Daily or binge drinking
Support whatever your pattern looks like.
Counselling for Drinking Problems · Southwick
Counselling for Drinking Problems in Southwick
Counselling for Drinking Problems 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
Counselling for Drinking Problems 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 is going on for people in Southwick?
A drink here fits into the day so naturally that it takes years to become visible. One after a shift, one while the tea cooks, one because it is Friday and then because it is not. Around the Green and the roads off Kingston Lane nobody is counting anybody else's, and the recycling tells a story only to the person putting it out. The shift, when it comes, is quiet. Sleep gets thinner. Mornings get heavier. An internal debate opens in the afternoon about whether tonight will be different, and losing that debate several times a week wears people down more than the alcohol does.
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-specific conditions was 479.9 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 11.4 per 100,000 in 2024, below the England average of 13.8 per 100,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Alcohol-specific mortality (2024).
Reviewed June 2026.
What would we do together in counselling for drinking problems?
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.
The approach does not change with the postcode, so rather than repeat it on every page you can read it in full, the methods and what each session covers, on everything on counselling for drinking problems, alongside session lengths and fees and my credentials and registration.
What happens in a session?
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.
Getting to the Hove room takes ten to fifteen minutes along the coast, or a couple of stops by train, so an in-person session is easy to fit in before the evening starts. Daytime and late-afternoon slots are the ones most people find useful for drinking. The identical appointment is available by secure video if you would rather not travel at all.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What can counselling for drinking problems in Southwick 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 Southwick
Why people in Southwick come for counselling for drinking problems
You do not need to have lost a job, a licence or a relationship to justify booking, and you are not asked to give up alcohol as a condition of being seen. Those two assumptions keep an enormous number of people waiting until things are much worse. What the work actually examines is the job the drink does. Closing a working day, quieting anxiety, filling an evening, easing company, or holding down something you would rather not think about. Once that is clear, the drinking stops being evidence of weakness and becomes a solution that has outlived its usefulness. Changing a heavy or daily intake is medical territory and needs a GP first. The alcohol-specific death rate in West Sussex was 11.4 per 100,000 in 2024, below the England average of 13.8. West Sussex County Council's drug and alcohol support and DAWN provide the free specialist route, and West Sussex Mind covers wider mental health.
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
Counselling for Drinking Problems 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.
How do I know if I drink too much?
There is no line that settles it, and comparison with other people is unreliable. More telling is whether you think about it more than you want to, whether you have tried to cut back quietly, and whether the idea of a month off feels straightforward.
What are the prices for alcohol counselling?
A single hour is £80, ninety minutes £100, and the full two hours £120. Payment is per session and you are free to stop at any point. The 15-minute consultation that comes first is free and deliberately low-key. Ask anything you like in it, including whether this suits you.
Is there free help locally for drinking?
Yes. West Sussex County Council's drug and alcohol support includes alcohol, and DAWN, delivered by Change Grow Live, is the local network. If you drink heavily every day, see a GP before you change anything, because sudden stopping can be medically dangerous.
Can I come after work and be home for the evening?
Easily. The journey is short in both directions, so a late-afternoon session in Hove still gets you back at a normal hour. Several people arrange it that way on purpose, so the hour lands exactly where the first drink usually would.
Nothing bad has happened because of my drinking. Is it too soon?
It is not too soon; it is the easier end to start from. Work done before there is damage to repair tends to move faster, and there is nothing premature about noticing a habit heading somewhere you would rather it did not go.
Do I have to give up drinking completely to start?
No. We begin wherever you are and look honestly at the part alcohol plays; whether the goal is cutting down or stopping is something we work out together, at your own pace.
How do I book drinking problem counselling from Southwick?
Book a free fifteen-minute consultation on 07914 681995 or via the contact page. From Southwick the Hove room is ten to fifteen minutes east along the coast road, or a couple of stops from Southwick Station to Hove, then a short walk to Western Road.
What does drinking counselling cost, and what free help serves Southwick?
Fees are £80 for an hour, £100 for ninety minutes and £120 for two hours, after a free call. In West Sussex you can self-refer to Change Grow Live for free alcohol support, and to Time to Talk, the NHS Talking Therapies service, for related low mood.
In person or online for drinking in Southwick, with evening options?
Both. The Hove room gives a private hour a short way east, with evening slots to fit around life, and it keeps a comfortable distance from a close community. If you would rather stay home, secure video is equally confidential, and you can blend the two.
Counselling for Drinking Problems 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.
Related work in Southwick: addiction counselling, substance use counselling and depression counselling.
You may also find it useful to read 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.