Daily or binge drinking
Support whatever your pattern looks like.
Online Counselling for Drinking Problems · Hastings
Online Counselling for Drinking Problems in Hastings
Online counselling for drinking problems for Hastings, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Hastings, from the Old Town and the Stade to the streets around the fishing beach, with the same BACP-registered, confidential support as an in-person session, and no journey.
BACP registered member25+ years of experienceLived experience
ConfidentialA safe, private space
Person-centredThe therapy fits you
In and around Hastings
Counselling for Drinking Problems for Hastings, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Hastings: from the Old Town and the Stade to St Leonards, Ore and Silverhill
- Known for
- The Old Town, the fishing beach and the cliffs
- Region
- London & South East (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- Local council drug & alcohol service (see below)
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Hastings
Why people in Hastings reach out
Hastings is a town of real character and real contrasts, a creative, independent place that also carries some of the sharpest deprivation on the south coast. Seasonal and insecure work, the distance from larger centres, and the long winters once the visitors have gone can all weigh on people, and good local support is not always easy to find.
Hastings is a town of vivid character, from the net huts and fishing boats on the Stade to the tangled lanes of the Old Town and the faded grandeur of St Leonards. A strong creative and independent community has made its home here, drawn by the light, the cheaper rents and the sea, and galleries and studios sit alongside the working fishing beach. Yet that colour exists next to some of the sharpest hardship on the south coast, with seasonal and insecure work common across Ore and Silverhill and the long winters weighing heavily once the visitors have gone. Being a distance from larger towns, and finding good support stretched, only adds to the load, and a dependable, confidential space can be genuinely hard to come by.
A seaside town can feel cut off once the season ends and the front goes quiet, so online support that does not depend on who happens to practise nearby matters here.
Hastings is a coastal town with a long fishing heritage and is served by the Conquest Hospital; parts of the town are among the more deprived areas in the South East.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Hastings
Old TownSt LeonardsOreSilverhillHollingtonBohemiaWest HillClive ValeCentral St Leonards
Wherever you are in Hastings, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Hastings
These figures are local context from official sources, not a description of you, but they show the scale of what people in and around Hastings are living with, and why local support matters.
the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-specific conditions was 507.1 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 10.8 per 100,000 in 2024, below the England average of 13.8 per 100,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Alcohol-specific mortality (2024).
Local data last reviewed June 2026. Each figure shows the year and links to the official source it was read on.
The counselling for drinking problems itself
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 is the same wherever you live, so rather than repeat it on every page you can read it in full, the methods, what each session covers and fees, on the main counselling for drinking problems page and on how I work.
How online sessions work
Sessions run over a secure, encrypted video link held to the same strict BACP confidentiality as meeting in person. After a free fifteen-minute call to check we are a good fit, you join each session from any private space using a phone, tablet or laptop, no software to install, no waiting room and no journey at either end.
Hastings sits at the end of its rail lines, and travelling to appointments elsewhere can eat up much of a day. Online counselling changes that: you join securely from home, with no long journey along the coast or up the line. The practice room is in Hove, further west along the same shore if you would ever prefer to meet in person, but for Hastings the sessions are held online, close and dependable wherever you are in the town.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
How online counselling for drinking problems in Hastings can help
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 Hastings
Why people in Hastings come for counselling for drinking problems
Where work is seasonal and the winters are long, a drink can become the thing that takes the edge off money worries and empty stretches, and in Hastings that can grow quietly through the quiet months. If your drinking has started to worry you, or you are reaching for it to cope, an impartial, judgement-free conversation helps. Sessions are held securely online with a male counsellor whose practice is in Hove, further along the coast, so you can be honest from home, with no travel cost or journey and no one locally needing to know. We go entirely at your pace.
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 Hastings
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Hastings, free local drug and alcohol support is available through East 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.
Hastings questions
Online Counselling for Drinking Problems in Hastings: common questions
Can I get online counselling for drinking problems if I live in Hastings?
Yes. I work with people right across Hastings, from the Old Town and the Stade outwards, and anywhere else in London & South East, by secure video, no need to travel to Hove, and just as confidential as meeting in the room.
Do I have to stop drinking completely to start?
No, and you do not need to have hit rock bottom. We look at the role drinking plays and find a steadier way forward at your pace.
Can you help me cut down rather than quit?
For many people moderation is a valid goal, and we will be honest together about what is realistic for you.
What if I've tried before and relapsed?
Relapse is part of many people's recovery, not a failure. We learn from it rather than start the count again from zero.
Money is tight and I drink partly because of the stress. Can counselling help with both?
Yes. Drinking and money strain often feed each other, especially through the lean months here. Online sessions spare you any travel cost, and we can talk openly about both the drinking and the pressures behind it, working towards changes that are realistic for your situation.
How quickly can I get online help for a drinking problem in Hastings?
Often within a week. The free 15-minute consultation lets us talk through your drinking first, then we set a regular time. Working online means no long trip up the line and no waiting list, so you can start quietly from home wherever you are in Hastings or St Leonards.
Can I get drinking problem counselling on the NHS in Hastings?
Yes. Your GP can refer you and East Sussex's council-funded alcohol service accepts self-referrals for free, with Drinkline offering confidential phone advice. Going private, sessions here are £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for 120, after a free 15-minute consultation.
Can drinking counselling help through the long winters once visitors have gone?
It can. When the visitors leave and the winters weigh heavily, a regular online session keeps a steady thread going, reaching you at home with no journey along the coast. Evenings are workable. Being on the same shore, Hove is reachable for an in-person meeting if you would ever prefer.
Work here is seasonal and money is tight in winter. Is online counselling easier to keep up?
It can be, yes. Without travel costs or time lost to a journey, sessions are simpler to fit around insecure or seasonal work. We can also talk openly about money worries and the strain of the quiet months, which are a real part of life for many in Hastings.
Online Counselling for Drinking Problems in Hastings, 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 online across London & South East: Eastbourne. See all of London & South East.
All counselling & therapy in Hastings: Addiction · Substance Use · Anxiety · Depression · Relationship · Trauma · Counselling & Therapy · Psychotherapy.
Closer to the Sussex coast? The same counselling for drinking problems is available in person in Brighton & Hove, or see all in-person areas.