Alcohol
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Online Addiction Counselling · Cardiff
Online Addiction Counselling in Cardiff
Online addiction counselling for Cardiff, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Cardiff, from the bay and the centre to the streets around the castle, 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 Cardiff
Addiction Counselling for Cardiff, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Cardiff: from the bay and the centre to Cathays, Roath, Canton and Grangetown
- Known for
- The castle, the bay and the Principality Stadium
- Region
- Wales
- Local NHS / support route
- DAN 24/7, the Wales Drug and Alcohol Helpline
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Cardiff
Why people in Cardiff get in touch
A capital city always supplies a reason. An international at the Principality Stadium, leaving drinks for somebody at Central Square, a launch, a Friday, a birthday in Pontcanna. Cardiff is very good at making a habit look like a social life, which is one reason people carry these things for years without anybody raising an eyebrow. Underneath the occasions there is usually something steadier and less companionable: the account topped up on the way home, the phone opened again at midnight in a flat off Roath or Cathays, the quiet arithmetic about what has gone this month. The city that hides it best is also the city where a person can feel entirely unknown, surrounded by thousands of people on a Saturday night.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Cardiff
CathaysRoathCantonGrangetownSplottAdamsdownButetownLlandaffWhitchurchCyncoedRiversidePontcanna
Wherever you are in Cardiff, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Cardiff
Official figures for Cardiff, for context rather than as a description of you.
In Cardiff the age-standardised drug-misuse death rate was 6.9 per 100,000 in 2022 to 2024, below the Wales average of 8.5 per 100,000. Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Deaths related to drug poisoning by local authority, England and Wales (drug misuse, Table 6) (2022 to 2024).
In Cardiff, 8.5% of adults reported a low life satisfaction score (4 or below out of 10) in the year ending March 2023, compared with a Wales average of 6.9%, a difference the survey's margin of error does not confirm. Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Personal well-being estimates by local authority (Year ending March 2023 (2022-23)).
Reviewed June 2026.
What is addiction counselling, in practice?
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 main addiction counselling page sets out the methods, session lengths and fees covers the practicalities, and my BACP registration covers accountability.
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.
Bradley's consulting space is in Hove, so counselling for Cardiff is delivered by secure video. In a city this size that is often simpler than crossing it. No parking near the bay, no bus in from Whitchurch, no hour lost either side of the appointment. It also keeps things discreet if you work somewhere central and would rather not be seen going into a building. The slot is yours weekly and stays at the same time.
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 Cardiff
Why people in Cardiff come for addiction counselling
People arrive here with very different habits and much the same problem underneath. Some are drinking, some are using, and a large number are gambling on a phone, which in a rugby city with betting attached to every fixture is easy to start and hard to notice. Others cannot put down a screen, a shopping app or a way of eating. Whatever the surface, the pattern rhymes: relief, then consequences, then a promise, then the whole circuit again. What counselling adds is a place to look at the circuit without being judged for it, which is usually the first time that has happened. We also work with what sits beneath it, because compulsion is nearly always doing a job. Alongside this, CAVDAS is the drug and alcohol service for Cardiff and the Vale, Recovery Cymru runs a peer-led recovery community in the city, and the NHS find a service directory lists further options.
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 Cardiff
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Cardiff, your GP can refer you to local drug and alcohol services, and you can find support through DAN 24/7, the Wales Drug and Alcohol Helpline.
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 press 2 for urgent mental health support. The CALL Helpline for Wales is free on 0800 132 737, the Samaritans are on 116 123, and you can 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.
Cardiff questions
Online Addiction Counselling in Cardiff: common questions
I work in central Cardiff and cannot take an hour out in the day. What is possible?
Early morning and evening appointments exist for exactly that reason. Because nothing has to be travelled to, a session can sit before work starts or after you get in. Some people use the hour from home at a time that would be impossible if a journey were involved.
How much are sessions and what do I pay for the first call?
The first call, 15 minutes, is free. From then on the hour is £80, the 90-minute session £100 and the two-hour session £120. Most people choose the hour weekly. Nothing is charged until you have decided you actually want to begin.
Should I contact CAVDAS or Recovery Cymru instead of paying privately?
Look at both. CAVDAS is the drug and alcohol service covering Cardiff and the Vale, and Recovery Cymru is a peer community you can join without a referral. The NHS find a service directory has the wider list. None of that stops you having counselling too.
My habit is betting on rugby and football rather than drinking. Does that count?
It counts. Gambling brings a steady stream of people to this work, and in Cardiff it is woven into ordinary sporting life, which makes it unusually well camouflaged. The debt, the secrecy and the self-loathing are as real as with any substance, and they respond to the same attention.
Is anything written down that my employer could see?
No. There is no medical record here, nothing goes to occupational health, and I keep brief private notes that are not shared. Sessions are confidential under the BACP Ethical Framework, with narrow exceptions about serious risk which I will explain before we start.
Is online addiction counselling as effective as meeting in person?
For most people, yes. The relationship and the work matter far more than the room. Meeting by secure video from your own home in Cardiff removes the journey across the city, and many find it easier to speak openly from a space that already feels safe.
How soon can I start online addiction counselling in Cardiff?
Usually within a week. After a free 15-minute consultation to see whether we fit, we book your first full session at a time that suits you. Wherever you are in the capital, from Cathays to Grangetown, everything runs by secure video, so there is no waiting list to join.
How do your fees compare with NHS addiction services in Cardiff?
NHS substance misuse support through Cardiff and Vale health board and the free Dan 24/7 helpline costs nothing, though waits vary. My private sessions are £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for 120, with a free 15-minute consultation first and no waiting list.
Do you offer evening online addiction sessions for people working in Cardiff?
Yes. Many people around Cardiff Bay and the city centre work long office hours, so I keep some evening slots. Sessions are held by secure video from your own front room, which means no crossing the capital after work and no travel once we finish.
Online Addiction Counselling in Cardiff, 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 Wales: Newport, Barry, Pontypridd. See all of Wales.
Close to this in Cardiff, there is substance use counselling, counselling for drinking problems and trauma counselling.
If you would like to read more first, I have written about illness or indulgence? and a cognitive-restructuring exercise for compulsive behaviour.
Closer to the Sussex coast? The same addiction counselling is available in person, in Brighton, or see every area I cover.