Daily or binge drinking
Support whatever your pattern looks like.
Online Counselling for Drinking Problems · Norwich
Online Counselling for Drinking Problems in Norwich
Online counselling for drinking problems for Norwich, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Norwich, from the cathedral and the centre to the streets around the castle, 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 Norwich
Counselling for Drinking Problems for Norwich, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Norwich: from the cathedral and the centre to the Golden Triangle, Mile Cross and Thorpe Hamlet
- Known for
- The cathedral, the castle and the medieval lanes
- Region
- East of England (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- Norfolk County Council's drug and alcohol use support
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Norwich
What brings people in Norwich to counselling?
Norwich drinks socially and it drinks alone, and the second version is the one that brings people to counselling. Hospital admissions for alcohol-specific conditions here were 477.6 per 100,000 in 2023/24, below the England average of 611.7 per 100,000, but almost nothing about a private drinking problem reaches a hospital. It shows up in a house in Eaton where the second bottle stopped being remarkable, in the shame of a Sunday spent recovering, and in the slow narrowing of a life around the same evening ritual. Very often the person concerned still has a job, a family and a good reputation.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Norwich
the Golden TriangleMile CrossThorpe HamletEatonHeighamLakenhamCattonSprowstonThorpe St AndrewCostessey
Wherever you are in Norwich, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Norwich
Official figures for Norwich, for context rather than as a description of you.
the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-specific conditions was 477.6 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 13.1 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 is counselling for drinking problems, in practice?
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 main counselling for drinking problems page, alongside how I work, sessions and fees and how to check my registration.
What happens in an online session?
Sessions run over a secure, encrypted video link, held to the same BACP confidentiality as meeting in person. After a free fifteen-minute call, you join from any private space on a phone, tablet or laptop.
The sessions are online from Hove, so there is nothing to attend in Norwich and no drive back afterwards. Where alcohol is involved, being at home rather than travelling makes a real difference. An early evening appointment, taken before the first glass, catches you while you are still able to think about it honestly. The usual rhythm is weekly at first, then spread out as the pattern begins to give.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What sort of things do people bring?
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 Norwich
Why people in Norwich come for counselling for drinking problems
There is no requirement to give up permanently and no requirement to have reached some obvious low point. The people who write are usually working, often busy, and privately unsettled by how much room the drinking has taken. What the work examines is the job the alcohol does. Loneliness in a city where old friendships have thinned, the flatness of winter in a county with long dark evenings, a marriage running on silence, a workload that never lets up. Where the drinking is heavy and daily, medical advice comes first, and stopping abruptly without support can be dangerous. Your GP, or the free county service run by Change Grow Live through Norfolk County Council's drug and alcohol use support, can assess that safely. Counselling then works on the reasons, and continues in parallel with whatever medical support is in place.
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 Norwich
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Norwich, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Norfolk County Council's drug and alcohol use 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.
Norwich questions
Online Counselling for Drinking Problems in Norwich: common questions
Do I have to want to stop completely?
No. Drinking less, taking a defined break, or first understanding why the amount grew are all reasonable goals. Some people arrive at abstinence later and find it far easier than they expected once they know what the alcohol was actually for.
Nothing dramatic has happened to me, so is there any point in getting in touch?
It is the best reason to start now. Almost everyone who contacts me is coping outwardly and worrying inwardly. A pattern that could be unpicked over a few months has a habit of becoming much more entrenched while somebody waits for it to get bad enough.
How much does it cost and how long does it usually take?
Sixty minutes is £80, ninety minutes is £100, two hours is £120, and the first 15-minute call costs nothing. Some people work through it in eight to twelve sessions, others take longer or return later. You pay as you go, so the length stays yours.
What free help is there in Norwich?
Norfolk County Council's drug and alcohol use support leads to the free service run by Change Grow Live, covering assessment, medication and groups. Norfolk and Waveney Mind offers wider mental health support. Where the drinking is heavy and daily, a medical assessment through one of those routes should come before you change anything.
I drink to cope with how quiet it gets here in winter. Is that worth working on?
It is, and it comes up a great deal in this part of the country. Dark afternoons, fewer reasons to go out and a city that feels far from anywhere all push the first drink earlier. The seasonal shape of the habit is a genuinely useful starting point.
Is my drinking really enough of a problem to seek help?
If it is on your mind, that is reason enough; you do not need to reach a crisis first. Working online from Hove, you can weigh it up honestly from home, without a drive across Norfolk and without anyone needing to know.
How soon could I begin online drinking problem counselling in Norwich?
Often within a week. Working from Hove by video and phone, I reach people across Norwich and rural Norfolk with no local waiting list, so distance is no barrier. We begin with a free 15-minute consultation and then find a first session time that suits you.
What does private drinking counselling cost against NHS alcohol help in Norwich?
Sessions are £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for 120, after a free 15-minute consultation. NHS alcohol services in Norwich are free but may carry a wait, while private online sessions with me can start quickly and stay confidential, with no drive into the city.
Can drinking problem counselling be done online in the evening for Norwich?
Yes. I work online only from Hove, so there is no waiting room and no one to recognise you, which matters in a close city. Evening slots are available, and whether you are in the Golden Triangle or out towards the Broads, you talk from a private space at home.
Online Counselling for Drinking Problems in Norwich, 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 East of England: Cambridge, Ipswich, King's Lynn. See all of East of England.
Close to this in Norwich, there is addiction counselling, substance use counselling and depression counselling.
Some further reading, if that helps before getting in touch: questioning “once an addict” and riding out an urge.
Closer to the Sussex coast? The same counselling for drinking problems is available in person, in Hove, where the room is, or see every area I cover.