Kingston upon Thames · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Trauma therapy for Kingston upon Thames
If something frightening happened to you, recently or long ago, and it still surfaces in your sleep or in how you react to the people closest to you, trauma counselling by secure video is open to you from Kingston upon Thames. You set the pace, and you never have to describe more than you choose.
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 Kingston upon Thames
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Kingston upon Thames by car
- About 74 minutes with clear roads (52.9 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- From Kingston, change at Clapham Junction for trains towards Brighton and Hove.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Kingston Talking Therapies, 020 3513 4440
- 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 the alarm keeps ringing after it's over
In Kingston, trauma might follow a crash on the way home, a frightening night in the Emergency Department at Kingston Hospital, an assault you have told nobody about, a sudden death, or a childhood spent reading every mood in the house.
From the outside it may not look dramatic at all. It can come with work as well. A department open 24 hours a day needs staff who see people on their worst nights and then drive home as if nothing happened. Afterwards, the town's everyday noise can feel different: a siren on Galsworthy Road, the press of people by the Bentall Centre, a raised voice in the Market Place. You might sleep badly, startle easily, go numb, or stay so busy that nothing has room to surface. Each of those reactions began as a way of keeping you safe, and none of them is a sign of weakness.
Steadiness first, memory later, and only if you want
Trauma work goes at the pace your nervous system can manage, and you set it. Early sessions are about the present: learning to notice when you are being pulled back, and what helps you return, whether that is your feet on the floor, a familiar object in your hand or naming what you can see around you. Because we work by video, we also plan the end of each session and the half hour after it, so a hard conversation doesn't spill straight into cooking dinner or answering messages. When you feel ready, we approach what happened in small pieces. You don't have to tell the story in full, or at all. The Rewind Technique, for example, works with a memory while the details stay private to you. We also get to know the reactions that freeze you or keep you braced, without blaming you for them. If you are already receiving NHS care for what happened, our work can sit alongside it. If the danger is someone you live with, please use the domestic abuse helpline shown lower on this page before anything else.
How it can surface in a Kingston week
Carrying a shift home
Kingston Hospital's Emergency Department never closes, and what its staff see there can follow them home. What stays with you after a shift deserves time as well.
Crowds that feel like danger
The Saturday crush by the Bentall Centre or on Kingston Bridge setting your heart racing, long after the event that taught your body to brace.
A death without warning
A sudden death can leave shock that outlasts the funeral by years. Kingston Bereavement Support helps with the loss itself, and trauma counselling can sit beside it for the shock.
When an evening tips into crisis
If memories overwhelm you and you feel unsafe out of hours, the Kingston Recovery Hub at the Alfriston Centre in Surbiton is a crisis cafe, and you can text 80991.
Free and low-cost support for Kingston upon Thames
There's no trauma-specific service I can name in Kingston. If anxiety or low mood followed what happened, Kingston Talking Therapies takes self-referrals for both. Mind in Kingston offers wider mental health support, and Kingston Samaritans is the local branch for anyone who needs to be heard. Private trauma counselling can sit alongside any of them.
- Free NHS talking therapyKingston Talking Therapies020 3513 4440Free 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 itKingston Wellbeing Service (KWS)0300 303 4614Run by Via. Free and confidential.
- Local organisationKingston Bereavement Support
- Local organisationMind in Kingston Counselling Service
- Local organisationKingston Recovery HubOut-of-hours crisis café for people in imminent mental.
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 Text Service is another option: text 80991.
What people in Kingston upon Thames ask before starting
How does trauma counselling from Kingston begin, and do I have to say what happened?
You start by booking the free 15-minute call, on which saying that something happened is enough. You don't have to describe it then, or in the first sessions, which concentrate on feeling steadier in the present. Later, if you choose, we can approach a memory without you having to put it into words. You stay in charge, and we can stop for a breather, or finish early, whenever you ask.
Is there free trauma support in Kingston upon Thames?
I can't point you to a specialist trauma service in the borough. If anxiety or low mood came after a frightening event, Kingston Talking Therapies will hear from you directly on 020 3513 4440, without a GP. Mind in Kingston offers broader support, and if domestic abuse is involved, the national helpline on this page is free at any hour.
I work at Kingston Hospital. Can I have trauma counselling that isn't arranged through work?
Yes. Private sessions with me have nothing to do with your employer, and I don't contact workplaces. What you say stays confidential, within limits I explain at the start, such as someone being at serious risk. Because we meet by video, we can find a regular hour that fits around your shifts.
Can I have trauma counselling from home in Kingston, or is that risky?
Home can feel safer than an unfamiliar room, and it spares you a 74-minute drive back from Hove after a hard session. We plan each ending carefully, you can keep something comforting nearby, and we agree what you will do afterwards. If someone could overhear you, or home itself feels unsafe, tell me and we will look at other options first.
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.
Nothing needs telling before you're ready
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.