Alcohol
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Addiction Counselling · Hove
Addiction Counselling in Hove
Addiction Counselling for Hove and the surrounding area, in person or online. Hove, with its elegant Regency squares, Church Road shops and wide seafront lawns, is home to my practice. From my room in nearby Hove I offer a calm, confidential space to do this work.
BACP registered member25+ years of experienceLived experience
ConfidentialA safe, private space
Person-centredThe therapy fits you
In and around Hove
Addiction Counselling for Hove, at a glance
- Known for
- Palmeira Square, Hove Lawns, Church Road and Brunswick
- Area
- Brighton & Hove, East/West Sussex
- Getting to the Hove room
- The office sits on Western Road in central Hove, a few minutes' walk from Palmeira Square and the seafront, and a short bus ride from Hove Station.
- Local NHS / support route
- NHS drug & alcohol service finder (see below)
- Format
- In person at my private Hove room, or by secure video UK-wide.
Life in Hove
Why people in Hove get in touch
Hove wears its difficulties quietly. Along Church Road and up through Poets Corner the daily surface is calm, well kept and largely unbothered, and that surface is exactly what makes an unravelling habit so isolating. You can walk to the shops, keep the flat in order, hold conversations at the school gate and still be organising your week around something you have never said aloud. Some of it is drinking. Plenty of it is not: betting accounts, spending, gaming, or use that started for a reason nobody would think to ask about. The seafront and the Lawns give the town an air of being on holiday. Behind the doors on Cliftonville and Blatchington the accounting is often much less relaxed.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Hove
BrunswickPalmeira SquareChurch RoadGeorge StreetPoets CornerCliftonvilleThe Drive and Grand AvenueBlatchington
Wherever you are in Hove, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Hove
Official figures for Hove, for context rather than as a description of you.
the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions (narrow definition) was 413.5 per 100,000 in 2023/24, below the England average of 504.1 per 100,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Admission episodes for alcohol-related conditions (narrow) (2023/24).
the rate of deaths from drug misuse was 11.1 per 100,000 in 2022 - 24, above the England average of 5.8 per 100,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Deaths from drug misuse (2022 - 24).
Reviewed June 2026.
What actually happens in addiction counselling?
Addiction counselling here treats the pain beneath the habit, not just the symptom, alcohol, drugs, gambling, food or behavioural, so recovery is something you grow into rather than force.
The method travels; only the geography changes. everything on addiction counselling explains it properly, session lengths and fees answers the practical questions, and my credentials and registration shows how the practice is held to account.
What does a session actually involve?
Sessions take place in a private, comfortable room at Intergen House on Western Road in central Hove, held to the strict BACP confidentiality you would expect. We begin with a free fifteen-minute call to check we are a good fit, and the same sessions are available by secure video if travelling is difficult or you would simply prefer it.
Hove is where the room actually is, which changes the practicalities a great deal. Sessions take place on Western Road in central Hove, a few minutes on foot from Palmeira Square and the seafront and a short bus ride from the station, so for most people here it is a walk rather than a journey. That closeness makes it easier to keep a weekly appointment through a difficult stretch. Secure video is available if you would rather not come in on a given week.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What sort of things do people bring?
Drugs and substances
Compassionate, confidential help with substance use.
Gambling
Breaking the cycle of compulsive gambling, guilt and debt.
Food and behavioural
Support for food and process addictions.
Affected by a loved one
Help for those living alongside someone's addiction.
The pain underneath
We treat the cause, not just the symptom.
Addiction Counselling in Hove
Why people in Hove come for addiction counselling
It helps to know that addiction counselling is not one narrow thing. People come about alcohol, about cocaine, about a betting app that has taken the savings, about compulsive spending or gaming or porn, and the underlying pattern rhymes across all of them. Something works, then becomes necessary, then quietly starts editing your life around itself. The first task is to understand what it has been doing for you, because a habit stripped away without its job being covered simply comes back. Local alcohol-related hospital admissions were 413.5 per 100,000 in 2023/24, a little below the England average of 504.1, and most of what causes suffering never reaches a hospital at all. Free structured treatment can be found through the NHS 'find a service' directory, Mind in Brighton and Hove supports the wider picture, and the Sussex Mental Healthline answers at any hour.
A free, unhurried first step
Not sure if it is right for you? A free fifteen-minute call is a no-obligation way to talk it through.
Book a free 15-minute callDrug, alcohol & addiction support in Hove
My counselling sits alongside the help available locally. You can find your nearest free NHS-funded drug and alcohol service via the NHS “find a service” directory (search “Hove”).
For confidential information and advice, FRANK (on 0300 123 6600) and Drinkline on 0300 123 1110 are free, and Alcoholics Anonymous and SMART Recovery run peer-support meetings you can find online.
Other local and national support verified for this area includes:
If you need urgent help now
This is not a crisis service. If anyone is in immediate danger call 999. For urgent mental health support, call NHS 111 and choose the mental health option. The Samaritans are free, day or night, on 116 123, or text SHOUT to 85258.
If you drink heavily or use drugs daily, do not stop suddenly on your own. Withdrawal can cause seizures and can be dangerous. Speak to your GP or a local drug and alcohol service first, and they can arrange a safe, medically supported withdrawal. Counselling works alongside that, not instead of it.
Hove questions
Addiction Counselling in Hove: common questions
Where do Hove sessions take place, and can I meet online instead?
In a private room at Intergen House on Western Road in central Hove. The office sits on Western Road in central Hove, a few minutes' walk from Palmeira Square and the seafront, and a short bus ride from Hove Station. Every service is also available by secure video across the UK, so you can meet from any private space in Hove or blend the two.
I live in Hove. Is it strange to see someone this close to home?
It is common and it works well. Being able to walk to a session takes away one of the reliable reasons for not going. Appointments are timed so clients do not meet, and outside the room nobody is greeted or acknowledged unless they choose to say hello first.
Which habits does this cover?
Alcohol, drugs, gambling, gaming, spending, food and porn, among others. The approach does not change according to the object. What is looked at is how the habit became load-bearing, what it protects you from feeling, and what could take on some of that weight instead.
What are the fees and is there anything free first?
The first 15-minute consultation is free, by phone or video. Sessions afterwards are £80 / 60 min, £100 / 90 min and £120 / 120 min, paid individually. Nothing is booked in blocks, so you can start, pause or stop as circumstances change.
Should I go to the NHS instead?
You can use both. The NHS 'find a service' directory leads to free structured drug and alcohol treatment, including medical support that private counselling does not offer. Sessions here can begin quickly and continue while that is arranged, and neither affects your standing with the other.
How often would I need to come at the start?
Weekly is usual in the early stage, because momentum matters more than intensity, and then appointments space out as things steady. Some people book fortnightly from the outset because of work. What suits you is discussed rather than imposed, and the frequency can be revised whenever it needs to be.
Where exactly is the counselling room in Hove?
At Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road in central Hove, a few minutes from Palmeira Square and the seafront and a short bus ride from Hove Station. Sessions are also available online if you prefer.
How do I book addiction counselling at your Hove room?
Booking starts with a free fifteen-minute consultation, arranged through my contact page or on 07914 681995. The room is at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, a few minutes from Palmeira Square. Most Hove clients simply walk in, with on-street parking nearby if you drive.
What are your fees, and is there free NHS addiction help in Hove?
Sessions are £80 for sixty minutes, £100 for ninety and £120 for two hours, with the first fifteen-minute call free. For free local help, Hove is covered by Pavilions, the Brighton and Hove drug and alcohol service run by Change Grow Live, open to self-referral.
Can I see you in person or online for addiction counselling in Hove?
Both. Living in Hove, most people prefer to walk into the Western Road room, but secure video is there for busy weeks or if you would rather stay home. Evening appointments are available, and you can move between in-person and online as you like.
Addiction Counselling in Hove, whenever you are ready
A free fifteen-minute call is the simplest place to start, no obligation, just a chance to see if we are the right fit.
Also available nearby: Brighton, Portslade, Hangleton, Preston Park. See all areas I cover.
People who come for addiction counselling in Hove often also look at substance use counselling, counselling for drinking problems and trauma counselling.
If you would like to read more first, I have written about the four-stage cycle of addiction and the four Rs framework.
Prefer to meet remotely? The same addiction counselling is available online by secure video across the UK, or see online counselling by region.