West Hampstead · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Addiction counselling and rehab advice for West Hampstead
Whether you are looking up 'rehab West Hampstead' for yourself, a flatmate or a parent, the starting point is Camden's own service. CGL Camden Integrated Drug and Alcohol Service carries out assessments and organises detox or residential treatment for borough residents. Alongside that, I provide one-to-one counselling. From NW6 the Hove room is 108 minutes by road, so we would usually meet over secure video.
The practical facts for West Hampstead
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From West Hampstead by car
- About 108 minutes with clear roads (84.0 miles); longer at busy times.
- Free local drug & alcohol service
- CGL Camden Integrated Drug and Alcohol Service (Change Grow Live Camden), 020 7485 2722
- 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.
What Camden's ward profile says about drinking in NW6
West End Lane is the centre of West Hampstead, lined with bars, restaurants and cafes and fed by three stations within a short walk of one another: the Jubilee line, the Overground and Thameslink.
The ward leans towards working-age adults, with under-25s making up 23.34% of residents against 30.85% across Camden, so much of the local social life is grown-up social life, often built around a drink after work. Camden's public health profile records a statistically significantly higher prevalence of alcohol abuse or dependence in West Hampstead ward than in the rest of the borough, and the same is recorded for the neighbouring Fortune Green ward. Those are area figures drawn from health records, not a judgement on you or on anyone you live with. Streets here range from comfortable to hard-pressed, and in parts of the ward income deprivation among older residents reaches the most deprived band, so the person whose drinking worries you could as easily be a retired neighbour as a commuter.
Camden's integrated service, Some Space and weekly counselling
Treatment for Camden residents is organised through CGL Camden Integrated Drug and Alcohol Service, a Change Grow Live service reached on 020 7485 2722. Its team looks at the drinking or drug use with the person and agrees what is safe and realistic, whether that means support while living at home, a detox with medical oversight or time in a residential unit, and then makes the arrangements. Some Space Camden, also from Change Grow Live, is there for family and friends. My part is the counselling that runs beside the treatment. Before anyone calls the service, sessions can be a place to look honestly at the drinking without being told what to do. During treatment, they keep a regular hour that is about the person rather than the programme. Afterwards they help with the long middle stretch, when the evenings on West End Lane, the work stress and the quiet of a flat on your own are all still there. We look closely at what the drink or drug has been giving you, and at other ways to meet that need. I bring my own experience of recovery to this work, so relapse can be talked about without alarm.
Moments in NW6 that can prompt a call
After-work drinks that keep going
With West End Lane's bars a short walk from three stations, drinking can slide from social to daily, and counselling looks at that slide without lecturing you.
An older parent drinking alone
If a parent in NW6 is drinking alone, KOVE's walks, talks and monthly forum at Sidings Community Centre can ease isolation while you talk things over with me.
Supporting a partner or sibling
Some Space Camden, Change Grow Live's family and friends service, supports relatives in their own right, and you are equally free to book weekly counselling with me about your own side of it.
Holding steady after treatment
Once CGL Camden's treatment ends, weekly video sessions can continue, keeping a regular hour for the harder months when old routines come back.
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 West Hampstead
For Camden residents, assessment, detox and residential care are all set in motion by CGL Camden Integrated Drug and Alcohol Service, at no cost. Some Space Camden supports family and friends, Camden Carers helps people looking after someone, and Mind in Camden works across the borough. Women can also find advice and support at the West Hampstead Women's Centre on Cotleigh Road. Our sessions can carry on in parallel with any of them.
- Free drug and alcohol serviceCGL Camden Integrated Drug and Alcohol Service (Change Grow Live Camden)020 7485 2722Free 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 Camden and Islington Crisis Single Point of Access is on 0800 917 3333. Local drop-in crisis support: Camden Crisis Sanctuary (Hestia) (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 West Hampstead ask before starting
How does a West Hampstead resident get into rehab?
Ring CGL Camden Integrated Drug and Alcohol Service, provided by Change Grow Live, on 020 7485 2722. After an assessment, its team decides with the person whether outpatient support, a medically overseen detox or a residential place suits them, then arranges it free for Camden residents. Our counselling can begin ahead of that first appointment, or pick up where treatment leaves off.
My flatmate's drinking is getting worse. Is there anyone in Camden for me?
Yes. Some Space Camden is Change Grow Live's service for family and friends, and it supports you in your own right. Counselling with me can be booked just for yourself too, to think about what you can and cannot carry for someone else. If living with them ever feels unsafe, turn to the safety contacts on this page first.
Could I see you in person, travelling by Thameslink from West Hampstead?
You could. Trains run direct from West Hampstead Thameslink to Brighton, about two an hour off-peak, and you change there for Hove, while the drive is around 108 minutes. For steady weekly addiction work, secure video is usually easier, and an in-person session in Hove can be booked now and then, perhaps at a turning point in treatment.
How quickly can counselling begin if I'm still drinking in NW6?
Straight away: a free 15-minute call needs no promise to stop and no decision made in advance. If we agree to continue, you choose from the weekly slots that are actually open. Arrive at each session sober. For anyone drinking heavily each day, stopping suddenly carries real risk, which the urgent help box on this page sets out, so check first with your GP or the Camden service on 020 7485 2722.
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.
Start with a quiet phone call from NW6
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.