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Online Addiction Counselling · Durham
Online Addiction Counselling in Durham
Online addiction counselling for Durham, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Durham, from the peninsula and the centre to the streets around the cathedral, 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 Durham
Addiction Counselling for Durham, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Durham: from the peninsula and the centre to Gilesgate, Neville's Cross and Framwellgate
- Known for
- The cathedral, the castle and the river Wear
- Region
- Yorkshire & North East (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- Durham County Council's drugs and alcohol support
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Durham
Why do people in Durham reach out?
Durham presents an unusually composed face to the world. The cathedral and its World Heritage setting, the colleges, the sense of somewhere that has been managing itself for a thousand years. Underneath sit two quite different pressures: the sharp, relentless demand of Durham University, and the county's coal-mining heritage with all the hardship left behind in the villages that ring the city. Addiction grows well in both. A student in Elvet drinking to keep up with the term, someone in Ushaw Moor or Bearpark whose habit long outlived the industry that started it, a professional in Newton Hall whose betting account nobody has ever seen. Composure is often the thing that keeps it going.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Durham
GilesgateNeville's CrossFramwellgate MoorBelmontCrossgateElvetSherburnBearparkUshaw MoorNewton Hall
Wherever you are in Durham, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Durham
Official figures for Durham, for context rather than as a description of you.
the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions (narrow definition) was 630 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 11.4 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.
What actually happens in the room is the same everywhere, so it is written up once: see addiction counselling in detail for the methods, how I work, sessions and fees for fees and session lengths, and how to check my registration if you want to check who you would be working with.
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.
Sessions take place online by secure video, as Bradley works from Hove and there is nothing of his in this county. For a city this small and this observed, that removes a real obstacle. No one sees you attend, and you are not walking through the centre to get anywhere. A fixed weekly slot works round teaching, shifts or a long drive to work, and people in the outlying villages avoid a journey that would otherwise take most of an evening.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What can addiction counselling in Durham 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 Durham
Why people in Durham come for addiction counselling
Addiction counselling here is not confined to alcohol or drugs. Gambling, gaming, prescription medicines and compulsive behaviours all follow the same pattern of relief followed by cost. The county's figures are sobering. Hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions (narrow definition) stood at 630 per 100,000 in 2023/24, against an England average of 504.1 per 100,000, and the rate of deaths from drug misuse was 11.4 per 100,000 in 2022 - 24, roughly double the England average of 5.8 per 100,000. Structured treatment, prescribing and group programmes come from the County Durham Drug and Alcohol Recovery Service, which you reach through Durham County Council's drugs and alcohol support. My part is the thinking that sits beneath the behaviour: what it does for you at the moment you reach for it, what it has been keeping at bay, and what would need to be different for it to loosen its grip.
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 Durham
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Durham, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Durham County Council's drugs 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.
Durham questions
Online Addiction Counselling in Durham: common questions
I am a student here. Will my college or the university find out?
No. I work independently of Durham University, so nothing reaches a tutor, a college office or your record. There is no report to your GP either unless you ask for one. The single exception is a serious and immediate risk to life.
How does counselling fit with the County Durham Drug and Alcohol Recovery Service?
They handle structured treatment, prescribing and anything medical across the county, and Durham County Council's drugs and alcohol support explains how to get in. I work on the reasons underneath, which those appointments seldom have time for. Running both together is common and sensible.
What does it cost to see you?
Sessions are priced at £80 / 60 min, £100 / 90 min and £120 / 120 min, paid one at a time. Before you commit to anything there is a free 15-minute consultation, which exists so you can decide whether I am the right person without spending money.
Can this help with gambling rather than drink or drugs?
Yes. Betting and gaming are addictions in the same sense, and often more concealed, since there is nothing to smell and no obvious change in behaviour until the money runs out. The work follows the same shape regardless of what the habit attaches to.
I live in a village outside the city with almost nothing nearby. Does that matter?
Not for this. Working online removes the distance entirely, which is the main reason people in the former pit villages get in touch. You do not lose an evening to travel, and there is no bus timetable deciding when you can be seen.
Are you based in Durham?
No, I work from Hove and see Durham clients by secure video call. Being far to the south makes no difference online - sessions come to you at home, in the city or out in the county villages, with no journey to fit into your week at all.
How soon could I begin addiction counselling from Durham?
Usually fairly soon. Working online means I am not tied to Durham clinic hours, so we can find a slot that fits around the university and cathedral city. It starts with a free 15-minute consultation about your addiction, then a regular weekly session once we agree things suit you.
Is private addiction counselling in Durham worth it over the NHS route?
Privately I charge £80 an hour, £100 for 90 minutes and £120 for two hours, with a free 15-minute call first. Durham also has NHS routes, through your GP or County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, at no cost; those can involve a wait, so private sessions suit anyone wanting to begin addiction work now.
Can addiction counselling fit around work in Durham, and is it online?
Sessions with me are online only for Durham, as I am based in Hove. People working near the university and cathedral city often prefer this, fitting addiction counselling around the day without travel across the city. I offer daytime and some early-evening appointments, and we would keep the same weekly slot wherever possible.
Online Addiction Counselling in Durham, 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 Yorkshire & North East: Newcastle upon Tyne, Sunderland, Darlington. See all of Yorkshire & North East.
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 Durham.
There is more on this in my writing: a cognitive-restructuring exercise for compulsive behaviour and the four-stage cycle of addiction.
Within reach of Sussex? addiction counselling is offered in the room in Brighton as well as online; see the full list of areas.