Daily or binge drinking
Support whatever your pattern looks like.
Counselling for Drinking Problems · Patcham
Counselling for Drinking Problems in Patcham
Counselling for Drinking Problems for Patcham and the surrounding area, in person or online. Patcham is a village-rooted suburb in the north of Brighton, close to the A23 and the edge of the Downs. 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 Patcham
Counselling for Drinking Problems for Patcham, at a glance
- Known for
- All Saints Church, Patcham Place and Ladies Mile
- Area
- Brighton & Hove, East/West Sussex
- Getting to the Hove room
- From Patcham it is roughly fifteen minutes down the A23 and London Road into the city, then west to the Hove office.
- Local NHS / support route
- NHS drug & alcohol service finder (see below)
- Format
- In person at my private Hove room, or by secure video UK-wide.
Life in Patcham
What is going on for people in Patcham?
Drinking here rarely looks dramatic. It looks like a bottle opened when the commute finishes, on an avenue where every other house is doing something similar and nobody counts. It looks like the recycling on a Tuesday and a vague hope the neighbours are not listening to the glass. Around the old village and up towards the nature reserve the pace is gentle, the days are settled, and a habit can sit inside that calm for years without ever causing a scene. The problem announces itself privately instead. In the poor sleep, in the flat mornings, in the internal argument that starts around four in the afternoon and is over before six.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Patcham
Old PatchamLadies MileCarden AvenueOld London RoadVale AvenueMackie AvenueBraypool
Wherever you are in Patcham, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Patcham
Official figures for Patcham, for context rather than as a description of you.
the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-specific conditions was 578.7 per 100,000 in 2023/24, below the England average of 611.7 per 100,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Admission episodes for alcohol-specific conditions (2023/24).
the alcohol-specific death rate was 16.4 per 100,000 in 2024, above the England average of 13.8 per 100,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Alcohol-specific mortality (2024).
Reviewed June 2026.
What does counselling for drinking problems involve?
Counselling for drinking problems here looks beneath the habit at what drives it, you do not need to have hit rock bottom to begin, and signposts medical, detox and peer support where useful.
Because the work itself is the same wherever you live, the detail sits in one place rather than all of them: the full counselling for drinking problems page sets out the methods, the practical side covers the practicalities, and how to check my registration covers accountability.
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 journey is short: fifteen minutes or so down through the city and west, with the Hove room a few steps from Western Road and parking nearby. If your evenings are the difficult stretch, daytime and early appointments exist and the drive is easy outside rush hour. The identical session is available by secure video, which some people prefer for a subject they would rather not carry back and forth on a bus.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What does counselling for drinking problems help with?
The cause, not the habit
Looking beneath the drinking to what drives it.
Anxiety and low mood
Working with what the alcohol has been managing.
Privacy at home
Sensitive support without anyone needing to know.
Signposting
Links to medical, detox and peer support where useful.
Without the anaesthetic
Reconnecting with the person beneath the drinking.
Counselling for Drinking Problems in Patcham
Why people in Patcham come for counselling for drinking problems
Nothing has to have collapsed for this to be worth doing. You do not need a rock bottom, a lost job or a doctor's warning to book, and you do not have to arrive having decided you will never drink again. Most people who come are functioning perfectly well and are simply tired of the negotiation that runs in their head every afternoon. We start with what alcohol is being asked to do. Take the edge off a job, quiet a mind that will not stop, mark the boundary between work and home, hold something older down. Then we look at what it costs to keep asking. This is talking work, not medical: advice on cutting down belongs with your GP. The alcohol-specific death rate in Brighton and Hove was 16.4 per 100,000 in 2024, above the England average of 13.8. The NHS find a service directory shows the alcohol services available locally.
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 Patcham
My counselling sits alongside the help available locally. You can find your nearest free NHS-funded drug and alcohol service via the NHS “find a service” directory (search “Patcham”).
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.
Patcham questions
Counselling for Drinking Problems in Patcham: common questions
Where do Patcham sessions take place, and can I meet online instead?
In a private room at Intergen House on Western Road in central Hove. From Patcham it is roughly fifteen minutes down the A23 and London Road into the city, then west to the Hove office. Every service is also available by secure video across the UK, so you can meet from any private space in Patcham or blend the two.
I am not an alcoholic. Should I still be booking this?
The label is not the entry requirement. If the amount you drink has started occupying more of your thinking than you would like, that is enough of a reason. A great many people come with a habit that has drifted rather than a crisis, and it is easier to work with earlier.
How much am I paying and when?
Each 60-minute session is £80, paid session by session rather than as a block you commit to. Longer options are £100 for 90 minutes and £120 for two hours. The initial 15-minute conversation is free and you are not signing up to anything by having it.
Which NHS service covers alcohol in this part of Brighton?
There is no verified council alcohol page for Brighton and Hove that we would send you to, so the NHS find a service directory is the honest signpost. It will show the specialist alcohol services near you, and using one of those alongside counselling is common rather than contradictory.
Can I be seen in the evening after the drive home?
There are evening slots, and they are often the ones that suit this work best, because the difficult hour is the one you are actually describing. If coming down the A23 after a full day is unappealing, that evening slot can run on video from your own kitchen instead.
My drinking looks no different from my neighbours'. How would I even tell?
That is a fair question and a common one on quiet residential roads where everybody's habits match. The useful test is not comparative. It is whether you think about drinking more than you want to, and whether stopping for a fortnight would feel like a small thing or a large one.
Is a bottle of wine most evenings really a problem?
If it worries you, it is worth exploring, the question is less about the amount than what the drinking has come to do for you. We look at that honestly together, at your pace, with no pressure to label it.
How do I book drinking problem counselling from Patcham?
Book a free fifteen-minute consultation on 07914 681995 or via the contact page. From Patcham the Hove room is about fifteen minutes down the A23 and London Road, then west, with buses on the same corridor and on-street parking close by.
What does drinking counselling cost, and what free help is in Patcham?
Fees are £80 for an hour, £100 for ninety minutes and £120 for two hours, after a free call. For free help, Patcham residents can self-refer to Pavilions for alcohol support and to NHS Talking Therapies Brighton and Hove for related anxiety or low mood.
In person or online for drinking in Patcham, and are evenings possible?
Both. The Hove room offers a discreet hour away from familiar school gates and neighbours, with evening slots to fit around life. If crossing the city feels like too much, secure video is equally private, and you can blend the two as recovery grows.
Counselling for Drinking Problems in Patcham, 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: Preston Park, Hangleton, Brighton. See all areas I cover.
Related work in Patcham: addiction counselling, substance use counselling and depression counselling.
If you would like to read more first, I have written about questioning “once an addict” and riding out an urge.
Prefer to meet remotely? The same counselling for drinking problems is available online by secure video across the UK, or see online counselling by region.