Communication and conflict
Breaking the cycle of the same argument.
Relationship Counselling · Rottingdean
Relationship Counselling for Rottingdean and the surrounding area, in person or online. Rottingdean is a picturesque village with its windmill, pond and High Street, set just back from the white cliffs. From my room in nearby Hove I offer a calm, confidential space to do this work.

In and around Rottingdean
Life in Rottingdean
A village this small keeps very few secrets. The High Street is short, the same faces appear at the shops and beside the village pond, and a couple who are struggling can spend years being pleasant in public and barely speaking on Whiteway Lane on the way home. Some households here have reached the stage where work has stopped and the days are suddenly shared in full, which is not the relief the brochures promise. Others are raising children in a place with beautiful views and not much anonymity. Either way, being observed makes it harder to admit that the marriage has gone quiet, and quiet marriages rarely mend themselves.
Areas covered
Wherever you are in Rottingdean, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
Official figures for Rottingdean, 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.
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: the main relationship counselling page sets out the methods, how I work, sessions and fees covers the practicalities, and professional standards and registration covers accountability.
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.
Sessions are held face to face in Hove, a scenic fifteen to twenty minutes along the coast road and through Brighton, with parking near the room. Couples can travel together or make their own way, and one person on their own is just as welcome. Where being seen leaving the village at the same time each week is a worry, or the cliff road in bad weather puts you off, the same work runs online by secure video.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
Breaking the cycle of the same argument.
Rebuilding safety after betrayal or addiction.
Finding your way back to closeness.
Sessions you can join from different places.
Working with people-pleasing and the need for control.
You do not need to come as a couple to change the dynamic.
Relationship Counselling in Rottingdean
Relationship counselling from a village like this usually has two layers. There is what is actually happening between you, and there is the effort of keeping up appearances while it happens. Both cost something. The work slows the pattern down until you can see it: what triggers the withdrawal, who apologises to end an argument rather than to resolve it, and what has never been said because saying it felt too final. Attending as a couple is one route. Attending alone is another, and it is a real piece of work rather than a consolation prize, especially when your partner is not willing yet. Where retirement, bereavement, drinking or a low mood that has settled over one of you is straining the relationship, that is part of the material, not a separate matter. Depression on GP registers in the city stood at 14.1% of adults in 2024/25, marginally below the England average. Free NHS therapy is available through the Brighton and Hove Wellbeing Service, which accepts self-referrals directly.
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 callMy counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Rottingdean, 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:
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.
Rottingdean questions
In a private room at Intergen House on Western Road in central Hove. From Rottingdean it is a scenic fifteen to twenty minute drive along the coast road into Brighton and on to Hove. Every service is also available by secure video across the UK, so you can meet from any private space in Rottingdean or blend the two.
It is not. Long marriages often have more to work with, because there is a shared history worth protecting. What changes is usually not everything, but a handful of habits that have hardened over decades. That can make a considerable difference to how the next years feel.
Generally, yes. It is fifteen to twenty minutes into Brighton and on to Hove, slower in rain or heavy traffic. When conditions are poor or the light has gone, moving that week's session to secure video means you keep the appointment without the drive.
The charge is per session, not per person: £80 / 60 min, £100 / 90 min or £120 / 120 min. Two people usually need more than an hour, so ninety minutes tends to be the practical choice. There is no charge for the opening 15-minute consultation.
It is set up for individual anxiety and depression rather than couples work, though it costs nothing and takes self-referrals, so it is worth a call. Using it for one person's low mood while doing relationship sessions here is a perfectly workable arrangement.
It should not. The room is in Hove, well away from the village, and there is no shared waiting area where you would be recognised. Nothing reaches your GP unless you ask for it. Online sessions remove the journey and the risk of being spotted entirely.
That is exactly why many village couples value a room set apart. Central Hove is fifteen to twenty minutes along the coast, well away from the High Street and pond, and you arrive straight to your appointment. If you would rather not travel, online sessions keep it entirely private.
Start with a free fifteen-minute call, then come over for your session. From Rottingdean the coast road heads west along the seafront into Brighton and on to Hove, a scenic fifteen to twenty minute drive, with the 12 bus running along the coast and a change for Hove.
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 Rottingdean clients choose private sessions, valuing a room set well away from a small, familiar village.
Yes. Couples can come to the Hove room, fifteen to twenty minutes along the coast, or share a secure video call from home, which suits Rottingdean's village closeness when privacy matters. Individuals are welcome alone. Evening slots are available, and you can mix the drive in with online sessions.
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: Saltdean, Woodingdean, Kemp Town. See all areas I cover.
People who come for relationship counselling in Rottingdean often also look at counselling and therapy, trauma counselling and addiction counselling.
Some further reading, if that helps before getting in touch: 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.