Reading · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Addiction counselling and rehab advice for Reading
If you've been searching for rehab in Reading, whether the worry is your own or a family member's, it helps to know how help is arranged here. Assessment, detox and residential places go through Drug and Alcohol Service Reading. I offer one-to-one addiction counselling alongside that, by secure video from Reading, since the Hove room is 100 minutes' drive away.
The practical facts for Reading
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Reading by car
- About 100 minutes with clear roads (81.3 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free local drug & alcohol service
- Drug & Alcohol Service Reading (Change Grow Live), 0118 955 7333
- 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 thriving night-time economy, and what sits behind it
Reading Borough Council describes the town as a major retail and leisure destination with a thriving night-time economy.
For a lot of residents that simply makes it a good place to spend a Friday. For others, drinking that began with after-work rounds in town or student nights at Whiteknights has quietly become something they lean on, and drugs can follow the same path. Hospital admissions for alcohol-specific conditions in Reading stood at 445.8 per 100,000 in 2023/24, lower than England's 611.7 per 100,000. A town rate says very little about what is happening in one flat in Katesgrove or one family home in Emmer Green, though. Relatives are often the ones who see it first: money that doesn't add up, a parent who is different by evening, a partner hiding bottles in the garage. Typing rehab into a search box late at night is often the next step, without any clear idea of where to start.
How rehab and counselling fit together in Reading
Residential rehab and medically supervised detox are arranged after an assessment, and in Reading that assessment comes from Drug and Alcohol Service Reading, run by Change Grow Live, on 0118 955 7333. They look at what you're using, your health and your circumstances, then explain the options, from community-based support to a detox or a residential bed. My part is the counselling that surrounds it. Before treatment, sessions can help you decide what you want and make that first call to Change Grow Live. Alongside treatment, they give you a private hour to look at what the drinking or drug use has been doing for you: blunting stress, filling evenings, quietening something painful. Coming home to Reading after rehab, to the same after-work rounds in town and the same people, is often where the real test begins, and weekly sessions keep your new footing steady. I've been in recovery myself and have more than 25 years of practice, so you won't need to soften anything for my benefit. Family members are welcome to book sessions for themselves.
Where to turn in Reading, and when
The council's drug and alcohol service
Drug and Alcohol Service Reading, run by Change Grow Live on 0118 955 7333, is where assessment, detox and residential referrals are arranged for people living in the borough.
Help for the relatives watching
Addiction Family Support runs a national helpline for parents, partners and other relatives, so you can get help with your own strain even before the person drinking is ready.
A women-only centre in town
Alana House, run by PACT, gives women in Reading trauma-informed support with drugs and alcohol, domestic abuse, and family or relationship worries, in a space just for women.
Counselling once you're home
Returning to Reading after a residential stay can be the shakiest stretch, and regular video sessions give you somewhere steady to bring cravings, setbacks and progress.
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 Reading
Private counselling sits well beside Reading's free services. Drug and Alcohol Service Reading (Change Grow Live) is the route for assessment and for any detox or residential care. Addiction Family Support helps relatives who are worried sick. Alana House (PACT) supports women with drink, drugs and the pressures around them, and Reading Samaritans will listen by phone or email whenever it gets too much.
- Free drug and alcohol serviceDrug & Alcohol Service Reading (Change Grow Live)0118 955 7333Free and confidential.
- Local organisationReading & West Berkshire Carers Partnership
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 Berkshire Healthcare Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team is on 0800 129 9999.
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 Reading ask before starting
Is there a rehab in Reading I can refer myself to?
The first step towards residential rehab or detox from Reading is an assessment with Drug and Alcohol Service Reading, run by Change Grow Live, on 0118 955 7333. They can talk through community support, detox and residential options with you. My sessions can begin ahead of that call, run alongside treatment, or pick up afterwards to support you once you're home.
My son in Reading won't accept help, so what can I do as his parent?
You can start with support for yourself. Addiction Family Support has a national helpline for relatives, and sessions with me are open to parents, partners and siblings as well as the person drinking or using. We'd look at what you can influence, how to talk without it becoming a row, and how to look after yourself. Drug and Alcohol Service Reading can explain what's available when he's ready.
Will anyone in Reading know I'm getting help if we meet by video?
Only the people you choose to tell. Sessions run over a secure video link, so you can join from a private room at home, from your parked car at lunchtime, or anywhere you won't be overheard. Nobody sees you arrive anywhere. Everything you say is kept private within standard professional limits, and in our first session I'll explain the uncommon situations where a risk to safety could mean passing something on.
Could sessions with you fill the wait for a Change Grow Live appointment in Reading?
Yes, and there's no long list to join. After a free 15-minute conversation, I'll offer the times I genuinely have open and you choose one. Sessions can carry you through the wait for an assessment or a treatment place, and they continue alongside it. If your physical health worries you, your GP can see you while we keep working together.
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 quiet first call, for you or your family
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.