Help With Drinking in London
Most people looking for help with drinking are not looking for a label. They are looking for someone to talk to about the fact that the bottle is going faster than it used to, that the promise to have a night off keeps getting moved, and that they would rather sort this out now than find out in five years how bad it can get.
You do not have to call yourself an alcoholic to be here. You do not have to have hit anything anyone would call rock bottom. If drinking has started to take up more room in your head than you want it to, that is reason enough.
When Drinking Has Started to Take Up Too Much Room
- You think about the first drink of the day earlier than you used to
- Nights off keep being postponed to a more convenient week
- You drink faster than the people around you, and top up before going out
- Mornings involve a stocktake of what you said and what you spent
- Anxiety the day after is worse than the problem you were drinking about
- Someone has said something, even lightly, and it stayed with you
- You have started to manage the evidence rather than the drinking
What Help With Drinking Looks Like With Us
This is talking therapy with a qualified addiction therapist, not a group, not a programme you have to fit into, and not a lecture about units. You are matched with one therapist at the start and you stay with them, so you are never explaining your history twice.
The early work is honest measurement, because almost nobody knows their real intake until they write it down, and then understanding what the alcohol is for. Winding down, silencing a critical inner voice, making social situations bearable, getting to sleep. Something is being solved by it, and lasting change comes from solving that thing another way rather than from gritting your teeth.
Whether the goal is stopping completely or drinking a great deal less is your decision, not ours, and it is a decision you are allowed to revisit as the work goes on.
A Word About Safety
If you drink heavily every day, particularly if you shake, sweat or feel sick in the mornings, stopping suddenly on your own can be dangerous. Tell us at the first contact and we will talk you through getting a medical assessment before or alongside therapy. We are a talking therapy practice and we will always say when something needs a doctor.
Frequently Asked Questions About Getting Help With Drinking
Do I have to stop drinking to start?
No. Most people are still drinking when they begin. Coming as you are, and being straight about how much, is far more useful than arriving with the problem already solved.
Do I have to give up completely?
Not necessarily. For some people abstinence is the right answer and we will say so honestly. For many others the work is about cutting back to a level that no longer costs them anything. The goal is agreed with you.
Am I an alcoholic?
That word helps some people and puts others off getting help for years. We are far more interested in what drinking is costing you than in whether a label fits.
Will my GP be told?
Not unless you ask us to. Sessions are confidential.
What if I have tried to stop before and gone back?
Nearly everyone we see has. Relapse is information about what was missing from the plan, not evidence that you cannot do it.
Can my partner or family come?
The main work is one to one, but family sessions can be arranged, and there is separate support available for the people around you.
Start With a Message
You do not need to have made a decision before you get in touch. Send us an enquiry and one of our therapists will read it and reply to you personally. You can also read about alcohol counselling and support, support for families of alcoholics, or how therapy with us works.