Crawley · in person in Hove or online
Addiction counselling and rehab advice for Crawley
If you searched for rehab in Crawley, for yourself or for someone you love, detox and residential care come through the free West Sussex route set out below. I see people one to one in Hove or by secure video, and those sessions can sit around that treatment.
The practical facts for Crawley
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Crawley by car
- About 32 minutes with clear roads (22.2 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- Direct trains from Three Bridges to Brighton; change there for Hove, one stop.
- Free local drug & alcohol service
- West Sussex Drug & Alcohol Wellbeing Network (DAWN), 0330 128 1113
- 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 drinking runs to an airport clock
In a town where Gatwick never closes, there isn't one drinking hour.
After a night shift, the first drink can come at breakfast time, because for you it's the end of the day and the only way to get to sleep before the next rota. After a hard week on Manor Royal, it might be a Friday that starts on Thursday and doesn't finish until Monday. Patterns like these are easy to hide, because nobody else is awake to see them. The person reading this may not be the one drinking at all. You might be a mother in Furnace Green whose grown-up son has stopped answering his phone, or a husband in Maidenbower who has found the empties stacked behind the garage door. In 2023/24 the borough's hospital admission rate for conditions related to alcohol, on the narrow definition, was 449.0 per 100,000, below England's 504.1 per 100,000. It's a hospital figure for the whole borough, so it can't show what is happening in any one home.
DAWN arranges treatment; counselling holds the rest
The free door into treatment here is the West Sussex Drug and Alcohol Wellbeing Network, known as DAWN and run by Change Grow Live, and Crawley Borough Council's own mental health page points residents to it. DAWN assesses what someone needs and, where it is safe and needed, arranges detox, community treatment or a residential place. My part is smaller and steadier: an hour a week to look at what the drinking, using or gambling has been doing for you. It might be getting you to sleep at the wrong time of day, or filling the hours when everyone else in the house is out. You don't have to be sober to start, and you don't have to promise anything. I've been through recovery myself, so you won't shock me and you won't need to tidy the story. If you're the parent or partner, the sessions can be yours alone. We can look at what you've been covering for, and how to say what you've seen without it turning into another row. If DAWN arranges a residential stay, we can pause and pick up again when you're home.
Who to call in Crawley, and where counselling fits
Assessment through DAWN
On 0330 128 1113, DAWN works out with you whether detox, community treatment or a residential place is needed. Counselling can start before that assessment and carry on through it.
Company from people in recovery
Build on Belief, known as BoB, is a lived-experience recovery community. Its company and our one-to-one hour do different jobs, and both can run at once.
For the family living with it
If you're the parent or partner at home, Carers Support West Sussex runs a service for exactly that role, separate from whatever your relative decides to do.
Advice before anything else
If you'd like to understand your own drinking first, Crawley Wellbeing, the free service from the county and borough councils, lists an Alcohol Advisor Service among its topics.
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 Crawley
If you're the one at home holding it together, the council-run support for family and friends from West Sussex Wellbeing is a good first stop, and Carers Support West Sussex helps carers of people who drink or use drugs. On a night when it all feels too much, Crawley Staying Well, run by Waythrough, is open to adults from 3pm until midnight every day.
- Free drug and alcohol serviceWest Sussex Drug & Alcohol Wellbeing Network (DAWN)0330 128 1113Run by Change Grow Live. Free and confidential.
- Local organisationBuild on Belief (BoB), lived-experience recovery community
- Local organisationCrawley WellbeingFree wellbeing service provided by West Sussex County.
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 SUSSEX 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 Crawley ask before starting
Is there a rehab in Crawley I can get my son into?
In West Sussex, residential treatment is usually reached through an assessment with DAWN, run by Change Grow Live, on 0330 128 1113, and they arrange the place when it's needed. If he's willing, you could sit with him while he calls. In the meantime you can have counselling for yourself, and he can see me before, during or after any treatment DAWN arranges.
My husband in Crawley says his drinking is under control. Is anyone there to support me, not just him?
Yes. His agreement isn't needed for you to look after yourself. West Sussex Wellbeing, the council-run service, has pages of help aimed at family and friends, and Carers Support West Sussex works with people looking after someone who drinks. Counselling with me gives you a private hour to work out what you'll accept and what you won't. If he drinks heavily every day, please read the safety note higher up this page.
Can I have addiction counselling in person from Crawley, or is it only online?
Either. The Hove room is about 32 minutes away by car, or a direct train from Three Bridges to Brighton, so weekly visits are realistic. An hour away from the house where the drinking happens gives you room to think. Video suits weeks when shifts or childcare get in the way, and you can move between the two whenever you need to.
I work nights at Gatwick and drink to get to sleep. Does that belong in addiction counselling?
Yes. Drinking to come down after a night shift can start as a practical fix and turn into the only way you can sleep. In sessions we'd look honestly at what the drink is doing for you and what else might take over part of that job. If you drink heavily every day, speak to your GP or DAWN before changing anything, and see the safety note higher up this page.
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.
Start with fifteen quiet minutes on the phone
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.