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Addiction Counselling · Southwick
Addiction Counselling in Southwick
Addiction Counselling for Southwick and the surrounding area, in person or online. Southwick, set around its green between Portslade and Shoreham, looks out over the harbour and canal. From my room in nearby Hove I offer a calm, confidential space to do this work.
BACP registered member25+ years of experienceLived experience
ConfidentialA safe, private space
Person-centredThe therapy fits you
In and around Southwick
Addiction Counselling for Southwick, at a glance
- Known for
- Southwick Green, the canal and Southwick Hill
- Area
- Adur & Worthing, East/West Sussex
- Getting to the Hove room
- Southwick is around ten to fifteen minutes east of the office along the coast road, or two stops by train to Hove.
- Local NHS / support route
- West Sussex County Council's drug and alcohol support
- Format
- In person at my private Hove room, or by secure video UK-wide.
Life in Southwick
What brings people in Southwick to counselling?
Southwick Green gives the town an actual middle, which is rarer than it sounds along this coast. Around it, Manor Hall Road, Kingston Lane and the streets towards Fishersgate are close-knit, and below them the canal and lock mark the working edge of the harbour. Plenty of people here keep hours that are not nine to five. When the day finishes at an odd time, the things that help you come down are whatever is available and awake, which now includes a phone full of betting, games and next-day delivery. None of it announces itself. It simply becomes what the end of your day looks like, and then what the middle of the night looks like too.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Southwick
Southwick GreenManor Hall RoadKingston LaneOld Barn WayThe GardensFishersgateSouthwick Hill
Wherever you are in Southwick, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Southwick
Official figures for Southwick, for context rather than as a description of you.
the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions (narrow definition) was 440.2 per 100,000 in 2023/24, below the England average of 504.1 per 100,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Admission episodes for alcohol-related conditions (narrow) (2023/24).
the rate of deaths from drug misuse was 3.9 per 100,000 in 2022 - 24, below the England average of 5.8 per 100,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Deaths from drug misuse (2022 - 24).
Reviewed June 2026.
What does addiction counselling involve?
Addiction counselling here treats the pain beneath the habit, not just the symptom, alcohol, drugs, gambling, food or behavioural, so recovery is something you grow into rather than force.
Rather than say the same thing on every page, the substance lives on the full addiction counselling page, with how I work, sessions and fees for the practical questions and my BACP registration for registration and ethics.
Where do we meet, and what happens?
Sessions take place in a private, comfortable room at Intergen House on Western Road in central Hove, held to the strict BACP confidentiality you would expect. We begin with a free fifteen-minute call to check we are a good fit, and the same sessions are available by secure video if travelling is difficult or you would simply prefer it.
The Hove office is close: ten to fifteen minutes along the coast road, or two stops on the train, with sessions held there in a private room. That short hop makes a weekly in-person appointment genuinely sustainable rather than aspirational. If a week goes sideways, or the household makes leaving awkward to explain, the same session runs online by secure video instead.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
Which difficulties does addiction counselling address?
Drugs and substances
Compassionate, confidential help with substance use.
Gambling
Breaking the cycle of compulsive gambling, guilt and debt.
Food and behavioural
Support for food and process addictions.
Affected by a loved one
Help for those living alongside someone's addiction.
The pain underneath
We treat the cause, not just the symptom.
Addiction Counselling in Southwick
Why people in Southwick come for addiction counselling
This is the wide-remit service, taking in gambling and the other behavioural habits as seriously as it takes drink and drugs. That matters because a betting or gaming problem can run for a long time without anyone naming it: there is nothing to smell, nothing to find, and the money vanishes into an app rather than across a counter. What we do is take the loop apart. When it runs, what mood it answers, what it promises, what it actually leaves behind by morning. Blame is not part of it, since shame is already doing more than enough work. Drug misuse deaths in West Sussex stood at 3.9 per 100,000 in 2022 - 24, under the England average of 5.8. For free statutory support, West Sussex County Council's drug and alcohol support is the county route, DAWN is the West Sussex drug and alcohol wellbeing network run by Change Grow Live, and the Sussex Mental Healthline is there at any hour.
A free, unhurried first step
Not sure if it is right for you? A free fifteen-minute call is a no-obligation way to talk it through.
Book a free 15-minute callDrug, alcohol & addiction support in Southwick
My counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Southwick, free local drug and alcohol support is available through West Sussex County Council's drug and alcohol support.
For confidential information and advice, FRANK (on 0300 123 6600) and Drinkline on 0300 123 1110 are free, and Alcoholics Anonymous and SMART Recovery run peer-support meetings you can find online.
Other local and national support verified for this area includes:
If you need urgent help now
This is not a crisis service. If anyone is in immediate danger call 999. For urgent mental health support, call NHS 111 and choose the mental health option. The Samaritans are free, day or night, on 116 123, or text SHOUT to 85258.
If you drink heavily or use drugs daily, do not stop suddenly on your own. Withdrawal can cause seizures and can be dangerous. Speak to your GP or a local drug and alcohol service first, and they can arrange a safe, medically supported withdrawal. Counselling works alongside that, not instead of it.
Southwick questions
Addiction Counselling in Southwick: common questions
Where do Southwick sessions take place, and can I meet online instead?
In a private room at Intergen House on Western Road in central Hove. Southwick is around ten to fifteen minutes east of the office along the coast road, or two stops by train to Hove. Every service is also available by secure video across the UK, so you can meet from any private space in Southwick or blend the two.
It is only a few minutes away. Can I book at short notice?
Sometimes, depending on what is free that week, and being close by does make it easier to take a slot that comes up. A regular time still works better for the actual work, because continuity is what makes the difference over a couple of months.
How much are appointments?
An hour is £80, a 90-minute session is £100 and a two-hour one is £120. Most people find the hour is right. Before starting there is a free 15-minute consultation, which exists so you can decide without having paid for the privilege.
Which service should I contact in West Sussex?
West Sussex County Council's drug and alcohol support is the official county route, and DAWN, the wellbeing network delivered by Change Grow Live, is the local free service. West Sussex Mind covers broader mental health. Any of these can run alongside counselling.
Can my partner come with me, or is this just for me?
These sessions are individual, so the hour is yours. What people often do is use it to work out what they want to say at home, and how much. That tends to be more useful than bringing someone into a conversation you have not had yet.
I have been hiding how much I spend online. Is that common?
Very. Concealment is usually the part that exhausts people rather than the habit itself, and it builds slowly: a small omission, then a bigger one, then a version of your week that you maintain for everybody. Undoing that starts with saying it once, plainly.
How close is the room to Southwick?
Around ten to fifteen minutes east along the coast road, or two stops by train to Hove. Online sessions are available too if that is easier for you.
How do I reach your Hove room from Southwick for addiction counselling?
Southwick is close: around ten to fifteen minutes east along the coast road by car or bus into central Hove, or a couple of stops on the main line from Southwick Station, then a short walk to Western Road. Book a free fifteen-minute consultation first on 07914 681995.
What are the fees, and is there free addiction help in Southwick?
Sessions are £80 for sixty minutes, £100 for ninety and £120 for two hours, with a free first call. Southwick is in West Sussex, so for free help you can self-refer to Change Grow Live West Sussex, the drug and alcohol service, without a GP.
Can addiction counselling be online or in the evening from Southwick?
Yes. The Hove room is only minutes east, with evening slots available, but secure video is there if travelling in is inconvenient. In a settled village with a strong local identity, many Southwick clients value talking privately from home.
Addiction Counselling in Southwick, whenever you are ready
A free fifteen-minute call is the simplest place to start, no obligation, just a chance to see if we are the right fit.
Also available nearby: Portslade, Shoreham-by-Sea, Hove. See all areas I cover.
People who come for addiction counselling in Southwick often also look at substance use counselling, counselling for drinking problems and trauma counselling.
There is more on this in my writing: a cognitive-restructuring exercise for compulsive behaviour and the four-stage cycle of addiction.
Prefer to meet remotely? The same addiction counselling is available online by secure video across the UK, or see online counselling by region.