In Devon, there is free, confidential help available to help you stop or drink less alcohol — from quick advice through to treatment and recovery support.
Advice and support
Do you want to check your drinking? You can do so online, get personalised, confidential feedback and find out what support might help you from the following:
DrinkCoach alcohol test
Check your drinking and get feedback and support. Take the alcohol test online,
DrinkCoach website and app
A self guided digital offer. Track your drinking habits, set goals and reminders, and get support. It is private, flexible, and helps you explore changes at your own pace. View the DrinkCoach website.
Online coaching (extended brief interventions)
Sign up to speak to an alcohol coach for online or telephone coaching. Flexible times to suit you. Choose your coach and start your journey towards your goals. Book your free DrinkCoach session.
Don’t live in Devon? For alcohol support where you live, use the NHS look up service.
You might need specialist support if you scored highly on an alcohol test and/or if you find it difficult to fully control your drinking in some way, for example, if:
- you often feel the need to have a drink
- you find it hard to stop once you’ve started
- other people have said they are concerned about your drinking
- you think your drinking is causing you problems in other ways
Get medical advice before you stop drinking alcohol if you have physical withdrawal symptoms (like shaking, sweating or feeling anxious until you have your first drink of the day).
It can be dangerous to stop drinking too quickly without specialist support.
You can also speak to your GP if you are worried about your drinking and think you might need more support from the local community alcohol team.
In Devon, if you are aged 18 and over you can also seek support from Together (Waythrough) – providers of the local community alcohol treatment services.
Local and national information, advice, and support in the community
There are other organisations that provide information and support to make changes to your drinking, often with support either online or in locations across Devon.
Support groups online and/or face to face
- SMART Recovery: Self-help dependency recovery programmes for alcohol use disorder, drug dependency, gambling and more.
- Local support online and face-to-face from Alcoholics Anonymous.
- Al Anon offers online and face-to-face group support for those affected by someone else’s drinking.
Digital self-help
- Alcohol Change UK – is a leading UK alcohol charity, and have a wide range of free to use information, facts, tips and resources you can use online, such as the check your drinking tool, or via the Try Dry app.
- NHS Better Health – drink less alcohol – information to reduce your drinking and take control of your health with simple tips and tools, all free to use, including the NHS Drink Less app – tips and support to have alcohol free days each week.
- Breaking Free Online – recovery program for alcohol and drugs.
- SilverCloud – free to join and helps you to improve and maintain your wellbeing by changing the way you think and feel about things.
- The Joy app – connects people with local services.