Rochester · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Trauma therapy for Rochester
If you're in Rochester and part of you is still braced for something that has already happened, whether a crash, an assault, a frightening birth or a childhood that never felt safe, trauma therapy is careful work on letting your body stand down, on your terms. Sessions are over secure video, and booking the free call doesn't require you to say what happened.
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 Rochester
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Rochester by car
- About 84 minutes with clear roads (69.7 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- From Rochester, change at London Bridge for trains towards Brighton and Hove.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- NHS Talking Therapies Kent and Medway, 0333 091 0414
- 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 danger has passed but the body hasn't heard
You can live on a quiet street in Borstal or The Tideway and still flinch when a door slams, avoid one stretch of road, or wake at four with your heart pounding.
For some, it arrives through work. Staff at Medway Maritime Hospital, the main hospital for the Medway Towns, see emergencies that others never will, and the effect can build up one shift at a time. For others it lands on an ordinary day: a collision on the way home, an attack, a sudden death in the family, something seen on a station platform that won't leave. And for some it reaches back to childhood, to a house where staying safe meant watching every adult's mood. Afterwards you might feel numb, jumpy, ashamed or strangely far from the people you love. Those are the responses of a nervous system that did its job when it had to, and it may need help learning that the job is done.
Safety first, and the past only when you say so
Nothing in this work is forced. The first sessions are about the present: how your body signals alarm, what brings it down, and who and what steadies you between sessions. You don't owe me a detailed account, now or later. When you decide you are ready, we approach the hardest material in small, bounded pieces, with a clear way back out each time, and a pause is always yours to call. Brainspotting, which I use, lets us work with what the body holds without you narrating the event aloud. The ways you have coped so far, from never sitting still to never letting anyone close, made sense at the time, and we treat them with respect. If your GP or an NHS team is already involved, our sessions fit around their care. If anything harmful is still happening to you at home, your safety comes before any processing, and we will talk about that openly. And if self-harm has become a way of getting through, you can tell me, and you won't be judged for it.
Where trauma can start, and help in Medway
After shifts at Medway Maritime
Repeated exposure to emergencies on the wards can build up quietly. We can work with it confidentially, without you having to relive each case in detail.
Memories that surge after dark
If the night is the worst time and you can't face going out, Medway Safe Haven offers support by phone, email or video as well as in person, around the clock.
Growing up on high alert
Childhood trauma can shape adult life for decades. The Medway Mental Health Recovery Programme, run by North Kent Mind for those aged 17 and over, offers group support beside individual work.
Fear and low mood afterwards
If anxiety or low mood settled in after the event, NHS Talking Therapies Kent and Medway welcomes self-referrals, and private trauma work can run alongside it.
Free and low-cost support for Rochester
If what happened was sexual violence, your GP can help you find specialist support, and Medway Safe Haven, on the Medway Maritime Hospital site in Gillingham, will see adults at any hour with no referral needed. North Kent Mind supports adults across Medway, and the Samaritans branch in Strood covers Rochester. Private trauma therapy can sit alongside any of them.
- Free NHS talking therapyNHS Talking Therapies Kent and Medway0333 091 0414Free 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 itMedway (RIVER) Treatment and Recovery Service0300 123 1560Free and confidential.
- Local organisationSamaritans of Medway, Gravesham and SwaleLocal Samaritans branch, Priory Road, Strood, Rochester ME2.
- Local organisationNorth Kent Mind Counselling & Therapy Services
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.
Local drop-in crisis support: Medway Safe Haven; Gillingham Safe Haven (check opening times before you go).
What people in Rochester ask before starting
Is there free trauma therapy near Rochester?
Anxiety and low mood after a frightening experience fall within one free service's remit: NHS Talking Therapies Kent and Medway, whose self-referral line is 0333 091 0414. After sexual violence, you can go straight to Medway Safe Haven, open to adults day and night without a referral, and your GP can help you find specialist support. Trauma therapy with me can overlap with the NHS service, or come afterwards.
I work at Medway Maritime Hospital. Would anyone at work know about my trauma counselling?
No one at the hospital would be told. You'd come to me privately, by video from home, so there's no referral through work and nothing to explain to a manager. Confidentiality does have limits where someone's safety is at serious risk, and I explain those clearly at the start. Talking about what you've witnessed at work is welcome here.
Can trauma therapy from Rochester be done by video, or do I need to come to Hove?
Video works, and from Rochester it is usually the kinder option. Hove is about 84 minutes' drive away, and you shouldn't have to make that trip straight after difficult work. Pick a spot at home where you feel protected. If a session away from home would help, an occasional longer one in Hove can be arranged.
I'm in Rochester and can't put what happened into words. How would I even start?
You don't need words for it yet. On the free 15-minute call, 'I went through something and it hasn't left me' is plenty. In the first session we talk about how you're sleeping, what helps and who is around you, not the event itself. Some of the work can go ahead without you ever describing it in detail.
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.
Begin without telling the story
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.