Communication and conflict
Breaking the cycle of the same argument.
Relationship Counselling · Preston Park
Relationship Counselling in Preston Park
Relationship Counselling for Preston Park and the surrounding area, in person or online. Preston Park, named after the city's largest park, is a leafy and well-connected district north of central Brighton. 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 Preston Park
Relationship Counselling for Preston Park, at a glance
- Known for
- Preston Park, the Rotunda Cafe and Preston Manor
- Area
- Brighton & Hove, East/West Sussex
- Getting to the Hove room
- Preston Park is around ten minutes from the office by car or a short train ride to Hove, with Preston Park Station close by.
- 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 Preston Park
What brings people in Preston Park to counselling?
The streets around Preston Drove and Beaconsfield Villas hold a lot of two-career households: early trains from Preston Park Station, nursery drop-offs negotiated the night before, weekends spent catching up on everything that did not get done. Couples here are usually competent people who are very good at logistics and have stopped being any good at each other. You walk the dog across Preston Park on a Sunday and discuss the calendar. You cannot remember the last unhurried conversation. Nothing has broken, exactly. It has simply been deprioritised for so long that neither of you knows how to reopen it without it turning into an accusation. Recorded depression sat at 14.1% of adults on GP registers in 2024/25, a shade below the England average of 14.3%.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Preston Park
Preston VillageFivewaysStanfordBeaconsfield VillasSpringfield RoadDitchling RoadPreston DroveWithdean
Wherever you are in Preston Park, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Preston Park
Official figures for Preston Park, 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 actually happens 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: relationship counselling in detail sets out the methods, the practical side covers the practicalities, and qualifications, registration and ethics covers accountability.
Where do we meet, and what happens?
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.
The room in Hove is about ten minutes away by car, or a short train ride from Preston Park Station and a walk from there. Some couples book straight after work while they are still in the city. Others prefer a morning slot, before the day has piled up on either of you. Individuals attend on the same basis, without a partner. Secure video is there when one of you is travelling, or when childcare falls through at short notice.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What sort of things do people bring?
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 Preston Park
Why people in Preston Park come for relationship counselling
Two people can run a household beautifully and still be lonely inside it. That is the version of relationship trouble that turns up most often from this part of Brighton: no crisis, no betrayal, just a slow drift into being colleagues who share a mortgage. The work looks at what happens in the small moments rather than the big rows. Who softens first. Who goes quiet. What each of you assumes the other is thinking, and how rarely that gets checked. Coming as a couple is one option and coming alone is another, equally valid, particularly when your partner is not ready or you want to sort out your own position first. Where a drinking habit or a long stretch of low mood has been sitting between you, that comes into the room too. The Brighton and Hove Wellbeing Service takes free self-referrals if you also want NHS support.
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 Preston Park
My counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Preston Park, 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.
Preston Park questions
Relationship Counselling in Preston Park: common questions
Where do Preston Park sessions take place, and can I meet online instead?
In a private room at Intergen House on Western Road in central Hove. Preston Park is around ten minutes from the office by car or a short train ride to Hove, with Preston Park Station close by. Every service is also available by secure video across the UK, so you can meet from any private space in Preston Park or blend the two.
We are not in crisis, we are just distant. Is that enough of a reason?
It is one of the best reasons. Couples who come before things have caught fire usually have more to work with, not less. Distance is a pattern like any other, and patterns are easier to change while there is still goodwill left on both sides to draw on.
Can we get there and back around a working day?
Comfortably. It is roughly ten minutes by car, or a short train ride from Preston Park Station into Hove with a walk at the other end. Early-morning and end-of-day appointments exist for that reason. If a meeting overruns, the session can switch to video that week.
What do you charge, and is the longer session worth it for two of us?
£80 / 60 min is the standard hour, £100 / 90 min the longer one and £120 / 120 min the longest. With two people talking, ninety minutes usually earns its keep. Start with the free 15-minute consultation and decide the format after that.
Can the Brighton and Hove Wellbeing Service help with a relationship?
Self-referral is free and quick to do, so there is no reason not to try, but its remit is individual anxiety and low mood rather than couples work. A number of people run the two in parallel, using it for their own symptoms and coming here for the relationship.
We both work locally and know people around Fiveways. How discreet is this?
Entirely. The room is in Hove rather than your own patch, appointments are not listed anywhere public, and nothing goes to your GP unless you ask. If you would rather not be seen arriving together, you can come separately or meet online instead.
Can we take the train to relationship counselling from Preston Park?
Yes. Preston Park Station has regular trains reaching Hove in just a few minutes, then a short walk or bus to Western Road, one of the easiest routes to the room. Driving takes around ten minutes. If coming in together is tricky, online sessions are available too.
How do I book couples counselling and get to Hove from Preston Park?
Start with a free fifteen-minute call, then travel over for your session. Preston Park Station has frequent trains reaching Hove in a few minutes, a short walk or bus to Western Road, and driving takes around ten minutes, with parking near the room.
What do sessions cost, and is relationship counselling on the NHS near Preston Park?
Relationship sessions are £80 for sixty minutes, £100 for ninety and £120 for two hours, after a free fifteen-minute consultation. The NHS rarely funds couples work, so most Preston Park clients choose private sessions, valuing an easy trip west and no waiting list.
Can we attend together or meet online, and do you offer evenings for Preston Park?
Yes. Couples can come to the Hove room, a short hop west, or share a secure video call from home. Individuals wanting to shift a pattern are welcome alone too. Evening slots suit families and professionals around Preston Park, and you can mix the train in with online sessions.
Relationship Counselling in Preston Park, 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: Brighton, Patcham, Hove. See all areas I cover.
Also available in Preston Park: 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.