, alongside the love that keeps you going, and talk about what each of you needs. Sometimes drinking has become the thing nobody mentions, and the partner who worries can have support of their own while our sessions continue. When only one of you is ready, you can come alone and work on your half of the dance between you. Joint work only goes ahead when both of you feel safe; the safety section on this page comes first if you're frightened.
What Broadstairs couples bring
Together all day after retiring
When work stops and the two of you share every hour of a Broadstairs day, old frictions can grow louder rather than fade.
From partner to carer
EKIDS runs a carers' coffee morning at Pierremont Hall for those looking after someone with dementia, and our sessions can hold what that change does to a couple.
A season of work, then winter
Busy summers on the seafront and quieter, leaner winters can bring money worries and tiredness into the centre of every disagreement.
When drink comes between you
Al-Anon meets on Sunday evenings at Holy Trinity Hall on Church Road, for adults affected by someone else's drinking, and can run alongside our work.
If you are afraid of your partner
Couples counselling is not safe or suitable where one partner is afraid of the other. You can book the free call on your own. What you tell me on your own is not passed to your partner without your agreement, except where someone's safety is at serious risk; I explain those limits on the free call. In your message, tell me the safest way and time to contact you. Video sessions from a shared home are not private if you could be overheard or your devices are checked. If you are in immediate danger, call 999.
If there is violence, threats or controlling behaviour, the National Domestic Abuse Helpline is free, day or night, on 0808 2000 247. The Men's Advice Line is on 0808 801 0327. If you are worried about your own behaviour towards a partner, the Respect Phoneline is on 0808 802 4040 (Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm).
Free and low-cost support for Broadstairs
There is free local help each of you can use while couples counselling goes on. Al-Anon Family Groups - Broadstairs gathers on Sundays at Holy Trinity Hall, and the Kenward Trust runs Friends, Family and Loved Ones Support for those close to someone who drinks or uses. EKIDS welcomes carers at Pierremont Hall. NHS Talking Therapies Kent and Medway, reached on 0333 091 0414, is open to either of you separately for worry or low spirits.
- Free NHS talking therapy (for one of you)NHS Talking Therapies Kent and Medway0333 091 0414Free 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 itEast Kent community drug and alcohol service (The Forward Trust)0300 123 1186Free and confidential.
- Local organisationBereavement Support Group, St Peter-in-Thanet church
- Local organisationAl-Anon Family Groups - BroadstairsIn-person peer support meeting for adults.
Private counselling with me can run alongside any of these; you do not have to choose one or the other.
If you need urgent help now
If you need help right now, please don't wait for a session.
Locally, the Release the Pressure Helpline - Kent is on 0800 107 0160.
If you, or someone you live with, drink heavily every day, or take drugs such as benzodiazepines or GHB daily, do not stop suddenly without medical advice. Withdrawal can cause seizures and can be dangerous. Your GP or the local drug and alcohol service can arrange medically assisted withdrawal. Call 999 or go to A&E if someone in withdrawal is shaking visibly, unusually restless or agitated, confused, seeing or hearing things that are not there, or has a fit. For milder symptoms, such as a slight tremor or sweating, contact your GP or NHS 111 the same day (NHS guidance). Counselling works alongside medical support, not instead of it.
What people in Broadstairs ask before starting
Can we see you together face to face if we live in Broadstairs?
Intergen House, the only room I have, lies 108.4 miles from Broadstairs, roughly 129 minutes by road, so most weeks the two of you would log in by secure video instead. For the odd occasion when you want to be in the room together, a 120-minute session in Hove gives the long trip from the Isle of Thanet its value.
How soon could my partner and I begin relationship counselling from Broadstairs?
First comes a short free consultation, which one or both of you can join. If you decide to go ahead, I offer the open times I have and you choose one that suits both diaries, so you aren't left waiting on a list. Evenings can be harder to find, so it helps to mention your preferences early.
Is there free support in Broadstairs for a husband or wife worried about a partner's drinking?
Yes. Al-Anon Family Groups - Broadstairs meets on Sunday evenings at Holy Trinity Hall, Church Road, for adults affected by someone else's drinking, with an open meeting on the last Sunday of each month. The Kenward Trust also supports friends and family. Either can sit alongside couples sessions or individual work with me.
My wife has dementia and I'm her carer. Is there still a place for counselling for us?
There can be. Depending on how she is, we might meet together for a while, or you might come alone to talk about the strain, the loneliness and the love involved in caring. Locally, EKIDS holds a free carers' coffee morning at Pierremont Hall on the second Tuesday of the month for anyone caring for someone with dementia.
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.
Talking it through together from the Thanet coast
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.