Counselling for Drinking Problems · Worthing

Counselling for Drinking Problems in Worthing

Counselling for Drinking Problems for Worthing and the surrounding area, in person or online. Worthing is a classic seaside town with its pier, Art Deco seafront and a growing creative scene. From my room in nearby Hove I offer a calm, confidential space to do this work.

In person in HoveOnline tooFree 15-min consultation
BACP registered member25+ years of experienceLived experience
Bradley Riddell, BACP-registered counsellor near Worthing at his Hove room, introducing his approach to counselling for drinking problems
ConfidentialA safe, private space
Person-centredThe therapy fits you

In and around Worthing

Counselling for Drinking Problems for Worthing, at a glance

Known for
Worthing Pier, the Dome Cinema and Steyne Gardens
Area
Adur & Worthing, East/West Sussex
Getting to the Hove room
From Worthing the office is around twenty-five to thirty minutes east by car along the A259, or a direct 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 Worthing

What is going on for people in Worthing?

The seafront town does drinking well and openly, from the pier end to the bars off Montague Street, and most of it is simply people enjoying themselves. The version that causes trouble looks nothing like that. It happens at home in Tarring or Broadwater or Goring, on a weekday, with no company and no occasion. It starts a little earlier each season. The bottle stops being a treat and becomes the way the evening is got through, and the only person who registers the change is the one doing it, in the shallow sleep and the slow mornings and the afternoon spent bargaining about tonight.

Worthing Pierthe Dome CinemaSteyne GardensBeach House Park

Areas covered

Neighbourhoods in and around Worthing

Montague StreetSteyne GardensBroadwaterTarringGoring-by-SeaDurringtonEast WorthingWest Worthing

Wherever you are in Worthing, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.

The local picture

The local picture in Worthing

Official figures for Worthing, for context rather than as a description of you.

Reviewed June 2026.

What actually happens 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 the counselling for drinking problems page, alongside how sessions run and what they cost and how to check my registration.

How do sessions work, in person or online?

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.

Reaching the Hove room means twenty-five to thirty minutes on the A259 or a direct train, which is a fair distance to travel weekly, so plenty of people here do the work by video and come in person when it suits. Daytime and late-afternoon appointments help either way, because the subject is easier to get at before the evening has started.

Book a free 15-minute call

What I help with

Which difficulties does counselling for drinking problems address?

Daily or binge drinking

Support whatever your pattern looks like.

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 Worthing

Why people in Worthing come for counselling for drinking problems

You do not need to have hit a rock bottom, and you are not asked to give up alcohol as the price of a first session. Those two ideas do a great deal of damage, because they postpone the conversation until the habit is much older. Nothing about this asks you to reach a particular level of trouble first. The work begins with what the drink is for: closing the day, softening anxiety, making company easier, filling an evening, or keeping something further back where it cannot be looked at. Locally, alcohol-specific deaths in West Sussex ran at 11.4 per 100,000 in 2024, below the England average of 13.8. Any change to heavy or daily drinking needs a GP first. West Sussex County Council's drug and alcohol support and DAWN provide the free specialist route.

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 call

Drug, alcohol & addiction support in Worthing

My counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Worthing, 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.

Worthing questions

Counselling for Drinking Problems in Worthing: common questions

Where do Worthing sessions take place, and can I meet online instead?

In a private room at Intergen House on Western Road in central Hove. From Worthing the office is around twenty-five to thirty minutes east by car along the A259, or a direct train to Hove. Every service is also available by secure video across the UK, so you can meet from any private space in Worthing or blend the two.

Must I describe myself as an alcoholic to book a session?

Not at all. Most people who get in touch would not use that word about themselves and are simply worn out by how much thought their drinking takes up. The label decides nothing about whether the work would be useful to you.

What are the charges for alcohol counselling?

An hour costs £80, with a 90-minute option at £100 and a two-hour one at £120. You pay session by session and can stop whenever you want. The initial 15-minute consultation is free and happens by phone, so no travel is involved.

What free alcohol support exists in West Sussex?

West Sussex County Council's drug and alcohol support covers alcohol, and DAWN is the county wellbeing network run by Change Grow Live. Local hospital admissions for alcohol-specific conditions were 479.9 per 100,000 in 2023/24, under the England average of 611.7. See a GP before changing a daily intake.

Is there a way to do this without my household knowing?

Yes. Nothing is recorded with your GP and nothing is shared without your agreement. The distance to Hove makes an in-person session easy to keep to yourself, and a video session needs only a room where you will not be walked in on.

I drink alone at home most evenings. Is that the worst kind?

It is not a ranking, though solitary drinking is harder to gauge because no one else sets the pace or the finish. It also means nobody is likely to raise it with you, which is often why people carry it a good deal longer than they meant to.

Can I be seen from home in Worthing?

Yes. Secure video sessions work just as well as meeting in person and save the journey east, which many Worthing clients find makes starting far easier, with the Hove room there if you prefer.

How do I book drinking problem counselling from Worthing?

Book a free fifteen-minute consultation on 07914 681995 or via the contact page. From Worthing the Hove room is around twenty minutes by direct train from Worthing or West Worthing, or twenty-five to thirty minutes east by car on the A259.

What does drinking counselling cost, and what free help serves Worthing?

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 Worthing, with evening options?

Both. The Hove room offers a discreet hour east along the coast, with evening slots to fit around a working week. If you would rather stay home, secure video is just as confidential, and many Worthing clients blend the two as things steady.

Counselling for Drinking Problems in Worthing, 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: Lancing, Shoreham-by-Sea. See all areas I cover.

Also available in Worthing: 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.