Drinking and drug problems have free specialist services behind them across the UK. You can walk into most of them without a referral from anyone.
This page points you there first, then explains what a talking professional adds once that is in place.
When to get medical help first
Someone who has passed out or cannot be woken after drinking or taking something needs emergency care. So does anyone with a seizure or trouble breathing. Do not leave them alone to sleep it off.
There is a second danger that catches people out. The NHS says it can be very dangerous to stop drinking suddenly if you are dependent on alcohol.
The NHS says to get medical help before you try to stop if you get withdrawal symptoms. A GP or your local alcohol service can arrange a supervised withdrawal.
Sources: NHS: alcohol poisoning, NHS: alcohol misuse treatment
Where treatment starts
The NHS says a good place to start is with a GP. You can also contact your local drug and alcohol service yourself, with no referral.
These services are free and confidential. In England, 310,863 adults were in treatment for drug or alcohol problems in the year to March 2024. You would be one of many.
Honest, confidential information about drugs, with a helpline, a text service and a search for local drug treatment services.
The national alcohol helpline, for your own drinking or for someone you are worried about.
Free local drug, alcohol and mental health services, plus a webchat with a trained adviser.
Sources: NHS: alcohol support, NHS: drug addiction help, OHID: substance misuse stats
People who have been there
Peer groups sit alongside treatment rather than replace it. Some people use both for years. Others use one for a while and stop.
A fellowship of people who meet in person and online to stay sober, with a free national helpline.
A fellowship of people recovering from drug use, with meetings across the UK and a helpline answered by members.
Free meetings, in person and online, built on cognitive behavioural tools rather than a twelve step programme.
What talking support is and what it is not
A professional found here does not treat dependence. NHS Talking Therapies says the same of itself. It does not provide specific interventions to treat drug and alcohol misuse.
What talking support does hold is everything around it. The low mood, the anxiety, the trauma, the shame, the relationship that is buckling under it.
Many people arrive at a specialist service and find those things surface once the substance is not doing the muffling. That is the point where a professional helps most.
Source: NHS England: talking therapies manual
You might find it useful when
- You are already in treatment and the feelings underneath have come up
- You have stopped, and the reason you started is still there
- Something happened years ago that you have never talked about sober
- The drinking is a symptom of anxiety, grief or burnout
- Your relationship needs repair after a long stretch of this
- You want to understand the pattern rather than only stop the behaviour
Tell a professional what specialist support you already have. A good one will work alongside it and will say so.
Thanks for your interest. We're not taking on new clients at the moment.
Ready to talk about what sits underneath it?
We ask what matters to you, then find professionals who fit.
- I am drinking more than I want to and I cannot seem to stop
- I am in treatment and the feelings underneath are surfacing
- I have stopped, and now I do not know how to cope
- Something happened years ago that I have never talked about sober
References
- National Health Service (2026). Alcohol misuse: treatment. Link
- National Health Service (2026). Alcohol support. Link
- National Health Service (2026). Drug addiction: getting help. Link
- National Health Service (2026). Alcohol poisoning. Link
- NHS England (2025). The NHS Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression manual, version 7.1. Link
- Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (2024). Adult substance misuse treatment statistics 2023 to 2024: report. Link
