Lewisham · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Trauma therapy for Lewisham
If something frightening still lives in your body, whether it happened last year or long ago, trauma counselling lets you work with it at a pace you control. I won't ask you to describe more than you choose, and from Lewisham our sessions would happen on screen, in whichever room at home feels safest.
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 Lewisham
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Lewisham by car
- About 85 minutes with clear roads (65.5 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- From Lewisham, change at London Bridge for trains towards Brighton and Hove.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Lewisham Talking Therapies, 020 3228 1350
- 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.
A busy town centre and a body that won't stand down
Lewisham is rarely quiet. Trains and the DLR meet at the station, the shopping centre and the market draw crowds most days, and in a flat in Catford or Lee Green you hear other people's lives through the walls. For someone carrying trauma, that constant noise isn't neutral. A stranger brushing past or a door banging upstairs can be enough to set off a body still on guard for a danger that has passed. The harm itself may have happened far from here, before you came to London. It may go back to a childhood home where you learned to read every mood, or to an assault you have never told anyone about. Or it may be close by, a few streets from where you live now, so that you plan routes around it without quite admitting why. Jumping at sounds, going numb and sleeping badly often begin as ways of protecting yourself, and they can be worked with gently.
Steady ground first, the memory only if and when you choose
The first stage of trauma work with me is about feeling safer in the present. We learn how your body signals threat, a tightening throat, a sudden blankness, the urge to get out, and we find a few ways back to the room that suit you, so you have something to use on a packed platform or at home at night. Only when those feel dependable do we turn towards the memory itself, in small amounts, with you deciding how close we go and when we stop. Brainspotting is one way of working with a memory without having to put it into words. We also look with respect at what has kept you going, the vigilance and the avoiding, because those strategies protected you, and we loosen them only as fast as you can manage. On video, endings need care, so we leave time to settle and agree what you'll do straight afterwards. If you're already under a South London and Maudsley team, we'd agree at the start how our sessions fit beside theirs. You can pause or stop at any point without explaining.
What sits around trauma work in Lewisham
When crowds set you off
If the station interchange or a busy Saturday in Lewisham Shopping Centre sends your body into alarm, we can work on that reaction directly, at a pace you set.
What a hospital shift leaves
Staff at University Hospital Lewisham can carry home what they've witnessed on a shift. Trauma that comes through your work counts as much as any other.
If a memory hits at night
When speaking feels impossible, you can reach South London and Maudsley's crisis text service by WhatsApp on 0303 330 1511, or send a text to 80991.
Studying far from home
If you're at Goldsmiths in New Cross and carrying something from before you arrived, distance from family can make it heavier. Video sessions can fit around your timetable.
Free and low-cost support for Lewisham
I haven't found a dedicated free trauma service for Lewisham that I can point you to with confidence. If what happened has left you anxious or low, Lewisham Talking Therapies accepts self-referrals. Samaritans answer free on 116 123 at any hour, and the branch covering Lewisham, Greenwich and Southwark is in New Cross. Private trauma work can carry on beside either.
- Free NHS talking therapyLewisham Talking Therapies020 3228 1350Free 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 itNew Direction drug and alcohol recovery service (Lewisham)020 8314 5566Run by Change Grow Live (CGL). Free and confidential.
- Local organisationSEL Mind Connect (Lewisham)South East London Mind team working inside South London and.
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.
The South London NHS Mental Health Crisis Text Service (SLaM) is another option: WhatsApp 0303 330 1511 or text 80991.
What people in Lewisham ask before starting
I'm in Lewisham and want trauma counselling. Do I need to tell you the details of what happened?
No. On the free call, a single sentence such as 'something happened and I'm still affected by it' is plenty. The first stretch of work is about steadiness now, and later there are ways to work with a memory you keep private. Turning down a question is always fine, and so is changing your mind about what you share.
Who in Lewisham offers free support after a frightening experience?
When anxiety or low mood follows something frightening, you can refer yourself to Lewisham Talking Therapies, a free NHS service, on 020 3228 1350. The Quaggy Community Counselling Service offers low-cost counselling to adults in Lewisham or Greenwich. If someone at home is hurting or controlling you, the free domestic abuse line shown above these questions is open day and night.
Is trauma counselling by video safe if I'm at home in Lewisham?
It can be, with planning. We agree how each session will end and what you'll do afterwards, you can keep something grounding within reach, and you can stop at any time. From Lewisham it also spares you an 85-minute drive home after a hard hour. If someone might overhear, or home is linked to what happened, say so first and we'll work out together what would make it safer.
How soon could I start trauma counselling from Lewisham, and what if it gets bad while I wait?
The free 15-minute call is where you'll find out honestly when I have a weekly slot. If things become too much before then, don't wait: send a WhatsApp to the NHS crisis text service for South London on 0303 330 1511, ring NHS 111, or call Samaritans free on 116 123. And if your safety is at risk this minute, dial 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.
Start slowly, with a call you can end at any point
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.