Alton · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Addiction counselling and rehab advice for Alton
Families in Alton who look up rehab, for a son, a daughter, a partner or themselves, generally end up calling Inclusion Recovery Hampshire, the service that assesses and arranges detox and residential care. Alongside it I offer one-to-one addiction counselling by secure video, before, during or after treatment, and sessions for worried family members too.
The practical facts for Alton
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Alton by car
- About 92 minutes with clear roads (56.3 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free local drug & alcohol service
- Inclusion Recovery Hampshire, 0300 124 0103
- 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.
What rehab means when you search from Alton
Rehab is a word that gets used for several different things.
Alton Community Hospital on Chawton Park Road has two 20-bed wards, Anstey Ward and Inwood Ward, that specialise in frailty, rehabilitation and end of life care, which is a different kind of rehabilitation from drug and alcohol treatment. Drug and alcohol treatment for Alton residents comes free through Inclusion Recovery Hampshire, a service that Inclusion delivers within Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust. Its staff look at each person's situation and, where it fits, organise community support, a detox or a residential bed. So if you're a parent in Holybourne or a partner off Anstey Road unsure who to phone first, start there on 0300 124 0103. Counselling with me is the talking part: a regular hour, by video, that can begin before anything else is decided.
One weekly hour for you, or for worried family
Addiction counselling with me is outpatient and one to one. You can start while you are still drinking or using, with no promise required. We look honestly at when the urge comes, what it seems to be doing for you, and what the drinking, the drugs or the gambling has cost along the way. Often there is something older underneath that deserves time, and we can give it time. After a detox or a residential placement set up through Inclusion, stepping back into old Alton routines and friendships often tests people most, and a standing weekly session helps you hold on to the ground you gained. Relatives can book sessions for themselves, too. If you're the mother, father, husband or wife, sessions can be about you: the worry at night, the covering up, the arguments and where your own limits sit. My own recovery, and more than 25 years of practice since, mean nothing you describe about Alton evenings will be met with judgement. As Hampshire-wide context only, alcohol-related hospital admissions ran at 410.0 per 100,000 in 2023/24, against 504.1 per 100,000 across England, and a county average says little about what is happening under your own roof.
Different reasons you might be reading this in Alton
Not sure who assesses
The number for Inclusion Recovery Hampshire is 0300 124 0103. This free county service works out with you whether community support, detox or a residential place fits, then sets it up.
A parent at your wits' end
Parent Support Link is a charity for families affected by someone's drug or alcohol use. Counselling with me can give you a weekly hour that is only about you.
Back in Alton after a stay away
Returning to the same town after residential treatment can feel exposed. Weekly video sessions keep one steady point in the week while work, family and routine come back.
An adult relative's drinking
If a brother, parent or partner's drinking dominates your days, that counts as caring, which is where the Princess Royal Trust for Carers in Hampshire comes in, with support plus a free Alton coffee morning.
Public health figures for the area
These are local authority figures from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. "Similar to England" means the difference is not statistically significant. The figures describe a whole population over a period, not any one person.
Free drug and alcohol support for Alton
For people in Alton, free drug and alcohol treatment comes through Inclusion Recovery Hampshire, on 0300 124 0103. Relatives worried about a loved one's using can lean on Parent Support Link, while unpaid carers in the town have the Princess Royal Trust for Carers in Hampshire behind them. Havant and East Hants Mind is there for wider mental health. You can use any of them alongside our sessions, or before you've decided about counselling.
- Free drug and alcohol serviceInclusion Recovery Hampshire0300 124 0103Free and confidential.
- Local organisationAlton Coffee Morning for unpaid carers
FRANK (on 0300 123 6600) and Drinkline on 0300 123 1110 are free and confidential, and Alcoholics Anonymous and SMART Recovery run peer-support meetings you can find online. For gambling, the National Gambling Helpline is free, day or night, on 0808 8020 133 (NHS gambling support).
If raising someone's drinking or drug use with them feels unsafe, or someone at home is hurting, threatening or controlling you, the National Domestic Abuse Helpline is free, day or night, on 0808 2000 247. In immediate danger, call 999.
Detox and residential rehab are arranged through the free local drug and alcohol service named here. It assesses what you need, arranges medically assisted withdrawal where that is safe and needed, and can refer for community or residential treatment. My part is one-to-one counselling before, alongside or after that treatment, to help the changes last.
If you need urgent help now
If you need help right now, please don't wait for a session.
In this area you can also text HANTS to 85258.
If you, or someone you live with, drink heavily every day, or take drugs such as benzodiazepines or GHB daily, do not stop suddenly without medical advice. Withdrawal can cause seizures and can be dangerous. Your GP or the local drug and alcohol service can arrange medically assisted withdrawal. Call 999 or go to A&E if someone in withdrawal is shaking visibly, unusually restless or agitated, confused, seeing or hearing things that are not there, or has a fit. For milder symptoms, such as a slight tremor or sweating, contact your GP or NHS 111 the same day (NHS guidance). Counselling works alongside medical support, not instead of it.
What people in Alton ask before starting
Is there a rehab in Alton, and how do we get a place?
Residential places for people in Alton are usually arranged after an assessment by Inclusion Recovery Hampshire, the free county drug and alcohol service, on 0300 124 0103. They look at what's needed, which may be community support, detox or a residential stay. Counselling with me can sit before, alongside or after any of that, and you can book a call without waiting for them.
My adult son in Alton won't accept help. Is there support for me?
Yes, and you can start now, whatever he decides. Parent Support Link is a charity for parents and families affected by a loved one's drug or alcohol use, and you can ask Inclusion Recovery Hampshire whether they have anything for relatives. Our hour can centre wholly on you as his parent: what you've witnessed, which kinds of help you'll keep giving and which you'll stop, and how to protect your own health while he decides.
Would addiction counselling from Alton be online or in Hove?
Usually online. With roughly 92 minutes of driving each way, a weekly hour works better as a secure video call taken somewhere private, perhaps a spare room in Holybourne or a parked car, which can make it easier to speak frankly about drinking or using from their own space. An occasional longer meeting at the Hove room is possible too, though the counselling stands on its own without it.
Is the Alton Community Hospital rehabilitation ward for alcohol problems?
Its two wards specialise in frailty, rehabilitation of adult patients and end of life care, which is a different service from drug and alcohol treatment. For drinking or drug use, the route is Inclusion Recovery Hampshire or your GP. Where someone drinks heavily every day, read this page's urgent help notes before changing anything, because stopping all at once can be risky.
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.
A first call, whether it's for you or someone you love
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.