Sittingbourne · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Addiction counselling and rehab advice for Sittingbourne
Whether the search for 'rehab Sittingbourne' was about you, your son, your partner or your mum, you need to know who to ring and what comes after. I offer one-to-one addiction counselling and sessions for relatives. My only room is in Hove, about 90 minutes away by road, so secure video makes more sense week to week from Sittingbourne, with Hove visits now and then.
The practical facts for Sittingbourne
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Sittingbourne by car
- About 90 minutes with clear roads (75.2 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.
Mill town, early trains and money stretched thin
Sittingbourne was built on brickmaking, barges at Milton Creek and paper, and the old Sittingbourne Paper Mill, once the world's largest producer of newsprint, made its last reel in 2007.
Commuter links now pull plenty of working days towards London, with two trains an hour to St Pancras and two to Victoria. A long London day can end with cans on the train home or on the sofa, and a weekend habit can stretch into the week before anyone says it aloud. Closer to home, the town centre and Milton Regis area is among the most deprived parts of Kent, and money pressure and debt can make everything harder to face. In 2023/24 the district's rate of alcohol-specific hospital admissions came to 351.4 per 100,000, under England's 611.7 per 100,000. A district number like that tells you nothing about what is happening in your own kitchen in Murston, Kemsley or Iwade.
Getting treatment arranged in Swale, with counselling beside it
The door to detox or residential rehab from Sittingbourne is The Forward Trust, on 0300 123 1186, whose free service covers east Kent. An assessment there decides what is needed, from community support to a supervised medical detox or a bed in residential care. Counselling with me is the outpatient, one-to-one part: a regular hour by video, before treatment, during it or once you are home again. We get specific about the pattern, what happens on the walk back from the station or after a hard shift, what the cans, the pills or the bets have been quietening, and how to get through the evenings that used to go wrong. Whatever happened at the end of those London days or in a Kemsley kitchen, you can tell it unsoftened, since I have come through recovery myself and have spent 25 years doing this work. Partners, parents and adult children can come on their own account, whatever stage the person they love has reached, to talk about fear, money, broken promises and how much they can keep carrying.
Sittingbourne support around drinking, drugs and the family
A first call to The Forward Trust
On 0300 123 1186, The Forward Trust assesses Swale residents for its east Kent service and is the route to detox or residential care when either is needed.
Men talking on Tuesday nights
MenTalk Health meets free every Tuesday at 7:30pm in Holy Trinity Church, Sittingbourne, with no appointment, for men going through a hard time, and it can sit beside one-to-one sessions.
A practical hub at Heather House
Heather House Community Cafe on the Avenue of Remembrance has a food bank, a community fridge and signposting, useful when drinking or using has left a household short.
When home does not feel safe
If a partner's drinking or drug use comes with fear or control, SATEDA runs domestic abuse drop-ins at the SATEDA Hub, Heather House, on Monday mornings and Friday afternoons.
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 Sittingbourne
Counselling with me can run alongside Swale's free help. If you live in Swale, The Forward Trust is the organisation that assesses you and then sets up any detox or residential stay. The Kenward Trust's family support and Al-Anon help relatives, MenTalk Health - Sittingbourne runs a weekly men's group, and the Recovery College courses in Sittingbourne, at Heather House and Milton Creek, are free for adults in Medway and Swale.
- Free drug and alcohol serviceEast Kent community drug and alcohol service (The Forward Trust)0300 123 1186Free and confidential.
- Local organisationImago - Kent Carers Support (West Kent adult carers service)
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.
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 Sittingbourne ask before starting
Is there a rehab in Sittingbourne, or do we have to look further afield?
Residential rehab and detox for Sittingbourne residents are organised by The Forward Trust, on 0300 123 1186, which runs east Kent's free drug and alcohol support. It assesses what is needed and arranges the right placement, wherever that turns out to be. I offer one-to-one counselling by video that can start before a place is found and carry on after someone comes home.
Can I get help for myself in Sittingbourne if my partner keeps drinking?
Yes, and it does not depend on what your partner decides. Relatives in Swale can lean on the Kenward Trust's free family support or Al-Anon, and a video hour with me is yours alone, for limits, money and what you want next. Should home ever start to feel frightening, SATEDA holds drop-ins at Heather House, and the urgent help box on this page has further numbers. When your partner is ready, their route to assessment is the East Kent service.
Would I ever need to make the trip to Hove from Sittingbourne?
Not usually. About 90 minutes on the road, or two trains with a change in London, is a lot to fit round a working week in Swale, so our hour usually happens on secure video from somewhere private at home. Video also means nobody in town sees you arrive anywhere. A longer in-person session in Hove can be arranged occasionally if you would find that helpful.
How quickly can someone in Sittingbourne get started, even before cutting back?
No GP letter or referral is needed: book the free 15-minute consultation, and should it feel right to carry on, a weekly slot comes from the gaps in my diary. Nothing has to change first. If you drink heavily every day, check the warning about stopping suddenly on this page and talk to The Forward Trust's service or your GP before you make any big change.
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.
One call from Swale, whoever is drinking
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.