Drugs and substances
Confidential support for any kind of substance use.
Online Substance Use Counselling · Hastings
Online Substance Use Counselling in Hastings
Online substance use counselling 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
Substance Use Counselling 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 deaths from drug misuse was 4.9 per 100,000 in 2022 - 24, below the England average of 5.8 per 100,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Deaths from drug misuse (2022 - 24).
3.6 adults per 1,000 were in treatment at specialist drug-misuse services in 2020/21, below the England average of 4.5 per 1,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Adults in treatment at specialist drug misuse services (2020/21).
Local data last reviewed June 2026. Each figure shows the year and links to the official source it was read on.
The substance use counselling itself
Substance use counselling here is non-judgemental and one-to-one, working with the pain, fear or loneliness the substance has been managing, at a pace that protects your sense of safety.
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 substance use counselling 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 substance use counselling in Hastings can help
The false self
Letting go of the protective self that no longer serves you.
Specialised attention
One-to-one sessions shaped entirely around you.
Self-discovery
Rediscovering the authentic self beneath the coping.
Anxiety and low mood
Treating what the substance has been masking.
Sustainable change
Growing into recovery rather than forcing it.
Substance Use Counselling in Hastings
Why people in Hastings come for substance use counselling
In a town where insecure work and long winters sit close beside a lively creative scene, substances can become a way to get through the lean months or to keep going when the visitors have gone. With good support stretched and larger towns a distance away, it can be hard to find somewhere to turn. Here you can. Sessions are held securely online with a male counsellor based in Hove, along the same coast, with nothing to travel to and no cost of getting there. You lead, we go at your pace, and everything stays confidential.
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 Substance Use Counselling in Hastings: common questions
Can I get online substance use counselling 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.
Can I get support while I'm still using?
Yes. This is non-judgemental, one-to-one work that meets you where you are, and it can run alongside any medical or detox support you have.
How is this different from a group or 12-step programme?
It is individual and shaped entirely around you. Some people use it instead of groups, others alongside them.
Will you tell my GP or employer?
No. What you share is confidential within the BACP framework; nothing goes to anyone else without your consent.
Support round here feels stretched. How quickly can I actually talk to someone?
Because sessions are online, there is no local waiting list or travel to slow things down; we can arrange a time that suits you directly. For many in Hastings, that ease of access is what makes it possible to start when support otherwise feels hard to reach.
Can I get online substance use counselling quickly in Hastings?
Generally yes. A free 15-minute consultation comes first, then a regular time, often within a week. There is no long journey to a clinic and no referral queue, so you can join securely from home wherever you are in the town, close and dependable.
Is substance use counselling free on the NHS in Hastings?
There are free routes: your GP can refer you, East Sussex's drug and alcohol service takes self-referrals, and FRANK offers confidential national advice online or by phone. This counselling is private, at £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for 120, with a free consultation.
With support stretched locally, is a dependable online space realistic here?
Yes. A confidential space can be hard to come by in Hastings, and online it becomes dependable, reaching you at home with no long journey and a regular time held for you. Evenings work well. In-person meetings are possible in Hove, further west along the same coast, if you 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 Substance Use Counselling 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 · Drinking Problems · Anxiety · Depression · Relationship · Trauma · Counselling & Therapy · Psychotherapy.
Closer to the Sussex coast? The same substance use counselling is available in person in Brighton & Hove, or see all in-person areas.