KENT
Drug & Alcohol
Rehab in Kent
Every option in the county, honestly compared — three private residential clinics, the free NHS services (by name, with numbers), and where to find local support groups.
- Free advice
- 100% confidential
- Founded by a CQC-registered clinic
Kent at a glance
Private residential clinics in Kent
Free NHS service
Forward Trust (East Kent & Medway)
Change Grow Live (West Kent)
Typical private cost
£6,000–£15,000 / 28 days
Private residential rehabs in Kent
Kent has three CQC-registered residential rehab clinics.
Full disclosure before you read on: Addiction Health Service was founded by the team behind the first one. We’ve listed all three anyway, because that’s the point of this page.
The Recovery Lodge
- Bapchild, near Sittingbourne
A small residential clinic in a village setting off the A2 — deliberately intimate, with a house rather than a hospital feel, medically supervised detox and a structured therapy programme. Suits people who want one-to-one attention over institutional scale.
PROMIS Hay Farm
- Ham, near Deal & Sandwich
A rural clinic on a 12-acre farm site in east Kent. One of the longest-established names in UK addiction treatment; the countryside setting suits people who want full removal from daily life.
Kenward House
- Yalding, near Maidstone
A charity-run residential service with decades of history and an abstinence-based, community-style programme — often a route for people whose funding comes through the council or charitable support rather than private payment.
Free & NHS options in Kent
You do not have to pay for help in Kent. The county’s free, NHS-commissioned community services are:
- East Kent
Forward Trust
Ashford, Canterbury, Dover & Folkestone, Swale (Sittingbourne), Thanet.
- West Kent
Change Grow Live
Hubs in Gravesend, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells, covering Dartford, Gravesham, Sevenoaks and Tonbridge & Malling.
- Medway
Forward Trust
A separate treatment and recovery service for Chatham and Gillingham.
The honest trade-off
- Free route
Genuinely good community treatment — prescribing, keyworkers, groups. Starts now. A residential bed means assessment, a council funding application and months of waiting.
- Private route
Buys speed and removal from your environment — admission in 24–48 hours. Costs £6,000–£15,000 for 28 days.
If you can work with the community model, start with the free service today — you lose nothing.
AA, NA and support groups in Kent
Mutual aid is free, everywhere in Kent, and works alongside either route.
Alcoholics Anonymous
Regular meetings in Canterbury, Maidstone, Ashford, Folkestone, Thanet, Dover, Tonbridge, Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells and Whitstable.
- Private route
Buys speed and removal from your environment — admission in 24–48 hours. Costs £6,000–£12,000 for 28 days.
- Mon 1pm Canterbury Baptist Church
- Mon 12pm Christ Church URC, Tonbridge
- Wed 7.30pm Friends Meeting House, Sevenoaks
Narcotics Anonymous & SMART
NA meets in Maidstone, Canterbury, Margate, Folkestone, Tunbridge Wells, Gillingham, Gravesend and Dartford.
SMART Recovery runs national online meetings.
How we help — free, whatever you choose
Talk to us
A free, confidential conversation — as long as you need. No obligation, no salesperson.
We map your options
The private clinics, NHS services and free support that actually cover your area — with real costs and real waiting times.
You choose. We handle the rest
If residential rehab is right, we can usually arrange admission within 24 hours. If the free route is right for you, we’ll say so and point you to it.
Six questions to ask any rehab before you pay a deposit
- Are you CQC-registered, and can I read your latest inspection report?
- Is medical detox supervised by a doctor or nurse — and is it included in the price?
- Exactly what does the quoted price include — and what costs extra?
- What does a typical day look like, and how much of it is one-to-one therapy?
- What aftercare do you provide once I leave, and for how long?
- What happens if I leave early?
A good clinic answers all six without flinching. If you’d like help asking them, get in touch — we ask these questions for families every day.
Towns we cover in Kent
Wherever you are in the county, the options on this page apply — and we know the local detail.
- Maidstone
- Canterbury
- Medway
- Dartford
- Gravesend
- Ashford
- Folkestone
- Dover
- Margate & Thanet
- Sittingbourne
- Faversham
- Whitstable
- Herne Bay
- Tonbridge
- Tunbridge Wells
- Sevenoaks
What does rehab cost in Kent?
Private residential rehab typically costs £6,000–£12,000 for 28 days — and the free NHS route costs nothing, if you can work with a waiting list and treatment in the community rather than a residential stay. Most websites won’t put numbers on this page. We think you can’t make a real decision without them.
£6,000–£15,000
for a 28-day programme
Questions people ask us
Three of these six are identical on every page. The other three are written for the county or the topic.
Is there a rehab near Maidstone?
Kenward House at Yalding is the closest residential option to Maidstone; The Recovery Lodge at Sittingbourne is around 25 minutes away. Maidstone’s free community service is Change Grow Live’s West Kent hub at Mill House, Mill Street.
How bad is addiction in Kent?
Worse than most people think: 816 drug-poisoning deaths were registered across Kent and Medway between 2019 and 2024 (ONS), and Kent County Council estimates around 14,000 dependent drinkers in the county. Getting help early matters.
Can I get free rehab in Kent?
Free community treatment, yes — today, via Forward Trust or Change Grow Live above. A free residential place is possible but means an assessment and council funding application, typically months. We can explain the process for your district honestly — call us.
Is your advice really free?
Yes. Speaking to us costs nothing and commits you to nothing. If you choose a private clinic we may receive a referral fee from that clinic — it never changes the price you pay, and it never changes what we recommend. If the NHS route is right for you, we’ll tell you so, free, and help you take it.
Who is behind Addiction Health Service?
AHS was founded by the team behind The Recovery Lodge, a small CQC-registered residential rehab clinic in Kent. We built AHS because families told us they couldn’t tell honest advice from lead-selling. Our answer is to show you every option — including the ones that don’t pay us anything.
How quickly can someone get into rehab?
Private residential admission can usually be arranged within 24–48 hours, sometimes same-day. NHS community treatment starts with an assessment — typically within around three weeks of referral — with residential placements taking longer and requiring a funding application. If the situation is urgent, call us and we’ll talk through the fastest safe route.