Reading · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Couples therapy and relationship counselling for Reading
When the same argument keeps replaying in your Reading home, or the talking has dried up altogether, relationship counselling offers a regular, protected hour to look at it with someone neutral. From Reading we'd meet by secure video, as the Hove room is 100 minutes' drive away. You can sit side by side, join from different places, or begin alone.
The practical facts for Reading
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Reading by car
- About 100 minutes with clear roads (81.3 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free NHS talking therapy (for one of you)
- NHS Berkshire Talking Therapies, 0300 365 2000 (press option 2)
- 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.
Caring, commuting and the price of a home
Couples in Reading meet a particular mix of pressures.
The council's own profile names the high cost of housing as a significant strain on local communities, and when most of two salaries goes on rent or a mortgage, one unexpected bill can turn into a row about everything. The station puts London within reach on the Elizabeth line or Great Western Railway, which can mean one partner leaving early and coming back late while the other holds the evening together. Caring weighs on households here too: the 2021 census counted 10,985 unpaid carers in Reading, 6,415 of them women and 4,560 men. Looking after an ageing parent or a disabled child can leave two people feeling more like colleagues on a rota than partners. And for couples further along, retirement, illness or a sudden surplus of time at home can unsettle a marriage that ran smoothly for decades.
What couples counselling involves from Reading
Each of you is heard for the same share of the hour, and my aim is to show you the loop you keep getting caught in, not to rule on which of you has it right. Often it's one person pressing to talk and the other going quiet, or a disagreement that always circles back to money, chores or in-laws. Where one of you is a carer, we can look at how resentment and guilt build when there's no time left for the relationship itself. If you met at the University of Reading and stayed on, or came to work here from another country, family may be far away and nobody close by can take the pressure off, which is worth saying out loud. Partners from different cultures or faiths sometimes feel their families' expectations pulling in two directions, and that deserves careful attention. Sometimes drinking sits at the centre of things, and then Addiction Family Support can help the worried partner alongside what we do together. When your partner isn't ready to take part, you are welcome to begin by yourself, and they can join later. Couples work depends on both partners feeling safe, and if you're frightened of your partner, the safety guidance included on this page comes before anything else.
What tends to strain a Reading relationship
When one of you cares
Looking after an ageing parent or a disabled child can turn partners into a tired rota, and the Reading and West Berkshire Carers Partnership can support the carer directly.
Rent, mortgages and blame
With housing costs as heavy as the council describes, small spending choices can start to carry every other grievance between you.
Early trains, late returns
One of you on an Elizabeth line or Great Western Railway train before dawn, the other keeping the household going, and only a tired hour of overlap each evening.
Later life together
Reading's population aged 65 and over rose by 17.2% between 2011 and 2021, and retirement or illness can unsettle even a long, steady relationship.
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 Reading
Several free Reading and Berkshire services can help either partner individually while couples sessions continue. Relate's national number, published by Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, is one route for relationship support. Hope Counselling Service on Kings Road sees adults about relationship issues at an affordable rate. The Reading and West Berkshire Carers Partnership supports unpaid carers, and NHS Berkshire Talking Therapies can help either of you with anxiety or low mood.
- Free NHS talking therapy (for one of you)NHS Berkshire Talking Therapies0300 365 2000 (press option 2)Free 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 itDrug & Alcohol Service Reading (Change Grow Live)0118 955 7333Free and confidential.
- Local organisationMind in Berkshire, Berkshire West servicesMental health charity.
- Local organisationBerkshire West Breathing Space (Together for Mental Wellbeing)
- Local organisationReading Samaritans
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 Berkshire Healthcare Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team is on 0800 129 9999.
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 Reading ask before starting
Could we meet you face to face as a couple, coming from Reading?
Seeing me in person means travelling to Intergen House in Hove, around 100 minutes from Reading by car. For weekly sessions, secure video is far easier, and we can plan an occasional longer meeting in Hove, of 90 or 120 minutes, for a day when you can both get away. Making the first meeting an in-person one is possible if that would help you both settle.
Is couples counselling by video possible if my partner commutes into London from Reading?
Yes. If one of you is still on the train or working late in London, each of you can join from a private space and we meet on one screen. A quiet room matters more than sharing a sofa. We'd choose a regular slot you can both keep, early morning or evening, so the sessions aren't always squeezed out by the commute.
Is there free or affordable relationship counselling in Reading?
Relate's national number is published locally by Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, and Hope Counselling Service offers affordable counselling for adults in Reading, including relationship issues, at 229 Kings Road. No5 Young People runs low-cost weekly counselling for adults aged 26 and over. Any of these can sit alongside private couples sessions with me, or be used instead.
We're both worn out from caring for a parent in Reading. Is counselling worth it?
Caring can quietly push a relationship to the bottom of the list. In sessions we'd look at how the load is shared, the resentment or guilt that builds, and how to protect some time for the two of you. The Reading and West Berkshire Carers Partnership offers free advice and can refer you for a Carer's Assessment, which may ease the practical side.
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.
Book one call, together or on your own
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.