Drugs and substances
Confidential support for any kind of substance use.
Substance Use Counselling · Hove
Substance Use Counselling in Hove
Substance Use Counselling for Hove and the surrounding area, in person or online. Hove, with its elegant Regency squares, Church Road shops and wide seafront lawns, is home to my practice. 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 Hove
Substance Use Counselling for Hove, at a glance
- Known for
- Palmeira Square, Hove Lawns, Church Road and Brunswick
- Area
- Brighton & Hove, East/West Sussex
- Getting to the Hove room
- The office sits on Western Road in central Hove, a few minutes' walk from Palmeira Square and the seafront, and a short bus ride from Hove Station.
- Local NHS / support route
- NHS drug & alcohol service finder (see below)
- Format
- In person at my private Hove room, or by secure video UK-wide.
Life in Hove
Why do people in Hove reach out?
A good deal of drug use in Hove happens in flats, alone or with one or two other people, and is completely invisible from the street. It might be cannabis every evening in a conversion off George Street, cocaine at weekends among people who all have jobs, ketamine, or medication that has quietly become the thing that gets the day started. Nobody is falling apart in public. What tends to happen instead is a slow narrowing: fewer plans that do not accommodate it, more evenings arranged around being able to. Because the town is comfortable and the routine is intact, it can take years before anyone, including you, treats it as worth a conversation.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Hove
BrunswickPalmeira SquareChurch RoadGeorge StreetPoets CornerCliftonvilleThe Drive and Grand AvenueBlatchington
Wherever you are in Hove, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Hove
Official figures for Hove, for context rather than as a description of you.
7.6 adults per 1,000 were in treatment at specialist drug-misuse services in 2020/21, above 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 11.1 per 100,000 in 2022 - 24, above the England average of 5.8 per 100,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Deaths from drug misuse (2022 - 24).
Reviewed June 2026.
What is substance use counselling, in practice?
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.
Because the work itself is the same wherever you live, the detail sits in one place rather than all of them: everything on substance use counselling sets out the methods, how sessions run and what they cost covers the practicalities, and qualifications, registration and ethics covers accountability.
How do sessions work, in person or online?
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 room is on Western Road, which for most people in Hove means walking or a few stops on the bus rather than any real travel. Nobody has to be clean to be seen, and nothing is checked at the door. Where you would rather not be out, or the day has been rough, the same appointment happens by secure video, and mixing the two week by week is entirely normal.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What can substance use counselling in Hove help with?
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 Hove
Why people in Hove come for substance use counselling
This work is specific to drugs and it is deliberately unshockable. Whatever you use, however often, the session starts from your account of it rather than an assumption about what it means. There is no requirement to stop first and no interest in extracting a promise. The useful line of enquiry is what the substance manages: sleep, pain, social discomfort, memories, or a nervous system that has never learned another way down. Roughly 7.6 adults per 1,000 locally were in specialist drug-misuse treatment in 2020/21, above the England average of 4.5, which means both that this is far from rare here and that help is being used. Prescribing, testing and structured programmes come through the NHS 'find a service' directory. What happens in these sessions is the thinking underneath the use.
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 Hove
My counselling sits alongside the help available locally. You can find your nearest free NHS-funded drug and alcohol service via the NHS “find a service” directory (search “Hove”).
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.
Hove questions
Substance Use Counselling in Hove: common questions
Where do Hove sessions take place, and can I meet online instead?
In a private room at Intergen House on Western Road in central Hove. The office sits on Western Road in central Hove, a few minutes' walk from Palmeira Square and the seafront, and a short bus ride from Hove Station. Every service is also available by secure video across the UK, so you can meet from any private space in Hove or blend the two.
Can I come while I am still using regularly?
Yes, and most people do. Waiting until you have stopped in order to get help reverses the order in which change usually happens. Sessions work perfectly well alongside continued use, as long as you can hold a conversation on the day.
Will you push me towards abstinence?
Not unless it is what you want. The aim belongs to you, and pushing an outcome tends to produce compliance in the room and nothing outside it. Some people move towards stopping, some towards using differently, and some towards understanding first and deciding later.
Is anything recorded on my medical file?
No. Private counselling notes are separate from NHS records, brief, and kept securely. Nothing is shared with your GP without your consent. The narrow exceptions, all concerning serious risk to life, are explained in the first session so that you know where you stand.
What can the NHS route add?
The NHS 'find a service' directory points to local structured drug and alcohol treatment, which covers assessment, prescribing and medical oversight. None of that belongs to counselling, which works on a different part of the problem. Running both is straightforward and often sensible, particularly where physical dependence is part of the picture.
What do sessions cost?
There is no charge for the opening 15-minute conversation. After that an hour is £80, ninety minutes is £100 and two hours is £120. You pay as you go, so there is no financial reason to keep attending once the work has done what you needed.
Can I be seen discreetly, close to home in Hove?
Yes. The room is in central Hove with a private entrance and no shared waiting room, and I keep appointments confidential. Online sessions are available too if you would rather not attend in person.
Where exactly is the room for substance use counselling in Hove, and is there parking?
It is at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, central Hove, close to Brunswick and the seafront lawns. There is metered and permit on-street parking on the surrounding streets, though many walk in. Book a free fifteen-minute consultation online or on 07914 681995.
Is substance use counselling free on the NHS in Hove, or paid?
Both routes exist. Pavilions offers free NHS-commissioned substance support across Brighton and Hove with no GP needed. Privately, my fees are £80 for sixty minutes, £100 for ninety and £120 for two hours, beginning with a free call, and the two can run side by side.
Do you offer evening substance use sessions in Hove, in person or online?
Yes. Because the room is in central Hove, walking in is easy, and evening slots help sessions fit around work. Secure video is equally available if you would rather not come in, and you can blend the two however your week falls.
Substance Use Counselling in Hove, 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: Brighton, Portslade, Hangleton, Preston Park. See all areas I cover.
If substance use counselling is not quite what you are looking for, addiction counselling, counselling for drinking problems and anxiety counselling may fit better in Hove.
There is more on this in my writing: once an addict, always an addict? and three ways to handle a craving.
Prefer to meet remotely? The same substance use counselling is available online by secure video across the UK, or see online counselling by region.