Bermondsey · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Addiction counselling and rehab advice for Bermondsey
Searching for rehab from Bermondsey, whether the drinking or drug use is yours or a loved one's, leads to CGL Southwark, the free borough service that assesses for detox and residential care and arranges them. Beside that route, I work one to one on addiction over secure video, because the Hove room sits 96 minutes down the road from Tower Bridge. My own recovery means I know this ground from the inside.
The practical facts for Bermondsey
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Bermondsey by car
- About 96 minutes with clear roads (53.3 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free local drug & alcohol service
- CGL Southwark, 020 3404 7699
- 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 figure the council noticed, and the families behind it
In Bermondsey a drink can sit easily inside ordinary life, from weekend crowds at Maltby Street Market to match days at The Den, a five-minute walk from South Bermondsey station.
Southwark's public health team found that the Bermondsey neighbourhood has higher rates of hospital admissions related to alcohol than the borough as a whole, with a standardised ratio of 135 against 108 for Southwark over 2016/17 to 2020/21. That describes a place, not you or your family. It does mean that if you're worried, you are not imagining a problem nobody else around you has. Often the worry belongs to someone other than the drinker: a parent near The Blue who hears the same promise every Sunday, a partner in a Shad Thames flat who has started counting bottles in the recycling, or a teenager who has quietly taken over the cooking and says nothing at school.
How the Southwark route works, and where counselling sits
Southwark adults reach treatment through CGL Southwark, a Change Grow Live service covering the whole borough from one number, 020 3404 7699. Their team assesses what is going on and, where it's needed, arranges detox or a residential placement. My sessions fit at any point in that process, whether you are still working up to phoning CGL, going through community treatment, or newly home from a residential stay and walking the same streets around The Blue again. Each session asks what drinking, drugs or betting has been giving you, perhaps a quieter head after a long day, company on empty evenings in a riverside flat, or distance from a loss, and what else might give you that. You don't have to have stopped to begin, and you won't be lectured. My own years in recovery sit behind every one of these conversations. Relatives are welcome to book too. A mother, partner or grown-up child can use the sessions entirely for themselves: to work out what to say, where support has slipped into covering up, and how to stay steady whatever the other person decides.
Free Southwark help to lean on as well
CGL Southwark comes first
The borough's adult drug and alcohol service, on 020 3404 7699, assesses need and arranges detox or residential treatment when that is the right step.
Peer-led recovery in the borough
The Southwark Recovery Support Service, peer-led and provided by Janus Resonance Factor Limited, connects you with people further along in recovery, alongside our weekly sessions.
Al-Anon Bermondsey on Tuesdays
Each Tuesday, relatives and friends of someone who drinks meet in Bermondsey as a mutual-aid circle, trading what has helped them stay steady around a loved one's habit.
An older relative who drinks
The Southwark Irish Pensioners Project runs drop-ins, befriending and a pub outreach scheme for over-55s, which may reach someone who would never book an appointment.
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 Bermondsey
Private counselling can run beside the borough's free services. Family support for anyone affected by a relative's substance use comes through CGL Southwark Young People. Peer recovery comes through the Southwark Recovery Support Service, and Al-Anon Bermondsey meets on Tuesdays for relatives and friends. None of these asks you to choose between them and our sessions.
- Free drug and alcohol serviceCGL Southwark020 3404 7699Run by Change Grow Live (CGL). Free and confidential.
- Local organisationMobiliseSupport for carers.
- Local organisationSouthwark Irish Pensioners Project
- Local organisationTime & Talents: Neighbourhood Care Scheme and dementia Carers Group
- Local organisationAl-Anon Bermondsey (Tuesday)
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.
The South London NHS Mental Health Crisis Text Service (SLaM) is another option: WhatsApp 0303 330 1511 or text 80991.
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 Bermondsey ask before starting
Is there a rehab in Bermondsey I can refer myself or my son to?
Detox and residential rehab for Bermondsey residents are arranged through CGL Southwark, the borough's free adult drug and alcohol service. You can call them yourself on 020 3404 7699, and a relative can ring for advice too. They assess and decide on the right level of care. I offer one-to-one counselling that can begin while that process is under way and carry on afterwards.
Could I see you about my partner's drinking at home in Bermondsey, even if they won't come?
Yes. The sessions can be wholly about you: the worry, the anger, the ways your days have bent around their drinking, and what you want to do next. Your partner's agreement or attendance isn't needed. Al-Anon Bermondsey meets on Tuesdays if you'd like to sit with others in the same position, and it fits comfortably alongside our work by video.
Can addiction counselling by video from Bermondsey really work?
Video asks the same honesty of you as a room does, and it removes a 96-minute drive that can easily become a reason to skip a week. You join from somewhere private at a fixed time, and if a session lands on a hard day, you're already home afterwards. Face-to-face meetings remain possible too: on the odd occasion we can book a longer slot at Intergen House, reached by Thameslink from London Bridge with a change at Brighton.
How soon can I start after coming home to Bermondsey from residential treatment?
Coming home after a residential stay can feel exposed, with the same streets, people and routines waiting for you. After a free consultation we can arrange a first session quickly, and I'll offer the slots I genuinely have rather than a waiting list. Stay in touch with CGL Southwark and the Southwark Recovery Support Service as well; counselling works alongside their support.
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.
Ring about yourself or about someone in Bermondsey 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.