Havenoak

Since 2016

Two quiet rooms, a short walk from the sea

Havenoak started with one therapist and one room above a courtyard near Brighton station. Ten years on there are four of us, and it still feels like a place you are expected, not processed.

Two soft armchairs in a bright room with a tall palm, woven baskets on the wall and a jute rug

Why Ella started it

Ella Rourke spent ten years in a busy NHS talking-therapies team. She loved the work and hated the waiting lists: people who had finally found the courage to ask for help being told to wait five months, then offered six sessions with whoever was free.

In 2016 she took a room at 18 Marlow Yard and started seeing people privately, with a promise she still keeps: a first session within a week, the same face every time, and a fee that does not shut anyone out.

Tomasz joined in 2019, Priya in 2021 and Jonah in 2023, when the walk-and-talk sessions started. The second room came with Priya, because couples need a bigger sofa.

What we hold ourselves to

Time, not throughput

Fifty full minutes, the same therapist every week, and no pressure to finish in six sessions.

Honest about fit

If we are not the right people for you, we say so on the free call and suggest someone who is.

Money should not decide

8 places are always kept at £30 to £55, and nobody else knows who pays what.

Supervised and accountable

Every therapist has regular clinical supervision and works to a published ethical framework.

Where you will meet us

Eight minutes on foot from Brighton station. Step-free entrance and a lift to the second floor.

An armchair beside plants and a window with wooden blinds in the smaller room
The smaller room, with the big window
Two round grey armchairs and a tall plant in the couples room
The couples room
Two people walking along a clifftop path above the sea
The Saturday route up on the Downs

What clients have told us

  • “I had put off calling for two years. The free call took fifteen minutes and I was sitting in the room four days later.”

    Individual therapy, anxiety

  • “Nobody tried to fix me. I was allowed to be sad about my dad for as long as it took, and slowly it stopped taking over every day.”

    Individual therapy, grief

  • “We came in barely speaking. Ten sessions later we still argue, but we know how to finish an argument now.”

    Couples therapy

  • “Walking along the front made it so much easier to talk. I never once felt stared at.”

    Walk-and-talk sessions, work stress

  • “The sliding-scale place meant I could keep coming when my hours were cut. I would have stopped otherwise.”

    Individual therapy, low mood

Come and see the room

Book a free call, then your first session within the week.