Drugs and substances
Confidential support for any kind of substance use.
Substance Use Counselling · Southwick
Substance Use Counselling in Southwick
Substance Use Counselling for Southwick and the surrounding area, in person or online. Southwick, set around its green between Portslade and Shoreham, looks out over the harbour and canal. 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 Southwick
Substance Use Counselling for Southwick, at a glance
- Known for
- Southwick Green, the canal and Southwick Hill
- Area
- Adur & Worthing, East/West Sussex
- Getting to the Hove room
- Southwick is around ten to fifteen minutes east of the office along the coast road, or two stops by train to Hove.
- 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 Southwick
What brings people in Southwick to counselling?
This is not a town with a visible drug scene, and that shapes what people carry. Around Old Barn Way and The Gardens and up towards Southwick Hill it happens indoors, on a schedule that belongs to one person. Something to get through a shift. Something to come down from one. Cannabis every night because sleep does not turn up otherwise. Cocaine that used to be for occasions and has quietly acquired more days. From outside, everything looks like a full and ordinary life, and much of it is, which is precisely why the part that is going wrong stays unmentioned for so long.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Southwick
Southwick GreenManor Hall RoadKingston LaneOld Barn WayThe GardensFishersgateSouthwick Hill
Wherever you are in Southwick, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Southwick
Official figures for Southwick, 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 does substance use counselling involve?
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 the substance use counselling page, 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.
It is a ten to fifteen minute journey to the Hove room, or two stops on the train, which keeps in-person work realistic even on a tired week. Some people want that hour physically away from the house they use in. Others prefer secure video and a closed door at home. Both are offered at the same times and the same fee, and neither is treated as second best.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What does substance use counselling 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 Southwick
Why people in Southwick come for substance use counselling
There is no requirement to have stopped, and no requirement to promise you will. Being met without disapproval is often the actual difference between getting help and not, so that is the starting position. The conversation looks at what the substance is doing for you, which is a practical question rather than a moral one, and then at the bill: sleep, money, memory, reliability, and the way the people you can be straight with have gradually reduced in number. Instructions about cutting down or stopping are not part of counselling and belong with a GP or specialist service. West Sussex recorded 3.9 deaths from drug misuse per 100,000 in 2022 - 24, against 5.8 for England, and 3 adults per 1,000 were in specialist treatment in 2020/21. West Sussex County Council's drug and alcohol support and DAWN, run by Change Grow Live, are where to find those, and the Sussex Mental Healthline covers the nights.
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 Southwick
My counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Southwick, 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.
Southwick questions
Substance Use Counselling in Southwick: common questions
Where do Southwick sessions take place, and can I meet online instead?
In a private room at Intergen House on Western Road in central Hove. Southwick is around ten to fifteen minutes east of the office along the coast road, or two stops by train to Hove. Every service is also available by secure video across the UK, so you can meet from any private space in Southwick or blend the two.
Is it a problem if I turn up having used that day?
It is not automatically a problem, and honesty about it is more useful than hiding it. What is needed is that you can hold a conversation and remember it. If a session would not be workable, we would reschedule rather than make anything of it.
What is the fee structure?
Simple and flat: £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 minutes, £120 for 120 minutes. Nothing is paid up front for a course of sessions. The first 15-minute consultation is free and there is no pressure attached to what you decide afterwards.
Do you work with DAWN or are you separate?
Separate and independent, though the two sit together perfectly well. DAWN is the West Sussex drug and alcohol wellbeing network provided by Change Grow Live and handles specialist and medical support. Counselling here works on what drives the use. Telling each side about the other usually makes both work better.
Can I have sessions without anyone at home knowing?
In-person is often the easiest way to manage that, since the appointment leaves no trace in the house at all and the trip is short enough to pass without explanation. Video works too where you have a room to yourself and headphones.
I only use at weekends. Is that worth talking about?
It is, particularly if weekends have started expanding or if the days afterwards are costing you more than they used to. Frequency is only one measure. What it is doing for you and how easily you could leave it alone tell you rather more.
Will anyone locally know I am attending?
No. The room is in central Hove, away from Southwick, with no shared waiting area, and everything is confidential. Many clients also choose online sessions for complete privacy from home.
How far is Southwick from the room for substance use counselling?
Only about ten to fifteen minutes east along the coast road by car or bus, or a couple of stops from Southwick Station to Hove on the main line, with a short walk to Western Road. Start with a free fifteen-minute call on 07914 681995 or online.
Free or paid for substance use support in Southwick?
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 together.
Do you offer evening or online substance use sessions for Southwick?
Yes. Southwick is minutes from the Hove room, so coming in is easy, and evening appointments ease the fit around work. Secure video is equally private if you prefer home, and you can move between in-person and online as suits.
Substance Use Counselling in Southwick, 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: Portslade, Shoreham-by-Sea, Hove. See all areas I cover.
People who come for substance use counselling in Southwick 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.