Wimbledon · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Couples therapy and relationship counselling for Wimbledon
If you and your partner in Wimbledon have stopped talking about anything except logistics, or every conversation slides into the same fight, relationship counselling gives you time with someone neutral. I see couples, and partners on their own, mostly by secure video, with a room in Hove for occasional in-person sessions.
The practical facts for Wimbledon
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Wimbledon by car
- About 74 minutes with clear roads (47.7 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free NHS talking therapy (for one of you)
- Merton Talking Therapies, 0203 513 5888
- 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.
Two diaries, one front door
Life around Wimbledon can run to a timetable.
One of you might be on the District line before seven while the other does the school run, and both of you are catching up on messages after dark. By Friday, much of what passes between you can be handovers. Weekends might be a walk on Wimbledon Common or an evening at the New Wimbledon Theatre, or they might be when the tension parked all week finally comes out. You may have been together since before children, a mortgage or ageing parents arrived, or you may be newer and still learning each other's habits. Either way, strain between you is something we can look at together, starting with whether each of you still feels heard.
How couples sessions run, from the first one on
We open with each of you saying, in your own words, what brought you, what you hope for and what worries you about being here at all. Nobody leaves the room as the guilty party, because I'm not there to judge between you. What I watch for is the cycle: the moment one of you reaches out, the other hears criticism, and both of you retreat into positions you've defended a hundred times. Once you can both see that loop, we slow it down in the session itself, so each of you gets to say the softer thing underneath. From Wimbledon, you'll also need to decide where these conversations happen. On video you talk inside the same house where the rows take place, which keeps the pattern close at hand but can feel heavy once the call ends. A walk on Wimbledon Common or through Cannizaro Park afterwards can give you both some air, and the odd longer session in Hove gives you neutral ground. After an affair or a hidden debt, rebuilding trust is slower work, and I'll keep the pace bearable for both of you. Couples of any gender and background are welcome. If your partner isn't ready, coming alone still counts as relationship counselling, and we can work on your side of the pattern.
The places two people get stuck
Two commutes, one household
One of you on an early District line train, the other doing the school run, and evenings spent handing over children, bills and messages instead of talking.
When one of you becomes the carer
Illness or disability can quietly turn a partner into a carer. Carers First Merton supports that partner, and joint sessions give you both room to say how it has changed things.
Needing neutral ground
When home is where every argument happens, an occasional 120-minute session at Intergen House, about 74 minutes' drive from Wimbledon, puts you somewhere neither of you owns.
When the rows start after a drink
If one partner's alcohol or drug use is where the fights begin, we can trace how it has got into the way you treat each other, and Via Merton's family support can help the other partner too.
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 Wimbledon
If alcohol or drugs on one side are souring things between you, Via Merton runs support for family, friends and carers, and Al-Anon Family Groups hold meetings for anyone whose life is shaped by a partner's or relative's drinking. Carers First Merton helps if you've ended up caring for your partner. Any of these can sit alongside couples sessions with me. If either of you wants a space of your own as well, the Wimbledon Guild runs counselling and support groups.
- Free NHS talking therapy (for one of you)Merton Talking Therapies0203 513 5888Free 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 itVia Merton0300 303 4610Free and confidential.
- Local organisationWimbledon Guild counselling and support groups
If you need urgent help now
If you need help right now, please don't wait for a session.
The South London NHS Mental Health Crisis Text Service is another option: text 80991 or WhatsApp 0303 330 1511. Local drop-in crisis support: Sunshine Recovery Café, Wimbledon; South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust Recovery Cafés (check opening times before you go).
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 Wimbledon ask before starting
Could we see you for couples work in Wimbledon?
Not in Wimbledon itself, because my only room is in Hove, about 74 minutes' drive away. Couples from Wimbledon would usually join by secure video, side by side at home. If you'd value meeting in person, you can come down to Hove together now and then, ideally for a longer session so the trip is worth it.
Is there free relationship support in Merton?
I can't name a free couples service in the borough, but there is free help around the edges. Via Merton supports family and friends affected by someone's drinking or drug use, on 0300 303 4610. For worry or depression in either of you, the borough's NHS service, Merton Talking Therapies, takes self-referrals on 0203 513 5888.
What if only one of us in Wimbledon wants to come?
Then come on your own. Relationship counselling with one partner looks at what you bring to the pattern and what you need from it, and what you could do differently within it. And if your partner comes round to the idea after a few weeks, we'd agree together how they can join without feeling they've walked into your sessions.
If we're both in Wimbledon, how soon could couples sessions begin?
Only one of you needs to be on the free 15-minute call, though both are welcome. If it feels right, we pencil in a first session soon after. Because it runs by video, neither of you has to travel, so a slot early in the evening after the train back into Wimbledon, or later once children are asleep, is usually workable. We'll look for a regular time that suits both diaries.
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.
A free first call, for one of you or both
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.