Alcohol
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Online Addiction Counselling · Derry
Online Addiction Counselling in Derry
Online addiction counselling for Derry, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Derry, from within the walls and the centre to the streets around the Peace 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 Derry
Addiction Counselling for Derry, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Derry: from within the walls and the centre to the Bogside, the Waterside and Creggan
- Known for
- The city walls, the Peace Bridge and the river Foyle
- Region
- Northern Ireland
- Local NHS / support route
- ASCERT, which supports people across Northern Ireland with drug and alcohol use
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Derry
What brings people in Derry to counselling?
Derry is a close city, and closeness cuts both ways. Inside the walls and out through the Bogside, the Waterside and Creggan, people know each other's families back several generations, which is a comfort right up to the moment you need something kept quiet. Then it becomes the reason you say nothing at all. Work has been insecure here for a long time, the north-west sits at a distance from everything, and there is a past still near enough the surface to pass down through households. A habit takes hold easily in that ground. It asks nothing of you socially, it needs explaining to nobody, and for a while it does exactly the job it was recruited for.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Derry
BogsideWatersideCregganBishop StreetRosemountCulmoreShantallowthe DiamondBallymagroarty
Wherever you are in Derry, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Derry
Official figures for Derry, for context rather than as a description of you.
There were 14 drug-related deaths registered in the Derry City and Strabane council area in 2023, out of 169 across Northern Ireland (NI age-standardised rate 9.1 per 100,000). Source: NISRA - Drug-related and drug misuse deaths in Northern Ireland, 2023 (2023).
In Derry City and Strabane, 7.7% of adults reported a low life satisfaction score (4 or below out of 10) in the year ending March 2023, compared with a Northern Ireland average of 5.2%, 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 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.
The method travels; only the geography changes. the main addiction counselling page explains it properly, how I work answers the practical questions, and how to check my registration shows how the practice is held to account.
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.
Sessions are held online by secure video, because Bradley works from Hove and there is no room anywhere in the north-west. That takes out the long drive east that getting support from this city so often involves. It also removes what people dread most here, which is being recognised on the way through a door. The hour can be taken at home in Rosemount or over in the Waterside, and early or late appointments both exist when the day belongs to work.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What sort of things do people bring?
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 Derry
Why people in Derry come for addiction counselling
This service covers the whole field rather than drink and drugs alone. Gambling in particular tends to arrive late and heavily, because none of it shows: nothing to smell, nothing to throw out, no missing hours anyone can point at. Gaming, phones and shopping work on the same principle. What gets examined is the pattern, where it came from, and what it is holding at bay, which in this city is often something inherited rather than something that happened to you directly. There were 14 drug-related deaths registered in the Derry City and Strabane council area in 2023, out of 169 across Northern Ireland, where the age-standardised rate reached 9.1 per 100,000. None of this replaces statutory care. ASCERT supports people with drugs and alcohol across Northern Ireland, Altnagelvin Area Hospital covers acute medical need, and a GP can refer you into Health and Social Care.
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 Derry
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Derry, your GP can refer you to local drug and alcohol services, and you can find support through ASCERT, which supports people across Northern Ireland with drug and alcohol use.
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 Lifeline free on 0808 808 8000. Lifeline is free on 0808 808 8000, 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.
Derry questions
Online Addiction Counselling in Derry: common questions
Where would I even start with this?
With the free 15-minute consultation, which exists precisely for people who have not said any of it aloud before. You can keep it vague and still get something from it. If you decide to go ahead, weekly sessions usually begin within a week or two, without a referral or a waiting list.
What do you charge?
The hour is £80, ninety minutes £100, and two hours £120 where a longer session is worth having. No charge applies to the opening 15-minute call. Because there is no travel involved, the cost of an appointment is the fee itself rather than the fee plus half a day.
Which services in the city should I be using alongside this?
Altnagelvin Area Hospital deals with anything acute, your GP opens the Health and Social Care route, and ASCERT provides drug and alcohol support throughout Northern Ireland. Whatever else is running near you appears in the NHS find a service directory. Counselling sits beside all of that rather than competing with it.
Does everything here really have to be by video?
It does, and that is stated plainly rather than dressed up. Bradley works from Hove and sees nobody in person here. In practice it means the north-west is no further from this help than anywhere else is, and no evening gets swallowed by the journey to an appointment.
Most of my betting happens on the phone at home. Is that the same thing?
It is the same mechanism, yes. The device makes it constant rather than occasional, which is why it grows faster than older forms of it did. We would look at when it started to escalate, what it reliably does for you, and what the concealing of it has been costing separately from the money.
Is help harder to get in the north-west?
Distance from Belfast makes no difference to online support. The counsellor is based in Hove and works across Northern Ireland by secure video, so you can talk from home anywhere in Derry without the long drive east or a wait for a local space.
How soon can I start addiction counselling in Derry?
Usually within a week or two, wherever you are on the Foyle. We begin with a free 15-minute consultation, then set a first full session to suit you. Because it is all online by secure video, there is no drive east to Belfast and no waiting list to join.
How do your fees compare with NHS addiction services in Derry?
NHS addiction support in the north-west runs through the Western Health and Social Care Trust and is free, though waits can be long. My sessions are £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for 120, following a free 15-minute consultation, and you can begin straight away.
Can I have online addiction sessions in the evening in Derry?
Yes. Evening appointments suit shift patterns and family life on either bank of the Foyle. Sessions run by secure video, so from the Bogside to the Waterside you can take part from home. All you need is a private space and a steady connection.
Online Addiction Counselling in Derry, 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 Northern Ireland: Lisburn, Craigavon. See all of Northern Ireland.
If addiction counselling is not quite what you are looking for, substance use counselling, counselling for drinking problems and trauma counselling may fit better in Derry.
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.