Tunbridge Wells · in person in Hove or online
Addiction counselling and rehab advice for Tunbridge Wells
If drinking, drugs or gambling are worrying you or someone you love in Tunbridge Wells, I offer one-to-one addiction counselling, mostly by secure video. Detox and residential rehab sit with other services, not with me. I'm a counsellor with my own recovery behind me, and our sessions can come before, alongside or after the help the West Kent service provides.
The practical facts for Tunbridge Wells
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Tunbridge Wells by car
- About 58 minutes with clear roads (36.5 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free local drug & alcohol service
- West Kent community drug and alcohol service (Change, Grow, Live), 0330 128 1113
- 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.
Behind front doors from Pembury to Rusthall
A drink or drug problem in Tunbridge Wells may look nothing like the picture people carry in their heads.
It can be a retired father in Pembury whose first glass now comes before lunch, a daughter in her twenties back home in Southborough whose weekends stretch from Friday into Monday, or a commuter who knows which carriage is quietest for a can on the way home. It can be bets placed on a phone while the rest of the house sleeps. Families often notice first and keep quiet, because saying it out loud makes it real. In 2023/24 Tunbridge Wells saw 521.9 hospital admissions per 100,000 for alcohol-specific conditions, a lower rate than England's 611.7 per 100,000. A district rate says nothing about any one household, and a habit doesn't have to reach a hospital to deserve attention.
Where counselling fits beside Change, Grow, Live
If you searched for rehab near Tunbridge Wells, the free route starts with Change, Grow, Live, which runs the community drug and alcohol service for West Kent, on 0330 128 1113. Their team assesses what's needed, and if detox or a residential place makes sense, arranging it is their job. My part is the ground around it. Before you're ready to ring them, we can work out together what you'd want to say on that first call. While you're working with them, our sessions give you a private hour that is only about you. Coming home after a residential stay, back to the same pubs and the same faces, can be the hardest stretch, and weekly sessions give you somewhere steady to bring it. In sessions we look closely at the work the habit does for you, perhaps quietening worry or marking the end of the working day, and at what might take over that role. Questions about your health or medication belong with your GP or with CGL.
Four ways in from Tunbridge Wells
Before you phone CGL
If calling the West Kent service feels like too big a step today, we can talk first about what is happening and what you'd want to ask them.
A grown-up child using
Watching a son or daughter drink or use while they live under your roof is exhausting. The Kenward Trust supports relatives in that position too.
Worried about an ageing parent
When your mum or dad drinks more since retiring or being widowed, sessions give you room to sort out what you can change and what you can't. Al-Anon Family Groups is for relatives too.
Back in town after residential care
Coming back to familiar Tunbridge Wells routines after detox or rehab arranged through Change, Grow, Live is a fragile stretch, and regular sessions give you support through the first months.
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 Tunbridge Wells
Free help can run alongside private sessions. Change, Grow, Live, through its West Kent community drug and alcohol service, is where to ask about detox or rehab. Relatives can turn to Friends, Family and Loved Ones Support from the Kenward Trust, and Al-Anon Family Groups welcomes anyone close to a person whose drinking worries them. If you're looking after someone whose drinking has affected their health, Imago runs Kent Carers Support for West Kent.
- Free drug and alcohol serviceWest Kent community drug and alcohol service (Change, Grow, Live)0330 128 1113Run by Change Grow Live (CGL). Free 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: Kent and Medway Safe Havens (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 Tunbridge Wells ask before starting
Is there a rehab in Tunbridge Wells you can refer me to?
Residential rehab is arranged through the treatment service rather than through counselling. In West Kent the free route to detox or rehab is Change, Grow, Live on 0330 128 1113: they assess what you need and arrange it where it's right. Private rehab is a separate choice. Whichever way you go, I can offer counselling by video before, during the wait, and afterwards.
My daughter is drinking heavily and still lives at home in Tunbridge Wells. Can I get support for myself?
Yes. Sessions can be entirely about you: the fear, the rows, the urge to search her room, and where helping ends and carrying it all begins. She doesn't need to know or agree. The Kenward Trust supports friends and family members, and Al-Anon Family Groups is there for relatives too. If she is ever in danger, call 999 straight away.
Can I see you while I'm already working with CGL in West Kent?
Yes. CGL handles your assessment, any medical side and decisions about detox, while our sessions give you a regular, private hour to talk about everything around it. With your permission I'm glad to keep things joined up with them, and you never have to choose between the two.
Do I have to travel to Hove from Tunbridge Wells for addiction counselling?
No. The room is a 58-minute drive from Tunbridge Wells, and by rail you'd change at Hastings, so video is the everyday option. In the early weeks, when evenings may already be a struggle, that removes one more hurdle. Once life settles, we can meet face to face for a longer session in Hove.
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, for yourself or someone you love
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.