Wimbledon · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Trauma therapy for Wimbledon
When something frightening has happened, a sudden shock or a long, unsafe childhood, your body can keep reacting long after the danger has passed. If you're in Wimbledon and that sounds like you, sessions by secure video let us go slowly, on your terms. You decide what to share, and the details can stay with you.
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 Wimbledon
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Wimbledon by car
- About 74 minutes with clear roads (47.7 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Merton Talking Therapies, 0203 513 5888
- 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 familiar streets set off an old alarm
In Wimbledon, trauma might show up as freezing on a crowded platform after something you saw on a train or a tram, or a jolt in your chest every time brakes screech on the road outside.
It might follow a car crash, a sudden death in the family, a frightening birth, or a burglary that left your own front door feeling less safe. For some people there was no single event, only years of growing up on alert in a home where moods could turn without warning. For others it happened far from Merton, before they arrived here, and has been carried silently while a new life was being built. Afterwards the signs are often physical: startling easily, sleeping lightly, going blank mid-conversation, or needing to leave a full auditorium at the New Wimbledon Theatre without knowing why. These reactions are your nervous system trying to keep you safe.
Steadiness first, and the story only if you want
In trauma counselling you set the pace, and I'll check it with you often. The first sessions are about getting steadier in the present rather than going back. We notice how your body tells you it's under threat, perhaps a tight chest, a held breath or a kind of fog, and find two or three ways back that really work for you, whether that's pressing your feet down, looking round and naming what's there, or holding something with weight to it. Only once those feel dependable do we move towards the memory itself, a little at a time. The Rewind Technique is one gentle option for lowering the charge on a memory without you having to describe it to me. The habits that got you through, such as keeping busy, steering clear of certain places or never quite switching off, did a job for you, and we'd look at them with that in mind. If you're already under an NHS mental health team, we'd agree at the start how our work fits with theirs. You can pause, change direction or stop whenever you like, without giving a reason.
Support around trauma work in Merton
Something seen at the station
If an incident on a platform or a tram has left the interchange at Wimbledon feeling charged, sessions can focus on how your body reacts each time you pass through.
A crisis line you can type to
The NHS crisis text line for South London runs 24/7. Text 80991, or use WhatsApp on 0303 330 1511, when saying the words aloud feels impossible.
Walk-in help on the worst nights
The South West London and St George's Recovery Cafés are NHS crisis cafés for adults in Merton and neighbouring boroughs, open to walk-ins and self-referrals.
When panic or flatness follows
Where the event left you jumpy, panicky or flat for months, Merton Talking Therapies takes self-referrals for that anxiety or low mood on 0203 513 5888.
Free and low-cost support for Wimbledon
I haven't been able to verify a dedicated free trauma service in Merton, so I'm not listing one. The Wimbledon Guild offers free counselling for refugees and asylum seekers and for people of Black and Asian heritage, after an assessment in person. Merton Talking Therapies is the NHS route when anxiety or low mood follows a frightening event. If you use any of these alongside private trauma work, let each of us know, so the pacing stays safe.
- Free NHS talking therapyMerton Talking Therapies0203 513 5888Free 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 itVia Merton0300 303 4610Free and confidential.
- Local organisationWimbledon Guild counselling and support groups
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 or WhatsApp 0303 330 1511. Local drop-in crisis support: Sunshine Recovery Café, Wimbledon; South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust Recovery Cafés (check opening times before you go).
What people in Wimbledon ask before starting
Is there free help after trauma in Wimbledon?
There's no dedicated trauma service in Merton that I can vouch for. When panic or a sinking mood has come after the event, Merton Talking Therapies takes self-referrals on 0203 513 5888. The Wimbledon Guild offers counselling, free for some groups, including refugees and asylum seekers. If you use one of them alongside private sessions with me, tell both of us, so neither piece of work pushes the pace.
Do I have to describe what happened to start trauma counselling from Wimbledon?
No. On the free call, saying you've been through something that still affects you is plenty, and even that can wait. The early weeks focus on feeling more settled, and later a memory can be approached without you putting it into words. If a question feels like too much, you can simply decline it.
Would trauma sessions from Wimbledon be online or in Hove?
Online, by secure video, as a rule. Hove is about 74 minutes away by car, and a long drive home straight after a hard session isn't wise. You join from somewhere private where you feel safe. Should a face-to-face meeting feel important later, we'd plan it carefully, perhaps with someone else driving.
When could trauma counselling start, and what do I do in Wimbledon if things get worse first?
By the end of the free 15-minute call, you'll hear honestly whether I have a weekly time open, and when. If things become too much before then, text 80991 for the South London crisis text service, ring 111 and pick the mental health option, call Samaritans on 116 123, or dial 999 if you're in immediate danger.
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 with feeling steadier, at your own speed
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.