Drugs and substances
Confidential support for any kind of substance use.
Substance Use Counselling · Ditchling
Substance Use Counselling in Ditchling
Substance Use Counselling for Ditchling and the surrounding area, in person or online. Ditchling is a beautiful Downs village beneath Ditchling Beacon, long associated with artists and craftspeople. From my room in nearby Hove I offer a calm, confidential space to do this work.
BACP registered member25+ years of experienceLived experience
ConfidentialA safe, private space
Person-centredThe therapy fits you
In and around Ditchling
Substance Use Counselling for Ditchling, at a glance
- Known for
- Ditchling Beacon, the village pond and the Ditchling Museum of Art and Craft
- Area
- Lewes & Mid Sussex, East/West Sussex
- Getting to the Hove room
- From Ditchling it is around twenty minutes over or around the Downs into Brighton and on to the Hove office.
- 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 Ditchling
Why people in Ditchling get in touch
It is easy to assume that drug use belongs to cities and stops at the edge of a village like this. It does not. Behind the flint walls and along Common Lane there are people who smoke every evening to get to sleep, who take something to keep going through a deadline, who have used at the weekend for years and never once discussed it. Rural life hides it well. There are no clusters of people to be seen with, no obvious signs, and nowhere nearby that anyone associates with drugs. That privacy cuts both ways: it protects you completely, and it means nobody has ever asked you a straight question about it, including yourself.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Ditchling
The village crossroadsSouth StreetWest StreetEast End LaneLewes RoadBeacon RoadCommon Lane
Wherever you are in Ditchling, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Ditchling
Official figures for Ditchling, for context rather than as a description of you.
3 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).
the rate of deaths from drug misuse was 3.9 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).
Reviewed June 2026.
What actually happens in substance use counselling?
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.
Rather than say the same thing on every page, the substance lives on substance use counselling in detail, with how I work, sessions and fees for the practical questions and qualifications, registration and ethics for registration and ethics.
Where do we meet, and what happens?
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.
The Hove room is roughly twenty minutes by car from Ditchling, and there is no expectation that you arrive having stopped or cut back beforehand. Come as you are on the day. Where driving in feels like a stretch, or where you would rather not account for the time, secure video works equally well and a good number of people alternate between the two over a course of sessions.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What sort of things do people bring?
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 Ditchling
Why people in Ditchling come for substance use counselling
Substance-focused counselling here is deliberately non-judgemental about where you are with it now. Cannabis most nights, cocaine at weekends, ketamine, prescription tablets that outlived the prescription, or something that started as a way to work longer: all of it is discussable without a lecture attached. The first thing we look at is the function. Something is being managed, and until you can see what, giving it up looks like removing your only reliable tool. Isolation matters in a village too, because using alone removes any external check on how much and how often. Across the county roughly 3 adults per 1,000 were receiving specialist drug-misuse treatment in 2020/21, under the England average of 4.5. West Sussex County Council's drug and alcohol support, delivered through DAWN, is where prescribing and structured treatment sit.
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 Ditchling
My counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Ditchling, 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.
Ditchling questions
Substance Use Counselling in Ditchling: common questions
Where do Ditchling sessions take place, and can I meet online instead?
In a private room at Intergen House on Western Road in central Hove. From Ditchling it is around twenty minutes over or around the Downs into Brighton and on to the Hove office. Every service is also available by secure video across the UK, so you can meet from any private space in Ditchling or blend the two.
I use most days. Is it too early or too late to talk to someone?
Neither. There is no stage of use that is too early to be worth an hour, and no point at which it becomes not worth starting. Daily use simply means we pay attention to what the day is like without it, and go from there.
Would anything be reported to a local service or my employer?
No. Nothing goes to an employer, a school or a local agency. Counselling is confidential, with narrow exceptions concerning serious risk to life that are explained at the outset. Records are brief, kept securely, and not shared with your GP unless you ask.
I do not want to sit in a group and introduce myself. Is this different?
Completely. This is one-to-one work with the same person each time, with no group, no round of introductions and no labels to adopt. If you later decide a group would help, that is your call and there is no pressure either way.
What is available free if I want more than counselling?
DAWN, reached through West Sussex County Council's drug and alcohol support, provides free structured treatment including medical input, which private counselling does not. The two run together without difficulty, and using one has no effect on your place with the other.
How much does a session cost?
The first 15 minutes, before you have travelled anywhere, are not charged for. Beyond that, an hour is £80, ninety minutes is £100 and two hours is £120. Most people start with the hour weekly and adjust the frequency once they can see how the work is going.
Will this stay private in a village as small as Ditchling?
Completely. Sessions are held in central Hove away from the village, and online is available too. Nothing is shared with anyone without your consent, under the BACP framework.
Does Ditchling have a station for substance use counselling in Hove?
Not in the village itself; the nearest are Hassocks and Burgess Hill, both a short drive away, with direct trains to Hove. By car the whole trip is around twenty minutes over the Downs. Start with a free fifteen-minute call on 07914 681995 or online.
Free or paid for substance use support in Ditchling?
Both. In West Sussex you can self-refer to Change Grow Live for free substance help with no GP needed. Privately, fees are £80 for sixty minutes, £100 for ninety and £120 for two hours after a free call, and the two can run side by side.
Do you offer evening or online substance use sessions for Ditchling?
Yes. The drive over the Downs to the Hove room is workable, with evening appointments to fit around life, but secure video is equally private when travelling in is inconvenient. You can move between in-person and online as suits your week.
Substance Use Counselling in Ditchling, 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: Hassocks, Lewes, Burgess Hill. See all areas I cover.
People who come for substance use counselling in Ditchling often also look at addiction counselling, counselling for drinking problems and anxiety counselling.
Some further reading, if that helps before getting in touch: three ways to handle a craving and calming a craving as it rises.
Prefer to meet remotely? The same substance use counselling is available online by secure video across the UK, or see online counselling by region.