Margate · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Addiction counselling and rehab advice for Margate
Behind a search for 'rehab Margate' there is usually a frightened family, or someone who has had enough of drink or drugs running the show. I offer one-to-one addiction counselling, and separate sessions for relatives. Hove, where my only room is, sits about 125 minutes from Margate by car, so from the Thanet coast we would almost always meet on secure video.
The practical facts for Margate
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Margate by car
- About 125 minutes with clear roads (105.6 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free local drug & alcohol service
- East Kent community drug and alcohol service (The Forward Trust), 0300 123 1186
- 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.
Summer crowds, quiet winters and drinking behind closed doors
Margate has sold a good time since the 18th century, and Dreamland and the Turner Contemporary still pull crowds to the harbour each summer.
For people working the season, that can mean late finishes in bars and cafes, then a long, thin winter with too few hours and too much time. Thanet is also older than England as a whole, with a median age of 45 in the 2021 Census, and for some older residents drinking happens quietly at home, out of sight of anyone who might worry. Families shoulder a great deal here, and Carers' Support East Kent counts people looking after someone with an addiction among those it helps. In Thanet, hospital admissions for alcohol-specific conditions were 448.5 per 100,000 in 2023/24, lower than England's 611.7 for the same year. A district average matters very little once drinking is hurting your own household, whether that is a flat in Cliftonville or a family home in Garlinge.
Who arranges treatment in Thanet, and where counselling fits
For anyone living in Thanet, the free way into assessment, detox or residential rehab is a call to 0300 123 1186, where East Kent community drug and alcohol service (The Forward Trust) answers. It works out what you need and organises medically supervised or residential care where that is the safest path. My part is one-to-one counselling before, during or after that treatment: working out what the bottle, the pills or the betting app have been giving you, loosening the grip of shame, noticing what tips you towards a lapse, and planning for the hard stretches, such as the first quiet winter after a busy season. Over 25 years of practice sit on top of my own recovery, which means nothing needs tidying up before you tell me. Relatives deserve help in their own right. If you are a parent, partner or grown-up child, you can have sessions with me whether or not the person you love is ready, to look at fear, anger, guilt and where helping ends and covering up begins. Kenward Trust's friends and family service and Al-Anon Family Groups add free support for families.
Help around Margate for drinking, drugs and families
A first assessment near home
Whether home is Cliftonville or Garlinge, assessment begins on 0300 123 1186. East Kent community drug and alcohol service (The Forward Trust) picks up, and it can open the way to detox or a residential place if needed.
When the carer needs backing
Carers' Support East Kent takes self-referrals from Thanet carers, including people looking after someone with an addiction, by phone, form or in person on weekdays.
Families meeting other families
Al-Anon Family Groups and the Kenward Trust's friends and family service give relatives a space of their own, and video sessions with me can run alongside them.
A door open at any hour
Thanet Safe Haven at the Thanet Mental Health Unit on Ramsgate Road welcomes adults day and night without a referral, for emotional support rather than medical emergencies.
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 Margate
Weekly counselling from Margate works hand in hand with Thanet's free routes. Thanet's assessments for detox and residential care sit with East Kent community drug and alcohol service (The Forward Trust). Relatives can lean on the family service run by Kenward Trust or on Al-Anon Family Groups, unpaid carers in Thanet can self-refer to Carers' Support East Kent on weekdays, and East Kent Mind leads a Friday afternoon walk in Margate.
- Free drug and alcohol serviceEast Kent community drug and alcohol service (The Forward Trust)0300 123 1186Free and confidential.
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.
Locally, the Release the Pressure Helpline - Kent is on 0800 107 0160. Local drop-in crisis support: Thanet Safe Haven (Mental Health Matters) (check opening times before you go).
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 Margate ask before starting
Where would someone from Margate go for rehab?
From a Margate address, the way into residential rehab or a detox is an assessment by East Kent community drug and alcohol service (The Forward Trust), reached on 0300 123 1186, which then decides with you what kind of care fits and where. I provide one-to-one counselling by video from Margate, which can begin before a place is found, continue alongside community treatment, or support you once residential care ends.
My husband's drinking is getting worse. Where can I get help as his wife in Margate?
You can get support for yourself straight away, whatever he decides. Al-Anon Family Groups and Kenward Trust's friends and family service are free, and Carers' Support East Kent helps Thanet people caring for someone with an addiction. Sessions with me give you a private hour to think about boundaries and what to say. When he is ready, he can ring 0300 123 1186 for an assessment. Should home ever feel unsafe, turn to the urgent help box on this page.
Can I have addiction counselling online from Margate instead of travelling?
Yes, and from Margate it is the usual arrangement. Hove is about 125 minutes by road and three trains by rail, so we meet on secure video at a fixed weekly time, which matters when routine is part of staying steady. All it takes is a room where nobody can overhear and a steady broadband signal. A longer face-to-face session in Hove, worth that long trip from Thanet only occasionally, can be booked whenever you want one.
Can an older person in Thanet get counselling for drinking at home?
Yes. Drinking that has crept up in retirement, after a bereavement or in a quiet flat is as worth talking about as any other. Video sessions need only a phone or tablet, and we can test the link during the free consultation. Where stopping could need medical support, Thanet residents put that question to The Forward Trust's East Kent team on 0300 123 1186, while a weekly call from Age UK Thanet's befriending volunteers in Dane Valley can break up the quieter days.
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.
Talk to someone first, for yourself or a relative
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.