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Online Addiction Counselling · Chester
Online Addiction Counselling in Chester
Online addiction counselling for Chester, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Chester, from the Rows and the walls to the streets around the river Dee, 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 Chester
Addiction Counselling for Chester, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Chester: from the Rows and the walls to Hoole, Boughton and Blacon
- Known for
- The city walls, the Rows and the river Dee
- Region
- North West (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- Cheshire West and Chester Council's drug and alcohol services
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Chester
Why do people in Chester reach out?
Chester presents well. The walls, the Rows, the crowds coming in for the day, the sense that everyone here is doing perfectly fine. That surface is its own kind of pressure. When the city around you looks composed, admitting that something has taken hold feels like a failure of manners as much as anything else. Addiction in Chester tends to be well dressed and well hidden: wine that has become nightly in Handbridge, a betting account run from a good job, cocaine that arrived through the hospitality trade around the walls and stayed. Blacon and Boughton carry different pressures from Upton or Vicars Cross, but the reluctance to be the one who says something is remarkably evenly spread.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Chester
the city centre within the wallsHooleBoughtonBlaconHandbridgeNewtonUptonVicars Cross
Wherever you are in Chester, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Chester
Official figures for Chester, for context rather than as a description of you.
the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions (narrow definition) was 472 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 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 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. the main addiction counselling page explains it properly, session lengths and fees answers the practical questions, and professional standards and registration shows how the practice is held to account.
How does meeting by video work in practice?
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 is in Hove and there is no room in Chester, which for a city this compact is useful rather than limiting. Sessions are by secure video, so nobody walks past you waiting somewhere near the walls, and nothing shows up on a local calendar. The hour can be taken at home, from a parked car, or from an office with the door shut. For people who work in hospitality, the daytime slots are usually the easiest to keep.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What does addiction counselling help with?
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 Chester
Why people in Chester come for addiction counselling
Addiction counselling here takes in drink, drugs, prescribed medication, gambling and behavioural habits, and in Chester the last of those often arrives first, because a betting app leaves no smell and no empties. The city's figures carry a warning inside an apparently comfortable picture: hospital admissions for alcohol-specific conditions ran at 655.5 per 100,000 in 2023/24, above the England average of 611.7 per 100,000. Prosperity is not protection. The work does not begin with what you should stop. It begins with what the habit is for, which in a city that prizes composure is frequently the relief of not having to keep up. Cheshire West and Chester Council's drug and alcohol services and New Beginnings cover assessment, prescribing and structured treatment, and My Mind carries wider mental health information. Counselling sits beside all of that.
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 Chester
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Chester, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Cheshire West and Chester Council's drug and alcohol services.
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.
Chester questions
Online Addiction Counselling in Chester: common questions
I run a business in the city centre and cannot be seen doing this. Is that possible?
It is the ordinary arrangement rather than a special one. Everything happens by video, so there is no address in Chester to be spotted near and no waiting area. What is discussed stays between you and Bradley, under the BACP Ethical Framework, with the limits explained before you begin.
Is a gambling problem treated the same as a drinking one?
The material differs but the shape is similar. Both involve a reliable relief that has begun to cost more than it returns, and both tend to run on secrecy. Gambling brings its own specific problem, which is debt, and that usually needs practical attention alongside the counselling rather than after it.
What are New Beginnings and the council's drug and alcohol services?
Cheshire West and Chester Council's drug and alcohol services list what is available locally, and New Beginnings is the drug and alcohol service for the borough. Between them they cover assessment, prescribing and structured recovery. Counselling is the private, unhurried side of it and there is no conflict in using both.
What are your fees?
£80 for 60 min, £100 for 90 min, £120 for 120 min, and a free 15-minute consultation before you commit to anything. There is no assessment fee and no minimum number of sessions. You can have one, decide it is not for you, and owe nothing further.
How long before I could start?
Usually a matter of days rather than months. You send a message, arrange the free consultation, and if it feels right, a regular slot is agreed from what is available. There is no assessment queue and no referral needed, which is the main practical difference from the local service.
I'm expected to have it all together. Can I talk honestly here?
Yes, and that's the point. This is a space with no appearances to keep up. You can drop the front and say what's really going on, in confidence. Plenty of people in Chester who look fine on the surface use counselling to deal with what's underneath.
How soon can I start addiction counselling in Chester online?
Usually within a week. We begin with a free 15-minute consultation, then book your first session by secure video or phone. I work from Hove and see people across Chester online, from Hoole to Handbridge, so there is no parking in the centre to battle and no clinic list to wait on.
How do your fees compare with NHS addiction support in Chester?
Free drug and alcohol support in Chester runs through Cheshire West and Chester Council's drug and alcohol services, linked further down this page. With me it is a free 15-minute consultation first, then £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for 120.
Do you offer in-person or evening addiction sessions in Chester?
I do not work in person here; my room is in Hove and Chester sessions are all online. That takes the centre parking out of it, and working online makes evening and quieter daytime slots easier to arrange around work and family.
Online Addiction Counselling in Chester, 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 North West: Warrington, Liverpool, Crewe. See all of North West.
Related work in Chester: substance use counselling, counselling for drinking problems and trauma counselling.
You may also find it useful to read about illness or indulgence? and a cognitive-restructuring exercise for compulsive behaviour.
Within reach of Sussex? addiction counselling is offered in the room in Hove, where the room is as well as online; see the full list of areas.