Drugs and substances
Confidential support for any kind of substance use.
Online Substance Use Counselling · Margate
Online Substance Use Counselling in Margate
Online substance use counselling for Margate, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Margate, from the Old Town and the seafront to the streets around the sands, 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 Margate
Substance Use Counselling for Margate, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Margate: from the Old Town and the seafront to Cliftonville, Westbrook and nearby Ramsgate
- Known for
- The sands, the Turner Contemporary and Dreamland
- 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 Margate
Why people in Margate reach out
Margate has become a byword for seaside revival, but the new galleries and weekenders sit beside real and persistent deprivation. Insecure, seasonal work, housing pressure and the isolation of life on the Isle of Thanet can leave residents struggling, and the gap between the bright postcard and daily reality can itself be hard to carry.
Margate has become a byword for seaside revival, with the Turner Contemporary on the harbour, the restored rides of Dreamland, and weekenders filling the Old Town and the Main Sands. But the galleries and new arrivals sit beside real and persistent hardship, and out in Cliftonville, Westbrook and across the Isle of Thanet, insecure and seasonal work, housing pressure and isolation are part of everyday life. The gap between the bright postcard and the daily reality can itself be hard to carry, and being out at the tip of Thanet, a distance from larger towns, adds to the sense of being cut off. A confidential space to be honest about how things really are, beneath the bunting, can bring a good deal of quiet relief.
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.
Margate, in the Thanet district, is home to the Turner Contemporary gallery and the restored Dreamland amusement park, and is served by the QEQM Hospital; parts of Thanet are among the more deprived areas in the South East.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Margate
CliftonvilleWestbrookOld TownGarlingePalm BayNorthdownDane ValleyWestgate-on-Sea
Wherever you are in Margate, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Margate
These figures are local context from official sources, not a description of you, but they show the scale of what people in and around Margate are living with, and why local support matters.
the rate of deaths from drug misuse was 4.8 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).
2.6 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.
Out on the Isle of Thanet, Margate can feel a long way from anywhere, and its trains run mainly along the coast or up towards London. Online sessions close that distance completely: you meet securely from home, with nothing to travel to. The practice room is in Hove, along the same southern coast if you would ever prefer an in-person meeting, but for Margate the work is done online, right where you are.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
How online substance use counselling in Margate 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 Margate
Why people in Margate come for substance use counselling
Out on the Isle of Thanet, where seasonal, insecure work and housing pressure sit close beside the revived seafront, substances can become a way to get through hard weeks or to fill the isolation of life at the tip of the peninsula. It can grow quietly, out of sight of the postcard image. It is worth talking through before it takes deeper root. Sessions are held securely online with a male counsellor based in Hove, along the coast, with nothing to travel to. You join from home, set the 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 Margate
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Margate, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Kent 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.
Margate questions
Online Substance Use Counselling in Margate: common questions
Can I get online substance use counselling if I live in Margate?
Yes. I work with people right across Margate, from the Old Town and the seafront 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.
It feels a long way to anywhere from here. How do I actually access support?
Because sessions are online, the distance out on Thanet makes no difference; there is no journey up the line and no local waiting list to sit through. We arrange a time directly, and you join from home, which for many in Margate is what finally makes support reachable.
Can I get online substance use counselling quickly in Margate?
Generally yes. A free 15-minute consultation comes first, then a regular time, often within a week. There is no trip off Thanet to a clinic and no referral queue, so you can join securely from home near the Main Sands, in Cliftonville or Westbrook, right where you are.
Is substance use counselling free on the NHS in Margate?
There are free routes: your GP can refer you, Kent'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.
Being out at the tip of Thanet, is online more realistic in Margate?
Often, yes. When Margate feels cut off at the tip of Thanet, an online session removes the distance entirely, reaching you at home with no travel and a regular time held for you. Evenings work well. In-person is possible in Hove, along the same southern coast, if you would ever prefer.
Margate looks all revived on the surface, but life here is harder than that. Can I talk about that gap?
Absolutely. Many people in Margate feel that distance between the bright, regenerated image and their own day-to-day reality. Online sessions give you a private, unhurried space to talk about exactly that, without any pretence, held from the comfort of home.
Online Substance Use Counselling in Margate, 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: Canterbury, Ashford. See all of London & South East.
All counselling & therapy in Margate: 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.