Alcohol
For when drinking has stopped feeling like a choice.
Online Addiction Counselling · Birmingham
Online Addiction Counselling in Birmingham
Online addiction counselling for Birmingham, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Birmingham, from the city centre and the Jewellery Quarter to the streets around the Bullring, with the same BACP-registered, confidential support as an in-person session, and no journey.
BACP registered member25+ years of experienceLived experience
ConfidentialA safe, private space
Person-centredThe therapy fits you
In and around Birmingham
Addiction Counselling for Birmingham, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Birmingham: from the city centre and the Jewellery Quarter to Edgbaston, Moseley, Erdington and Handsworth
- Known for
- The Bullring, the canals and the Library of Birmingham
- Region
- Midlands (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- NHS drug & alcohol service finder (see below)
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Birmingham
Why people in Birmingham get in touch
Birmingham is big enough to disappear into, and that cuts both ways. You can travel in from Erdington or Sutton Coldfield, put in a full day near Colmore Row, and say nothing to anyone about the bet placed at lunchtime or the drink already planned for the train home. Compulsion travels well in a city this size. It sits in a shared house in Selly Oak, in a flat above the noise of Digbeth, in a quiet terrace in Handsworth. The scale of it shows in the figures: admissions for alcohol-related conditions reached 552.2 per 100,000 in 2023/24, against an England average of 504.1 per 100,000. Numbers like that are built out of individual evenings.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Birmingham
Jewellery QuarterEdgbastonMoseleyErdingtonHandsworthDigbethBournvilleKings HeathSelly OakHarborneSutton Coldfield
Wherever you are in Birmingham, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Birmingham
Official figures for Birmingham, for context rather than as a description of you.
the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions (narrow definition) was 552.2 per 100,000 in 2023/24, above the England average of 504.1 per 100,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Admission episodes for alcohol-related conditions (narrow) (2023/24).
the rate of deaths from drug misuse was 10 per 100,000 in 2022 - 24, above the England average of 5.8 per 100,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Deaths from drug misuse (2022 - 24).
Reviewed June 2026.
What actually happens in addiction counselling?
Addiction counselling here treats the pain beneath the habit, not just the symptom, alcohol, drugs, gambling, food or behavioural, so recovery is something you grow into rather than force.
The method travels; only the geography changes. everything on addiction counselling explains it properly, how sessions run and what they cost answers the practical questions, and professional standards and registration shows how the practice is held to account.
What happens in an online session?
Sessions run over a secure, encrypted video link, held to the same BACP confidentiality as meeting in person. After a free fifteen-minute call, you join from any private space on a phone, tablet or laptop.
Everything here runs online by secure video, because Bradley works from Hove and there is nowhere in this city to sit down together. For something you have kept quiet, that turns out to help. No reception desk, no shared corridor, no chance of passing someone you know on the way in. An hour taken from a bedroom in Moseley or a parked car in Harborne works as well as anything else. What you need is a door that closes.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
Which difficulties does addiction counselling address?
Drugs and substances
Compassionate, confidential help with substance use.
Gambling
Breaking the cycle of compulsive gambling, guilt and debt.
Food and behavioural
Support for food and process addictions.
Affected by a loved one
Help for those living alongside someone's addiction.
The pain underneath
We treat the cause, not just the symptom.
Addiction Counselling in Birmingham
Why people in Birmingham come for addiction counselling
Addiction is a wider word than most people assume when they first type it into a search bar. It takes in alcohol and drugs, and just as much it takes in gambling, gaming, spending and pornography, because the shape underneath is identical: a reliable way to change how the next hour feels, and a bill that arrives later. The loop itself is what gets examined. When it began, what feeling it keeps stepping in front of, what it has cost so far, and what would loosen it. The local backdrop is not a gentle one. Deaths from drug misuse ran at 10 per 100,000 across 2022 to 2024, well above the England average of 5.8 per 100,000. None of this displaces statutory care. The NHS 'find a service' directory points you towards drug and alcohol provision, Change Grow Live Birmingham holds the local service, and the addiction services at Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust cover the specialist end.
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 Birmingham
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. You can find your nearest free NHS-funded drug and alcohol service via the NHS “find a service” directory (search “Birmingham”).
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.
Birmingham questions
Online Addiction Counselling in Birmingham: common questions
How soon could I start, and will I be put on a list?
There is no list to join. You book a free 15-minute call, we talk about what has been happening, and if it fits, weekly sessions usually begin within a fortnight. No GP referral is needed and no form travels anywhere. Evening slots do exist, though they are the first to fill.
What do sessions cost across a month?
The standard arrangement is £80 / 60 min. Longer appointments are £100 / 90 min and £120 / 120 min, although most people stay with the hour. Your opening 15-minute consultation is free, so you can test whether the work feels usable before any money changes hands.
Should I be going through the NHS 'find a service' directory instead of this?
Not instead. That directory is how you reach structured treatment, prescribing and supervised withdrawal in this city, and a great many people use it alongside counselling. Change Grow Live Birmingham runs the local drug and alcohol service. Anything medical belongs with them, while the talking side runs in parallel.
Can I do this from a shared house in Selly Oak without my housemates knowing?
Yes, and plenty of people do exactly that. Headphones help more than anything else. Some take the call from a car, some book a slot when the house is at lectures or at work, and some simply sit with the door shut and something playing outside it.
I gamble rather than drink. Does that still count here?
It counts. Gambling tends to be named last, often only once the money has run out, but the pattern behind it matches the one alcohol makes. A phone keeps it constant, so the work looks at triggers, at what the betting is soothing, and at the practical guards you can build around it.
Is online addiction counselling as effective as meeting in person?
Many people find it works well. Talking honestly matters more than the room you are in, and meeting by video from home can make it easier to open up. For Birmingham, sessions are online, so you get steady, confidential support without crossing the city.
How soon can I start addiction counselling in Birmingham?
Fairly quickly. Birmingham is served online, with the consulting room based in Hove, so there is no citywide waiting list to join. We usually begin with a free 15-minute consultation, then arrange your first full session at a time that suits, often within the same week.
What does private addiction counselling cost, and how does it compare to NHS help in Birmingham?
Sessions are £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for two hours, with a free 15-minute consultation first. NHS addiction support in Birmingham, through your GP or community services, is free but can involve a wait, while private work with me starts sooner and flexibly.
Can we meet in person, or are evening sessions possible for Birmingham?
The room is in Hove, so Birmingham is served online rather than face to face, which spares you the drive into the centre or a tram across town. Because it is all by video, appointments can often be arranged in the evening, suiting shifts at the Queen Elizabeth or long office days.
Online Addiction Counselling in Birmingham, 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 online across Midlands: Solihull, Coventry, Wolverhampton. See all of Midlands.
Related work in Birmingham: substance use counselling, counselling for drinking problems and trauma counselling.
If you would like to read more first, I have written about the four Rs framework and illness or indulgence?.
For anyone near the coast, the same addiction counselling runs in person in Brighton. Every area covered is listed separately.