Crawley · in person in Hove or online
Couples therapy and relationship counselling for Crawley
For couples in Crawley who feel more like colleagues on a rota than partners, or who keep hitting the same wall about family, money or trust, I offer relationship counselling. We can meet in Hove or by secure video, together, or with one of you to begin.
The practical facts for Crawley
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Crawley by car
- About 32 minutes with clear roads (22.2 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- Direct trains from Three Bridges to Brighton; change there for Hove, one stop.
- Free NHS talking therapy (for one of you)
- NHS West Sussex Talking Therapies – North Team, 01403 620434
- 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.
Keeping a relationship going around Gatwick hours
In a town that takes in an airport open around the clock, a couple can go days passing each other in the hallway.
If one of you starts at Gatwick before dawn or works odd hours on Manor Royal, and the other keeps school or office times, the relationship can shrink to notes on the fridge and handovers about the children. If one of you works away for days at a time, coming home can mean walking into a household that has carried on without you, and both of you can end up feeling shut out. Crawley is a diverse town, too. If you come from different backgrounds, you may be holding two families, two faiths or two sets of expectations about roles, money and in-laws, and the hardest arguments can start there. Whether home is Maidenbower, Langley Green or Ifield, a session gives you an hour set aside for the relationship.
How I work with two people in the room
Couples work can begin with a joint session, and sometimes it helps to have a short conversation with each of you separately early on; we can decide that together. I don't arrive with a template for what a good relationship looks like. Roles, money, sex and family can be arranged in many ways, and my job is to help you look at the arrangement you have now and reach one you both agree to. Where culture or faith shapes your expectations, I'll ask rather than assume. For a couple in Crawley, the practical side can be the place to start. When one of you works at an airport that never closes and the other keeps office hours on Manor Royal, the question of when you are both awake and free is a real one, and resentment about it builds quietly. We look at how you share the week, and then at what happens inside each of you when the other goes cold or comes home too tired to talk. Each of you gets to say what the hurt is like from your side, without the other having to agree before they've understood it. If one of you is in recovery, or still drinking, we can include that openly, and the free local services can support each of you alongside the couples work.
What can come between Crawley couples
Opposite shifts
With Gatwick open 24 hours a day, one of you may be asleep while the other works, and you rarely have energy for each other when you finally overlap.
Two families, one home
Crawley is a diverse town, and partners from different backgrounds can face different expectations from parents and in-laws about roles, money, children or where to live.
No family nearby to share the load
Crawley is a post-war new town, and couples who moved here for work may have no parents close by to help with the children or take the heat out of a bad week.
Drinking or using
When one partner's habit is hurting both of you, Carers Support West Sussex supports the partner on the other side, and sessions can make room for it.
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 Crawley
If addiction is part of the picture, Build on Belief (BoB), lived-experience recovery community, offers company with others in recovery, and Carers Support West Sussex helps people supporting a partner or relative who drinks or uses drugs. Crawley Wellbeing, a free council service, includes an Alcohol Advisor Service. On a night when things at home feel unmanageable, Crawley Staying Well (Waythrough) is open for adults every day, from 3pm until midnight.
- Free NHS talking therapy (for one of you)NHS West Sussex Talking Therapies – North Team01403 620434Free 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 itWest Sussex Drug & Alcohol Wellbeing Network (DAWN)0330 128 1113Run by Change Grow Live. Free and confidential.
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.
In this area you can also text SUSSEX to 85258.
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 Crawley ask before starting
Can we have couples counselling in Crawley, or do we have to travel?
There's no room of mine in Crawley, so sessions are either at Intergen House in Hove, about 32 minutes by car, or by secure video from your home. With busy rotas, video can be easier to keep going. The free 15-minute call can be taken jointly or by one of you alone, around whichever shift pattern makes that possible.
We work opposite shifts at Gatwick. How would sessions work for us?
Finding a time you're both awake and free is often the first piece of work. On the free call we'll look at which times I have and which ones you can both protect. Video from home in Crawley saves you both the drive, and a longer session less often can sometimes suit better than a short weekly one.
We're a mixed-culture couple in Crawley. Will you understand both sides?
I won't pretend to know your cultures from the inside, and I won't take a side. I'll ask about what each of your families expects, what you each grew up with, and what you want for yourselves now. The aim is for both of you to feel understood, including on the things that are hardest to explain.
Is there free help in Crawley if my partner's drinking is the problem?
Yes. Crawley Borough Council points residents to DAWN, Change Grow Live's drug and alcohol service for the county, on 0330 128 1113, and Crawley Wellbeing has an Alcohol Advisor Service. Carers Support West Sussex supports the partner on the other side of it. Couples sessions can sit alongside any of these. If a row at home ever tips one of you into crisis, Crawley Staying Well at 1 Amberley Court, Whitworth Road, is open daily from 3pm to midnight.
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.
Find an hour that belongs to you both
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.