Slough · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Addiction counselling and rehab advice for Slough
Typing rehab into a search bar in Slough, about your own habit or a relative's, usually means things have gone further than anyone wanted. Assessment, detox and residential places are arranged by START, the free Slough service run by Turning Point. Alongside that I offer weekly one-to-one addiction counselling on secure video, before, during or after treatment. Hove is 85 minutes' drive, so we meet online.
The practical facts for Slough
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Slough by car
- About 85 minutes with clear roads (69.9 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free local drug & alcohol service
- Slough Treatment, Advice and Recovery Team (START), 01753 692548
- 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.
Where a Slough rehab search actually leads
In Slough, the door to drug and alcohol treatment is the Slough Treatment, Advice and Recovery Team, known as START and provided by Turning Point.
You can ring them on 01753 692548 from Britwell, Langley or Colnbrook alike. Following an assessment, they agree with you whether help at home in Slough, a supervised detox or a stay in a residential unit makes most sense. For some people whose drinking is creeping up rather than out of control, Healthier Slough runs a free Drink Less service for adults, and START is the right place once things are more serious. Counselling is a different strand. It is a private, regular hour to look at why drink, drugs or gambling came to matter so much, and what you want instead. It doesn't have to wait for a treatment decision, and it can keep going whatever START and you agree. As background, in 2023/24 Slough recorded 458.9 per 100,000 hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions (narrow definition), which sits below England's 504.1 per 100,000; a borough-wide number can't describe your household.
An hour each week for the person using, or the family around them
Sessions are outpatient and one to one, and you are welcome to begin before you have stopped or promised anyone anything. Together we notice when the urge bites hardest, perhaps after a night shift near Heathrow or a long week on the trading estate, what each drink, line or bet seems to give you, and the price it has quietly charged. Often there's an older hurt underneath, and that gets attention too. Should START set up time away in treatment, coming home to Slough afterwards can feel raw, and a fixed weekly hour gives those first weeks a steady point. Relatives can come for their own sake as well. A mother in Cippenham worried about her son, or a husband in Upton covering for his wife's drinking, can book sessions purely for themselves. In close families, shame and fear of what relatives or the wider community will think can keep everyone quiet for years, and we can talk about that openly. My own recovery and over 25 years of practice mean you'll be heard without judgement.
Reasons you may be reading this in Slough
Not sure who to ring first
START, Turning Point's free Slough service on 01753 692548, assesses you and then organises whichever level of treatment you agree on together.
Drinking that has started to creep
Healthier Slough, run by Solutions4Health, offers a free Drink Less service for adults. Counselling with me can look at what the drinking is doing for you.
A relative's habit you're carrying
Turning Point START support for family and friends, and the national Addiction Family Support helpline, are there for you. Separate sessions with me can be wholly yours.
Worried what people will say
In close Slough families and communities, fear of being talked about can keep everyone silent. A video hour from home lets you speak without anyone seeing you arrive.
Public health figures for the area
These are local authority figures from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. "Similar to England" means the difference is not statistically significant. The figures describe a whole population over a period, not any one person.
Free drug and alcohol support for Slough
Free treatment for drug and alcohol problems in Slough is arranged through START, the Slough Treatment, Advice and Recovery Team run by Turning Point, on 01753 692548. Turning Point START support for family and friends and Addiction Family Support help relatives. Healthier Slough's Drink Less service suits earlier worries, Slough Carers Support helps anyone caring for a loved one, and Slough Outreach in Cippenham supports people facing homelessness or hardship.
- Free drug and alcohol serviceSlough Treatment, Advice and Recovery Team (START)01753 692548Run by Turning Point. Free and confidential.
- Local organisationSlough CVS Community ConnectorsPhone-based signposting 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 Berkshire Healthcare Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team, East, adults 18+ is on 0800 129 9999. Local drop-in crisis support: East Berkshire 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 Slough ask before starting
Who organises rehab for someone living in Slough?
The usual route starts with an assessment at START, the Slough Treatment, Advice and Recovery Team run by Turning Point, on 01753 692548. Their team works out with the person which level of treatment suits, from local support to a residential bed, and makes the arrangements. Counselling with me can run before, during or after that, and families can book their own sessions at any point.
My brother's drinking is tearing our family apart in Slough. Who helps us?
Turning Point START support for family and friends is there for relatives, and the Addiction Family Support helpline offers national support. If you're looking after him day to day, Slough Carers Support helps carers too. Sessions with me can belong entirely to you: what you have been living with, the limits you want to set, and how to keep yourself well whatever he decides.
Can I have addiction counselling online from home in Slough?
Yes, and from Slough that is how we would usually work, as the Hove room is around 85 minutes' drive away. You join from a private room, or from a parked car if home is crowded, and nobody needs to know where you are going. A longer session in Hove can be arranged occasionally if being in the room matters to you.
Is it worth booking counselling before START has assessed me?
It can be. Our sessions may start ahead of the assessment and simply continue once a treatment plan exists. Anyone drinking heavily each day should first read the urgent help box here, then talk to START or a GP about making changes safely. We can go through the next steps on a free first call.
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.
Your habit or a relative's: start with a quiet call
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.