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Online Addiction Counselling · Cheltenham
Online Addiction Counselling in Cheltenham
Online addiction counselling for Cheltenham, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Cheltenham, from the Promenade and Montpellier to the streets around the Pittville Pump Room, 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 Cheltenham
Addiction Counselling for Cheltenham, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Cheltenham: from the Promenade and Montpellier to Pittville, Charlton Kings and Hesters Way
- Known for
- The Promenade, the Pittville Pump Room and the racecourse
- Region
- South West (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- Gloucestershire County Council's drug and alcohol recovery support
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Cheltenham
Why do people in Cheltenham reach out?
Cheltenham keeps things looking well. Regency terraces in Montpellier and Lansdown, festivals scattered through the year, and a town that is proud of how it presents itself. That is a difficult backdrop for a habit. Racing is woven into the place, with Cheltenham Racecourse at Prestbury Park drawing enormous crowds and making a bet feel like local custom rather than a risk. Gambling in particular can grow here without ever looking odd. Meanwhile the distance between Leckhampton and Hesters Way is wide enough that the same difficulty gets read two different ways depending on the postcode. Either way, the instinct is to keep it quiet and keep up appearances.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Cheltenham
MontpellierPittvilleCharlton KingsHesters WayLeckhamptonThe SuffolksPrestburyBenhallFairviewLansdown
Wherever you are in Cheltenham, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Cheltenham
Official figures for Cheltenham, for context rather than as a description of you.
the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions (narrow definition) was 422.8 per 100,000 in 2023/24, below 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 5.1 per 100,000 in 2022 - 24, below the England average of 5.8 per 100,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Deaths from drug misuse (2022 - 24).
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.
What actually happens in the room is the same everywhere, so it is written up once: see addiction counselling in detail for the methods, the practical side for fees and session lengths, and how to check my registration if you want to check who you would be working with.
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.
Bradley works from Hove, so Cheltenham is served by secure video and nothing else. In a town this size, where people recognise one another, that anonymity is not a small feature. There is no reception to sign into and no car to be spotted outside. Sessions happen from home, from a car, or from anywhere private for an hour. For anyone whose work requires discretion, the fact that nothing is shared with an employer matters too.
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 Cheltenham
Why people in Cheltenham come for addiction counselling
Addiction here is not only about substances. Betting is the obvious one in a racing town, and the one people find hardest to admit, partly because the place treats it as a harmless enthusiasm. Accounts, apps, in-play markets and the quiet reload after a loss follow a pattern that has little to do with luck and a great deal to do with relief. Gaming, shopping, pornography and drinking take the same shape. We look at what the habit does for you and what it takes, and none of that is a telling-off. Local figures sit under the national picture: hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions were 422.8 per 100,000 in 2023/24, below the England average of 504.1, and deaths from drug misuse were 5.1 per 100,000 across 2022 to 2024. Gloucestershire County Council's drug and alcohol recovery support is the statutory route, and Via Gloucestershire runs a hub in the town.
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 Cheltenham
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Cheltenham, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Gloucestershire County Council's drug and alcohol recovery 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.
Cheltenham questions
Online Addiction Counselling in Cheltenham: common questions
How do I begin without anyone knowing?
You send a message or ring, and a free 15-minute call is arranged at a time that suits you. Nothing is recorded on an NHS system and no letter goes to your GP. If you decide to go ahead, weekly sessions usually start within a week or two.
What will it cost me?
Sixty minutes costs £80, 90 minutes costs £100 and two hours costs £120. That first 15-minute consultation is not charged for. If money is already tight because of what the habit is taking, say so early rather than treating it as a reason not to ring at all.
What is Gloucestershire County Council's drug and alcohol recovery support?
It is the county's free route into drug and alcohol help, delivered locally by Via Gloucestershire, which has a hub in this town. It covers structured treatment and anything clinical. What happens here is the private weekly conversation, and the two work well together.
Does everything really happen by video?
Yes, every session. You need a private hour and a reliable connection, and nothing more than that. People take appointments from a bedroom, from a car in a quiet street, or from a desk once the building has emptied for the evening.
I bet on the racing every year and it has got out of hand. Is that what this is for?
Exactly that. A town built partly on racing makes it easy to call a growing habit tradition. If the stakes have climbed, the accounts have multiplied, or you have hidden a loss from somebody, that is compulsion rather than hobby, and it responds well to being talked about.
In a town so focused on appearances, will anyone know I'm having addiction counselling?
No. Meeting online means no waiting room and no local premises to be seen visiting, and we speak by secure video from somewhere private at home. The counselling room is in Hove, so Cheltenham is served online rather than in person.
How soon can I start addiction counselling in Cheltenham?
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 Cheltenham, from Montpellier to Pittville, you can begin without waiting for a local referral.
What are your fees, and how do they compare with NHS support in Cheltenham?
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 Cheltenham, 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 Cheltenham?
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 Cheltenham near the Promenade, and I keep some later appointments for busy weeks.
Online Addiction Counselling in Cheltenham, 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: Gloucester, Worcester. See all of South West.
Related work in Cheltenham: substance use counselling, counselling for drinking problems and trauma counselling.
If you would like to read more first, I have written about a cognitive-restructuring exercise for compulsive behaviour and the four-stage cycle of addiction.
Closer to the Sussex coast? The same addiction counselling is available in person, in Brighton, or see every area I cover.