Kingston upon Thames · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Addiction counselling and rehab advice for Kingston upon Thames
If you have searched for rehab in Kingston upon Thames, on your own behalf or for someone close to you, the free Kingston route handles assessment, detox and residential places, and I offer addiction counselling alongside it by secure video. I'm a counsellor with my own experience of recovery, and this page sets out where that route starts and how counselling fits around it.
The practical facts for Kingston upon Thames
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Kingston upon Thames by car
- About 74 minutes with clear roads (52.9 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- From Kingston, change at Clapham Junction for trains towards Brighton and Hove.
- Free local drug & alcohol service
- Kingston Wellbeing Service (KWS), 0300 303 4614
- 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.
Late closes, student nights and a family that has noticed
A town built around shops and hospitality keeps late hours, and for the people working them, a drink after closing can slowly become the only way to come down.
With a large student population, heavy drinking or drug use can pass as part of student life for a long time before anyone names it. Often the person reading this isn't the one using at all. It may be the partner in Norbiton who has stopped believing the explanations, or the brother who drove over Kingston Bridge at midnight to collect someone again. Hospital admissions for alcohol-specific conditions in Kingston upon Thames ran at 460.1 per 100,000 in 2023/24, below England's 611.7 per 100,000. That figure covers hospital stays across the whole borough, and it says nothing about what is happening in your own home.
Kingston Wellbeing Service first, counselling around it
For Kingston, the free starting point is Kingston Wellbeing Service, run by Via, on 0300 303 4614. Their assessment looks at whether someone needs medical help to stop safely, treatment in the community or a residential stay, and they arrange whichever fits. I provide none of those. What I offer is a weekly hour of one-to-one counselling. It can begin before anyone has phoned them, run beside their support, or come afterwards, when the hard part is living an ordinary Kingston week without the old crutch. In sessions we look with curiosity at what the drink, the drugs or the betting do for you, such as settling nerves or holding off grief and shame, and nobody lectures. Nobody has to have stopped, or promised to stop, before the first session. My own recovery means I'm unlikely to be shocked. Families matter just as much here. If the person you love won't get help, you can come on your own, work out where your limits are, and find ways to stay close without covering for them.
Who in Kingston might be reading this
Coming down after a late close
Hospitality and retail hours in one of the UK's biggest retail centres, ending each night with a drink that has quietly turned into several.
A parent watching a student
Your son or daughter at Kingston University or Kingston College is drinking or using more, and the explanations no longer add up. Counselling can be for you, even if they won't come.
From worried partner to carer
If someone's drinking or using has left you running the household and their life, Kingston Carers' Network supports carers in the borough, and our sessions can be just for you.
Home again after rehab
Returning from a residential stay to the same Kingston streets, the same friends and the same Friday routine. Weekly sessions can help you keep hold of what changed.
Public health figures for the area
These are local authority figures from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. The figures describe a whole population over a period, not any one person.
Free drug and alcohol support for Kingston upon Thames
Kingston Wellbeing Service is the free route for assessment and treatment, and it can arrange detox or a residential place. I can't name a Kingston family support group, so for peer meetings I'd point you to Alcoholics Anonymous and SMART Recovery, listed below. Mind in Kingston supports wider mental health, and Kingston Carers' Network helps if you've become someone's carer. In a mental health crisis out of hours, the Kingston Recovery Hub in Surbiton is a crisis cafe.
- Free drug and alcohol serviceKingston Wellbeing Service (KWS)0300 303 4614Run by Via. Free and confidential.
- Local organisationKingston Carers' Network
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 is another option: 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 Kingston upon Thames ask before starting
Can I go to a rehab in Kingston upon Thames?
For people in Kingston, detox and residential places are reached through an assessment with Kingston Wellbeing Service, run by Via, on 0300 303 4614, and that assessment is where a rehab place would come from. Counselling with me can start before that assessment, continue while you are in treatment, or follow on once you are home.
My son is drinking heavily while studying in Kingston. What can I do as a parent?
You can't make an adult change, and arguments about how much he drinks rarely help. You can tell him calmly what you have seen, make sure he knows Kingston Wellbeing Service exists, and get support for yourself. Counselling gives you somewhere to think before you act. If he drinks heavily every day, first read the warning about withdrawal in the box headed If you need urgent help now, above these questions.
Do I have to travel to Hove for addiction counselling if I live in Kingston?
No. Hove is about 74 minutes away by car, too far for a weekly session, so from Kingston we work by secure video. The hour runs just as it would in the room. Talking from home can make honesty easier, and nobody you know will see you arrive anywhere.
Can I start counselling while I wait for Kingston Wellbeing Service to see me?
Yes. You don't need a referral, and you don't have to wait for their assessment. Book the free 15-minute call and say briefly what's happening, and I'll be honest about when I have a space. Counselling doesn't replace their assessment, so keep your place with Kingston Wellbeing Service while we talk.
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 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.