Guildford · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Trauma therapy for Guildford
If something that happened still shows up as a jolt at a sudden sound or nights of broken sleep, and you live in Guildford, I offer trauma therapy by secure video. We go at a pace you lead, and you won't have to describe what happened. Nothing is booked until we've had a free 15-minute call and you've decided it fits.
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 Guildford
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Guildford by car
- About 70 minutes with clear roads (44.3 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- From Guildford, change at Gatwick Airport for trains towards Brighton and Hove.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Mind Matters Surrey, 0300 330 5450
- 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 a new chapter brings an old fear back
Trauma can resurface at a turning point, sometimes years after the event.
Arriving at the University of Surrey, away from home for the first time, can stir up something you thought you'd left behind. For a parent in Bellfields or Dennisville, it might be your child reaching the age you were when something happened. For someone who commutes, it might be a carriage on the Waterloo line, if what happened was in London and the train now carries you back towards it every morning. Or there's no obvious trigger at all, only a sense that the old fear has moved back in. The signs vary: feeling jumpy or numb, nightmares, avoiding a particular road, smell or tone of voice, or reacting to small things as if they were dangerous. These reactions once protected you and made sense at the time. They say nothing bad about you, and they can be worked with.
How trauma work is paced from a distance
In trauma therapy with me, you stay in charge of how close we get. The early sessions are about steadiness: noticing the first tug of the past as it starts, and building quick ways to come back to the room you're actually sitting in. Only once those feel reliable do we turn towards what happened, and even then in small pieces, stopping whenever you need to. You won't be asked for a blow-by-blow account. The Rewind Technique, one of the approaches I use, lets a memory be worked with while the details stay private. Working by video from Guildford needs its own planning. We agree in advance how each session will wind down, keeping the last part of the hour for settling, and what you'll do straight afterwards, because there is no drive home to put distance between the session and your evening. If you share a house, we think about headphones, timing and who might walk in. If someone in your home frightens you, sessions there may not be private or safe, so please start with the domestic abuse helpline listed on this page. If you're already under NHS care, our work can sit alongside it.
Some ways trauma resurfaces in Guildford lives
Starting out away from home
A first term at the University of Surrey, away from familiar routines, can loosen the habits that kept old memories at a distance. We work at a pace that leaves room for your studies.
Reminders on the commute
Packed fast trains via Woking can be hard if what happened was in a city or on a train. We can work on staying steady through the stretch you can't avoid.
After a sudden death
Grief after a shocking or unexpected loss can carry fear as well as sorrow. Cruse Bereavement Support has services for South West Surrey and the Surrey North Area.
When evenings are hardest
If the hours after dark are when memories overwhelm you, you can walk into the Guildford Safe Haven without an appointment in the evenings and at weekends.
Free and low-cost support for Guildford
For panic, dread or low mood that began after something frightening, Mind Matters Surrey offers free NHS help without a GP referral. Catalyst Support offers mental health and wellbeing help across Surrey, Cruse Bereavement Support has local teams for a death that came suddenly, and Guildford Samaritans is the town's own branch, there to listen day or night. Weekly sessions with me can sit next to all of them.
- Free NHS talking therapyMind Matters Surrey0300 330 5450Free 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 iti-access0300 222 5932Free and confidential.
- Local organisationOakleaf EnterpriseLocal mental health charity.
- Local organisationCatalyst Community Connections (Guildford and Waverley)Community mental health and wellbeing support.
For gambling, the National Gambling Helpline is free, day or night, on 0808 8020 133 (NHS gambling support).
Private counselling with me can run alongside any of these; you do not have to choose one or the other.
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.
Locally, the Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS FT Mental Health Crisis Helpline is on 0800 915 4644. Local drop-in crisis support: Guildford Safe Haven (check opening times before you go).
What people in Guildford ask before starting
Is there free specialist trauma therapy in Guildford?
I can't point you to a dedicated trauma service in Guildford. Mind Matters Surrey, the county's free NHS Talking Therapies service, accepts self-referrals on 0300 330 5450 for anxiety or low mood that started after it happened. Cruse Bereavement Support helps after a sudden death, and Catalyst Support is a county wellbeing charity. Private trauma therapy can run alongside any of them.
Do I need to talk about the details before trauma therapy from Guildford begins?
No. When we first speak, a single sentence saying something happened is plenty. The first sessions build steadiness rather than dig into detail, and some methods let a memory be worked on without you ever saying it aloud. What you share, and when, is your choice, and any session can slow down or stop the moment you say.
Can trauma therapy by video work from a shared house in Guildford, or should I come to Hove?
Video usually works with some planning: headphones, a time when the house is quiet, and an agreed plan if someone knocks. Coming to Hove now and then is possible, though the 70-minute drive back to Guildford needs thinking about after a hard session. If nowhere at home is private or safe, say so when we first speak and we'll work out what's possible.
Who can I contact in Guildford if memories become overwhelming between sessions?
We plan for this from the start, so you have steadying things to try first. If it goes beyond that, the round-the-clock Surrey and Borders crisis helpline is on 0800 915 4644, and the Guildford Safe Haven takes walk-ins in person during evenings and weekends. Samaritans are on 116 123, and if you are in immediate danger, call 999.
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 first conversation, on your terms
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.