Whitstable · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Addiction counselling and rehab advice for Whitstable
Searching 'rehab Whitstable' often means a parent, partner or adult child is frightened about someone's drinking or drug use, or that you have reached the edge of your own. I offer one-to-one counselling for either. My room is in Hove, about 105 minutes by road, so from Whitstable we would normally meet over secure video, with the odd visit to Hove when you want one.
The practical facts for Whitstable
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Whitstable by car
- About 105 minutes with clear roads (89.5 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.
Commuters, retirees and drinking behind the front door
Weekdays in Whitstable split two ways. Many residents work outside the town and leave on early Southeastern trains, coming back tired to an evening that a drink can easily swallow. Others came to retire by the sea, and for them the risk is quieter: a widowed neighbour in Tankerton, a long winter in Seasalter, a glass at lunchtime that has turned into most of the afternoon. Revival Food and Mood on the High Street runs a Cuppa Club for people who live alone or have been recently bereaved, and long, unwatched days are often where a habit grows. Canterbury district, which takes in Whitstable, recorded 363.2 alcohol-related hospital admissions per 100,000 on the narrow definition in 2023/24, lower than England's 504.1 per 100,000. A lower district rate is still not zero, and what matters is whether drinking or using is harming your own home, whether that is a terrace near the harbour or a house out by Duncan Down.
Rehab, the Tankerton hospital and where counselling sits
A search for rehab near Whitstable can turn up Whitstable and Tankerton Hospital, whose 18 beds provide NHS rehabilitation for people who cannot cope at home but do not need an acute hospital. Help with drinking or drug use runs on a different track in east Kent, where The Forward Trust, on 0300 123 1186, delivers the free community service that assesses people and organises any detox or residential placement. My part is weekly one-to-one counselling, which can begin while you wait, run alongside community treatment or help you settle once a residential stay ends. We look honestly at what the drink, the pills or the betting have been doing for you, at the shame and secrecy, and at the times of day, or of year, when the pull is strongest. I bring over 25 years of practice and lived experience of recovery. Relatives can have sessions entirely for themselves as well: retired parents worried about a grown-up child, or a partner who has been making excuses for months, each deserve an hour about their own fear, anger and limits.
Whitstable help for drinking, drugs and worried families
Assessment for drink and drugs
The Forward Trust provides the free east Kent drug and alcohol service, the way in to an assessment and to detox or residential care when it is needed.
Relatives finding their footing
Parents, partners and adult children can find a place to talk through Al-Anon or the Kenward Trust, with or without the person who is using.
Caring when mental health is involved
Where a relative's drinking comes with mental health problems, the Rethink Canterbury and Coastal Carers' Support Group, whose catchment includes Whitstable, offers carers phone support and monthly meetings.
Company on the High Street
Revival Food and Mood at 58 High Street runs free drop-in groups, including MenTalk and the Cuppa Club, which can ease isolation between weekly counselling sessions.
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 Whitstable
Private counselling here works alongside Whitstable's free support. Anyone in Whitstable needing an assessment, a detox or a residential place is referred on by The Forward Trust, through the free drug and alcohol service it runs for east Kent. Families can lean on the Kenward Trust or Al-Anon, Revival Food and Mood (East Kent Mind) offers drop-in company and peer groups, and Whitstable Umbrella Community Centre can signpost you to other local help.
- Free drug and alcohol serviceEast Kent community drug and alcohol service (The Forward Trust)0300 123 1186Free and confidential.
- Local organisationRethink Canterbury and Coastal Carers' Support Group
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 Whitstable ask before starting
Is Whitstable and Tankerton Hospital a rehab for drinking?
Its 18 beds give NHS rehabilitation to people who cannot cope at home but do not need an acute hospital, which is a different kind of care from addiction treatment. For drink or drugs, ring The Forward Trust on 0300 123 1186; its free east Kent service will assess the drinker and, where needed, organise a detox or a residential stay. Counselling with me can sit alongside whatever it sets up.
My retired dad in Whitstable has been drinking more since Mum died. What can I do?
The decision to get help is his, but support for you can start now. Kenward Trust and Al-Anon Family Groups help relatives, and sessions with me give you room to think about what to say and what to stop covering. Revival's Cuppa Club welcomes people who live alone or are recently bereaved, which may suit him. When he is ready, an assessment with The Forward Trust is his way in.
Would video sessions for drinking work around my commute from Whitstable?
Yes. Because the Hove room is about 105 minutes' drive from Whitstable, video is the usual arrangement, and we can look for a weekly time that fits around the train home. All it takes is a quiet room with a door that shuts and broadband steady enough for video, whether you are in Tankerton or Seasalter. Keeping one fixed hour each week helps in recovery, and an occasional longer session in Hove is possible if meeting in person would help.
How quickly can I start counselling in Whitstable while I wait for treatment?
You can start without waiting for an assessment or a GP letter. We open with a free 15-minute call, then you choose a weekly slot from my actual free times, perhaps one that lands before the early Southeastern train or after the evening one home. Daily heavy drinkers in Whitstable should check the withdrawal note on this page and get advice from a GP or The Forward Trust's east Kent team ahead of any abrupt 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.
A first word from Whitstable, for you or someone close
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.