Bexleyheath · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Trauma therapy for Bexleyheath
Trauma counselling with me is for anyone in Bexleyheath whose body still reacts to something that is over: a jolt at a siren, or a corner of town you go out of your way to avoid. We work by secure video, at a pace you set, and you won't be asked to describe what happened before you're ready, or at all.
If you are thinking about ending your life, call 999 or the Samaritans free on 116 123, day or night. More urgent help is on this page.
The practical facts for Bexleyheath
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Bexleyheath by car
- About 76 minutes with clear roads (63.2 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- From Bexleyheath, change at London Victoria for trains towards Brighton and Hove.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- NHS Bexley Talking Therapies, 020 8303 8932 (option 1)
- 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.
When reminders sit on your everyday route
In a suburb, the places tied to a bad memory are rarely far away.
A junction where a crash happened, or a house where home stopped feeling safe, may sit on the route to the Broadway or the station, and you pass it in an ordinary week. Other harm stays more hidden, such as a frightening birth or an assault you have never mentioned to anyone. Some of it comes through work. Anyone who faces distressed or angry people across a reception desk or on a shop floor can carry those moments home. Afterwards the body may stay on watch long after the danger has passed. You might jump at a slammed door, sleep badly, feel strangely numb with the people you love, or keep so busy that nothing has room to surface. Those reactions began as ways of protecting you, and they make sense.
Feeling steadier first, the memory later
Nothing in trauma work should be rushed, and the order matters. First comes safety in the present. Together we learn what your particular alarm looks like as it starts, perhaps a tight throat or a sudden urge to leave, and we gather a few simple things that settle it, so you have something to reach for at home or on the bus. Video adds one piece of planning: we decide in advance how each session will wind down and what you'll do straight after, maybe a cup of tea or a walk, before cooking, emails or the school pick-up. Only once you feel steady do we approach the memory itself, a little at a time and never in more detail than you choose. With the Rewind Technique, a memory can be worked with without you narrating it to me at all. Alongside that, we look at the ways you've learned to cope, such as numbness or constant watchfulness, with respect for the job they have done. If an NHS team is already involved with what happened, our work can run beside theirs. If the danger is someone at home, the domestic abuse helpline on this page comes first.
Ways an old fear can surface in Bexleyheath
Passing the same place weekly
When the street, school or junction tied to a bad memory sits on your way to the Broadway or the station, avoiding it can quietly reshape your whole week.
Front-line work that stays
Facing distress or anger at a public counter, such as the main reception at the Civic Offices on Watling Street, or on a busy shop floor, can leave moments you replay at night.
When evenings are hardest
Mind in Bexley's evening crisis drop-in, the Bexley Crisis Cafe at 2a Devonshire Road, is about a 12-minute walk from Bexleyheath station.
Anxiety after a frightening event
If worry or low mood has followed what happened, NHS Bexley Talking Therapies takes self-referrals on 020 8303 8932, option 1, alongside or before private work.
Free and low-cost support for Bexleyheath
From what I have been able to check, there isn't a dedicated trauma service I can name in Bexley. If anxiety or low mood has followed a frightening experience, NHS Bexley Talking Therapies takes self-referrals, Mind in Bexley runs a Recovery Service from its Bexleyheath head office, and the Bexley and Dartford Samaritans branch is in Bexleyheath. Private trauma work can run alongside any of these.
- Free NHS talking therapyNHS Bexley Talking Therapies020 8303 8932 (option 1)Free NHS talking therapy for anxiety, low mood and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). You can refer yourself, with no GP referral needed.
- If drinking or drug use is part of itThe Pier Road Project (Bexley Drug and Alcohol Service)01322 357940Free and confidential.
- Local organisationMind in Bexley Carers Service
- Local organisationCounselling Matters Bexley
For gambling, the National Gambling Helpline is free, day or night, on 0808 8020 133 (NHS gambling support).
If someone at home is hurting, threatening or controlling you, the National Domestic Abuse Helpline is free, day or night, on 0808 2000 247.
If you have experienced rape or sexual abuse, at any time in your life, the Rape Crisis 24/7 Support Line is free on 0808 500 2222 for anyone aged 16 or over in England and Wales.
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 WhatsApp Service () is another option: WhatsApp 0303 330 1511. Local drop-in crisis support: Bexley Crisis Cafe (Mind in Bexley) (check opening times before you go).
What people in Bexleyheath ask before starting
Will I have to relive it if I start trauma counselling from Bexleyheath?
No. Reliving it is not the aim, and you won't be pushed into detail. We spend the early sessions on feeling steadier now, and later there are methods that let a memory be worked with while you keep it private. On the free 15-minute call you only need to say that something happened. You can pause or stop at any point.
What free help is there in Bexley after something traumatic?
NHS Bexley Talking Therapies, delivered by Mind in Bexley, takes self-referrals when anxiety or low mood follows a frightening event. The Bexley Crisis Cafe is an evening drop-in in Bexleyheath, and if domestic abuse is part of it, the free helpline on this page answers day and night. Mind in Bexley, whose head office is in the town, is another local place to ask.
Is it safe to do trauma work over video from home in Bexleyheath?
Home can be the easier place to feel safe, and from Bexleyheath it saves a 76-minute drive after a hard hour. We plan each ending, you can keep something comforting within reach, and we agree what you'll do afterwards. If someone could overhear, or home is where the harm happened, tell me first and we'll think about it together.
What can I do if a memory floods back at night before we've started?
There's no need to wait until we've met. The Samaritans listen free on 116 123 at any hour, and their Bexley and Dartford branch is in Bexleyheath. You can also message the NHS crisis service for South London on WhatsApp, 0303 330 1511. Where someone is in danger right now, the number is 999. Booking a free call with me needs no referral.
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.
Your pace, from the very first call
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.