Crawley · in person in Hove or online
Trauma therapy for Crawley
When something frightening is over but your body hasn't caught up, sleep, work and ordinary streets can all feel unsafe. For people in Crawley I offer trauma therapy in my room in Hove, 32 minutes' drive away, or over secure video. You decide the pace and how much you say, starting with a free 15-minute call.
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 Crawley
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Crawley by car
- About 32 minutes with clear roads (22.2 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- Direct trains from Three Bridges to Brighton; change there for Hove, one stop.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- NHS West Sussex Talking Therapies – North Team, 01403 620434
- 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.
Carried in from a shift, another country or childhood
Trauma can arrive in the middle of a working day.
If your job is at Gatwick, you might have been the one kneeling beside a passenger who collapsed, or the colleague who stayed calm through an emergency and only started shaking at home. Or what happened was far from here, in another country or another chapter of your life, and moving to Crawley for work was meant to put distance between then and now. The memory may have travelled anyway, turning up as broken sleep, a jolt at a siren, or a numbness that settles over you in company. For others it has been there since childhood, in a home that never felt quite safe, even if from outside it looked ordinary. None of it has to be dramatic to count. If your body is still on guard against something that has ended, that is reason enough to talk to someone, and you don't need to have the words ready.
Steadiness first, the memory only if you choose
In trauma therapy with me, you hold the controls. The early sessions are about the present: how you're sleeping, what tends to set the alarm off, and what already helps you come back to yourself. We build on those until you can settle your body in the room fairly reliably. Only then, and only if you want to, do we approach what happened, a small piece at a time, and you can stop in the middle of a sentence. You never have to give me a full account. Brainspotting is one of the ways I work here: it uses where you look to help find and stay with what your body is holding, often with very few words. Where harm went on for years, the work is slower still, and we get to know the habits of freezing, pleasing or watching that once kept you safe. If your work at the airport means keeping calm in other people's emergencies, your own reactions may have been on hold for a long time, and this is a place where they're allowed to land. If someone you live with frightens you or looks through your phone, please mention it early, and we'll work out where and when you can speak without being overheard.
When the past keeps intruding on a Crawley week
Someone else's emergency at work
If you've been first to help a passenger or colleague at Gatwick, the moment can keep replaying while you carry on as normal. We begin with how it sits in you now.
Something from before Crawley
In a diverse town, you may carry harm from another country or another time. You don't have to explain where you came from, or why you left, before we begin.
When late evenings bring it back
Flashbacks often crowd in late. Crawley Staying Well, run by Waythrough, is open every day from 3pm to midnight, with a video option through Attend Anywhere.
Distance from the place itself
When what happened is tied to streets or a workplace in Crawley, a room down in Hove can feel safer, and the trip back gives your body time to settle.
Public health figures for the area
These are local authority figures from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. "Similar to England" means the difference is not statistically significant. The figures describe a whole population over a period, not any one person.
Free and low-cost support for Crawley
The free services listed for Crawley don't include a specialist sexual violence or trauma service, so if that's what you need, your GP can help you find one. If anxiety or low mood began after something frightening, you can phone the North Team yourself, the part of NHS West Sussex Talking Therapies that covers Crawley. Mind in Brighton and Hove – West Sussex services offers wider support, and private sessions can sit alongside.
- Free NHS talking therapyNHS West Sussex Talking Therapies – North Team01403 620434Free 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 itWest Sussex Drug & Alcohol Wellbeing Network (DAWN)0330 128 1113Run by Change Grow Live. Free and confidential.
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.
In this area you can also text SUSSEX to 85258.
What people in Crawley ask before starting
I'm in Crawley and can't face going over it again. Will trauma therapy make me describe what happened?
No. On the free call it's enough to say that something happened and it still affects you. The first sessions are about how you're coping now: sleep, startle, and the places and sounds you avoid. You decide if details are ever shared, and how many. Real work can be done without the story being told at all.
Is there specialist trauma support in Crawley as well as private therapy?
The free services named on this page are general rather than trauma-specialist. On 01403 620434, the Talking Therapies North Team covering Crawley will talk with you about anxiety or low mood, including when it started after a frightening event, and Crawley Staying Well offers support each evening. For specialist help after sexual violence or abuse, ask your GP. You can still see me privately too.
Should I do trauma therapy in Hove or on video from home in Crawley?
Choose whichever feels safer. The room gives you a space that's separate from home and from where it happened, and 32 minutes by car is close enough to come weekly. Video saves the trip on raw days, provided nobody at home can overhear you or check your devices. You can change the arrangement whenever you like.
Something happened at work at Gatwick and I'm still on edge. Is it too soon, or too late, to get support?
Neither. Feeling shaken straight after an event is normal, and for a while it may ease by itself. If weeks or months later you're still jumpy, sleeping badly or avoiding parts of the job, it's worth talking. Years on is not too late either. If your employer offers occupational health support, you can use it alongside private sessions.
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.
When you're ready, a quiet 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.