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Online Addiction Counselling · Bristol
Online Addiction Counselling in Bristol
Online addiction counselling for Bristol, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Bristol, from the harbourside and the centre to the streets around the Suspension Bridge, 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 Bristol
Addiction Counselling for Bristol, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Bristol: from the harbourside and the centre to Clifton, Bedminster, Stokes Croft and Easton
- Known for
- The Suspension Bridge, the harbourside and the Downs
- Region
- South West (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- Bristol City Council's drug and alcohol support
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Bristol
What brings people in Bristol to counselling?
Bristol rewards people who go hard at things. The harbourside creative and media sector runs on late finishes, the aerospace cluster at Filton runs on long contracts, and students at the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England fill whole neighbourhoods with people finding out where their limits are. Add rents that make you think twice about everything, and a city where a night out is never difficult to find. Compulsion hides well in all that. Nobody in Stokes Croft or Bedminster looks twice at someone who drinks, bets or takes something regularly, because the place is busy and tolerant and largely minds its own business. Which is fine, until you would rather somebody noticed.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Bristol
CliftonBedminsterStokes CroftEastonBishopstonSouthvilleRedlandMontpelierFishpondsKnowleHorfieldSt Pauls
Wherever you are in Bristol, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Bristol
Official figures for Bristol, for context rather than as a description of you.
the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions (narrow definition) was 698.9 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 10.3 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 does addiction counselling involve?
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.
Because the work itself is the same wherever you live, the detail sits in one place rather than all of them: the full addiction counselling page sets out the methods, session lengths and fees covers the practicalities, and qualifications, registration and ethics covers accountability.
What do I need for 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.
Bristol is well connected but slow to cross, and none of that matters here: Bradley is in Hove, so sessions run online by secure video. There is no trip across the city at rush hour and no building to be seen entering. People take the hour from a flat, from a desk once everyone else has gone, or from a parked car. For something you have kept to yourself, choosing the setting yourself is a large part of the point.
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 Bristol
Why people in Bristol come for addiction counselling
This service is deliberately broad. Alcohol and drugs are part of it, but so is gambling, and so are gaming, shopping, pornography and the endless scroll that eats an evening. They share a structure. Something dependable does a job for you, the job gets more expensive, and the secrecy needed to keep it going becomes its own weight. We take that apart slowly, because being told off has never yet stopped anybody. The numbers here are stark for a city of this size. Hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions reached 698.9 per 100,000 in 2023/24, well above the England average of 504.1, and deaths from drug misuse ran at 10.3 per 100,000 across 2022 to 2024 against an England average of 5.8. Bristol City Council's drug and alcohol support is the way into statutory services, Bristol Drugs Project delivers much of that, and Bristol Mind covers wider mental health.
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 Bristol
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Bristol, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Bristol City Council's drug and alcohol support.
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.
Bristol questions
Online Addiction Counselling in Bristol: common questions
How long before I could have a first session?
Usually a week or two after the free 15-minute call. That call is short by design, and its only purpose is for you to work out whether this feels like something you could do. No GP involvement is needed and there is no assessment queue to enter.
How much are sessions?
The fees are the same wherever you are: £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for two hours, with a free 15-minute consultation before any of it. Working online means no travel cost stacked on top, which in this city is not nothing.
Should I try Bristol City Council's drug and alcohol support first?
It is free, so it is a fair place to begin, and it leads to Bristol Drugs Project for structured treatment and anything needing a prescriber. This is different work: weekly, private, focused on what sits underneath the habit. Many people run the two together.
Is video really as good as sitting in the same space?
For this kind of work most people find it holds up perfectly well. What matters is being able to speak freely for an hour without anyone overhearing. Some prefer video precisely because their own surroundings feel safer than an unfamiliar building across town does.
My whole social life here involves drinking or drugs. Where do I even start?
By separating the habit from the friendships, which is harder than it sounds and the reason people stall. We look at what you would be losing, what you would be keeping, and what a Friday could look like that is neither miserable nor a relapse.
Can I have addiction counselling in Bristol without anyone knowing?
Yes. Sessions are held by secure video with no local premises and no waiting room, so you can take them privately from home or another quiet space. The counselling room is in Hove, which means Bristol is served online rather than in person.
How soon can I start addiction counselling in Bristol?
Once you get in touch we usually arrange a free 15-minute consultation within a few days, then book your first full session soon after. Everything runs online, so wherever you are in Bristol, from Clifton to Bedminster, you can begin without waiting for a local referral.
What are your fees, and how do they compare with NHS support in Bristol?
Sessions are £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 minutes and £120 for 120 minutes, with a free 15-minute consultation first. NHS support in Bristol, through your GP, is free but can involve a wait, whereas private online work with me usually starts within days.
Is online addiction counselling as effective as meeting in person in Bristol?
For most people it works just as well, and many prefer the privacy. My consulting room is in Hove, so face-to-face suits only those able to travel to the Sussex coast. Meeting online spares you the trip across Bristol near the harbourside, and I keep some later appointments for busy weeks.
Online Addiction Counselling in Bristol, 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 South West: Bath, Weston-super-Mare, Gloucester. See all of South West.
Close to this in Bristol, there is substance use counselling, counselling for drinking problems and trauma counselling.
There is more on this in my writing: illness or indulgence? and a cognitive-restructuring exercise for compulsive behaviour.
If you can reach the south coast, this work is also done face to face in Hove, where the room is — all in-person areas are listed here.