Communication and conflict
Breaking the cycle of the same argument.
Relationship Counselling · Portslade
Relationship Counselling in Portslade
Relationship Counselling for Portslade and the surrounding area, in person or online. Portslade, just west of Hove, blends the historic Old Village with Portslade-by-Sea and the harbour. From my room in nearby Hove I offer a calm, confidential space to do this work.
BACP registered member25+ years of experienceLived experience
ConfidentialA safe, private space
Person-centredThe therapy fits you
In and around Portslade
Relationship Counselling for Portslade, at a glance
- Known for
- Portslade Old Village, the harbour and Victoria Recreation Ground
- Area
- Brighton & Hove, East/West Sussex
- Getting to the Hove room
- Portslade is a short hop east along New Church Road or the coast road, around ten minutes by car or bus, or two stops on the train to Hove.
- Local NHS / support route
- the Brighton and Hove Wellbeing Service
- Format
- In person at my private Hove room, or by secure video UK-wide.
Life in Portslade
Why people in Portslade get in touch
Portslade is really two places stitched together. Up the hill sits the Old Village with its flint and its quiet; down at the bottom, Portslade-by-Sea runs along the water beside Shoreham Harbour, where the quayside has kept people in work for generations. Plenty of households here are built around shifts. One of you comes in as the other goes out, the handover happens in the hallway, and weeks pass in which you have not had a conversation that lasted longer than the kettle. There is no fault in that, on either side. The marriage has just been squeezed into the gaps, and the gaps got smaller. That is a common enough reason to sit down with someone.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Portslade
Portslade Old VillagePortslade-by-SeaMile OakSouthern CrossBoundary RoadStation RoadAldringtonVictoria Recreation Ground area
Wherever you are in Portslade, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Portslade
Official figures for Portslade, for context rather than as a description of you.
the rate of emergency hospital admissions for self-harm was 161.8 per 100,000 in 2023/24, above the England average of 117 per 100,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Emergency Hospital Admissions for Intentional Self-Harm (2023/24).
recorded depression on GP registers stood at 14.1% of patients aged 18+ in 2024/25, below the England average of 14.3%. Source: OHID Fingertips – Depression: QOF prevalence (2024/25).
26.7% of adults reported a high anxiety score in 2022/23, above the England average of 23.8%. Source: OHID Fingertips – Self-reported wellbeing: high anxiety score (2022/23).
Reviewed June 2026.
What would we do together in relationship counselling?
Relationship counselling here, for couples or individuals, slows down the pattern you are caught in and builds healthier ways of hearing and being heard.
Because the work itself is the same wherever you live, the detail sits in one place rather than all of them: everything on relationship counselling sets out the methods, session lengths and fees covers the practicalities, and my credentials and registration covers accountability.
What does a session actually involve?
Sessions take place in a private, comfortable room at Intergen House on Western Road in central Hove, held to the strict BACP confidentiality you would expect. We begin with a free fifteen-minute call to check we are a good fit, and the same sessions are available by secure video if travelling is difficult or you would simply prefer it.
You are closer to the room than almost anyone: ten minutes east along the coast road from Southern Cross or Boundary Road, or two stops on the train into Hove. Couples come together or arrive separately, whichever feels less loaded. If your partner will not come, you are welcome on your own. Because the journey is short, a session can sit between a shift and getting home. When the rota makes that impossible, secure video keeps the appointment.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What does relationship counselling help with?
Trust and repair
Rebuilding safety after betrayal or addiction.
Distance
Finding your way back to closeness.
Long-distance couples
Sessions you can join from different places.
Anxiety and reassurance
Working with people-pleasing and the need for control.
Individual work
You do not need to come as a couple to change the dynamic.
Relationship Counselling in Portslade
Why people in Portslade come for relationship counselling
Relationship counselling here often begins with logistics and ends up somewhere else entirely. A couple describes the rota, the childcare, the fact that nobody has had an evening off together since spring, and underneath it turns out one of you has felt unwanted for two years and never said. The work is to slow that down: to look at what each of you does when you feel dismissed, how the same argument gets rebuilt from scratch every time, and what the silence has been protecting. Coming as a pair is not a requirement. One partner working alone can shift a great deal, particularly where drinking after a late shift, or a low mood that will not lift, has quietly become the third presence in the house. Depression recorded on GP registers stood at 14.1% of adults in 2024/25, close to the England average. Free NHS support is available through the Brighton and Hove Wellbeing Service, which takes self-referrals directly, and Mind in Brighton and Hove runs groups nearby.
A free, unhurried first step
Not sure if it is right for you? A free fifteen-minute call is a no-obligation way to talk it through.
Book a free 15-minute callFinding support in Portslade
My counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Portslade, you can refer yourself directly to the Brighton and Hove Wellbeing Service for free NHS talking therapy, with no GP referral needed.
Seeing me privately usually means you can start sooner and stay with the same counsellor throughout, working at greater depth and pace; the two can run side by side, and I am glad to work alongside any NHS or GP support you already have.
Other local and national support verified for this area includes:
If you need urgent help now
This is not a crisis service. If anyone is in immediate danger call 999. For urgent mental health support, call NHS 111 and choose the mental health option. The Samaritans are free, day or night, on 116 123, or text SHOUT to 85258.
Portslade questions
Relationship Counselling in Portslade: common questions
Where do Portslade sessions take place, and can I meet online instead?
In a private room at Intergen House on Western Road in central Hove. Portslade is a short hop east along New Church Road or the coast road, around ten minutes by car or bus, or two stops on the train to Hove. Every service is also available by secure video across the UK, so you can meet from any private space in Portslade or blend the two.
Our shifts never line up. Can we book something that fits round that?
Yes. Sessions can be arranged early or late in the day rather than only in office hours, and the appointment can move week to week when a rota changes. Where one of you is working, that person can join by secure video while the other attends in person.
Can we come as a couple or does it have to be one of us?
Either. Some couples attend together throughout. Some people come alone for months and their partner never attends at all, and that still works, because you are changing your own half of the pattern. You are not committing to one arrangement by starting with the other.
What are the fees?
An hour is £80 / 60 min. Ninety minutes is £100 / 90 min, which many couples prefer because it gives both people room. Two hours is £120 / 120 min. There is a free 15-minute consultation first, so you can ask about fit without paying for it.
Is the Brighton and Hove Wellbeing Service any use for a couple?
It is free and open to self-referral, which makes it worth ringing, though it is aimed mainly at individual anxiety and depression. Some people use it for their own mental health while the relationship work happens here. The two sit together perfectly well.
We only live ten minutes away. Does that make it too close for comfort?
Some people worry about that and then find the opposite. Ten minutes is far enough to be out of your own neighbourhood and short enough that you will actually come. Nothing appears on any public record, and video from home is there if you would rather not travel at all.
Can we get to relationship counselling easily from Portslade?
Yes. Portslade Station is just a couple of stops from Hove, a few minutes on the train, then a short walk or bus to Western Road. Buses along New Church Road are simple too. If coming in together is awkward, online video sessions are always available.
How do I book relationship counselling and travel to Hove from Portslade?
Start with a free fifteen-minute call, then come over for your session. Portslade is just west of Hove, so New Church Road buses reach central Hove in around ten minutes, or the train from Portslade Station is a couple of stops, a short walk on to Western Road.
What do couples pay, and is relationship counselling on the NHS in Portslade?
Sessions are £80 for sixty minutes, £100 for ninety and £120 for two hours, after a free fifteen-minute consultation. The NHS seldom funds couples work, so most Portslade clients choose private sessions, valuing a quiet, confidential room a short hop east of the Old Village.
Can my partner and I attend together, and do you offer evenings for Portslade?
Yes. Couples are welcome in the Hove room, only ten minutes east, or you can share a secure video call from home. Individuals can come alone too. Evening slots suit work and family around Portslade, and you can mix the short trip in with online sessions as needed.
Relationship Counselling in Portslade, whenever you are ready
A free fifteen-minute call is the simplest place to start, no obligation, just a chance to see if we are the right fit.
Also available nearby: Hove, Southwick, Hangleton. See all areas I cover.
People who come for relationship counselling in Portslade often also look at counselling and therapy, trauma counselling and addiction counselling.
There is more on this in my writing: the Imago dialogue for couples.
Prefer to meet remotely? The same relationship counselling is available online by secure video across the UK, or see online counselling by region.