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Online Addiction Counselling · Exeter
Online Addiction Counselling in Exeter
Online addiction counselling for Exeter, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Exeter, from the cathedral quarter and the quay to the streets around the university, 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 Exeter
Addiction Counselling for Exeter, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Exeter: from the cathedral quarter and the quay to St Thomas, Heavitree and Pinhoe
- Known for
- The cathedral, the quay and the university
- Region
- South West (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- Devon County Council's alcohol and drug support
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Exeter
Why do people in Exeter reach out?
Exeter holds two speeds at once. There is the cathedral city with its settled habits and its careful reputation, and there is the University of Exeter, which brings thousands of people into St Leonards and the streets around it every autumn. Between them sit the ordinary neighbourhoods, Heavitree, Whipton, Exwick, Pinhoe, where most people live and where most habits actually form. A compulsion does not need a nightlife to survive. It needs privacy, a little money, and a reason to want the evening to pass faster. All three are easy to find here, and being the regional city in a very rural county means specialist help can still feel a long way off.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Exeter
St ThomasHeavitreePinhoeSt LeonardsExwickWhiptonAlphingtonWonfordTopsham
Wherever you are in Exeter, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Exeter
Official figures for Exeter, for context rather than as a description of you.
the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions (narrow definition) was 520.8 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 6.4 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 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.
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 is in Hove, so everything for Exeter runs online by secure video. That solves the distance problem before it starts. Nobody drives in from Topsham or Alphington, parks, and hopes not to meet a neighbour in a corridor. Sessions are taken from home, from a car, or from a workplace after hours, and they hold steady through term dates, shift changes and moves. An appointment costs an hour, not an afternoon.
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 Exeter
Why people in Exeter come for addiction counselling
What counts as addiction here is wider than most people expect. Gambling, gaming, shopping, pornography and compulsive phone use all belong in this work alongside drink and drugs, because the mechanism is identical in each: a reliable way to change how you feel, repeated until it costs more than it gives back. We look at what the habit is holding together, not simply how to remove it. Local numbers sit slightly above the national picture. Hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions ran at 520.8 per 100,000 in 2023/24, above the England average of 504.1, and deaths from drug misuse were 6.4 per 100,000 across 2022 to 2024. Devon County Council's alcohol and drug support is the statutory route for the area, the Together drug and alcohol service covers Exeter itself, and Devon Mind sits alongside for mental health.
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 Exeter
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Exeter, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Devon County Council's alcohol and drug 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.
Exeter questions
Online Addiction Counselling in Exeter: common questions
How quickly can I be seen?
The free 15-minute call can usually be arranged within a few days, and weekly sessions typically begin a week or two after it. Nothing sits on a waiting list, because nothing depends on a referral. You are booking a private appointment rather than joining a service.
What are the fees?
A 60-minute session is £80, a 90-minute one £100 and a 120-minute one £120. The first 15-minute call is free and carries no expectation. In a county where getting anywhere costs petrol and time, it is worth saying that there is no travel to fund on top.
Is Devon County Council's alcohol and drug support a better first step?
It is free and it handles the clinical parts, so for many people it is a sensible first call. It leads to the Together drug and alcohol service for this city. Counselling is the weekly conversation about why the habit exists, and the two do not conflict.
Do I need any particular equipment?
A phone, tablet or laptop with a stable connection, and somewhere private for the hour. Headphones help if the house is busy. That is genuinely all of it. People join from bedrooms, kitchens and parked cars, and none of that makes the work any less serious.
I am a student here and the gambling has got out of control. What now?
You start by saying it to somebody, which you have effectively just done. Student loans and betting apps make a poor combination, and the debt often frightens people more than the habit does. Both are workable, and nothing is reported to the University of Exeter.
In a city like Exeter, will an addiction counsellor keep things confidential?
Yes. Sessions are held by secure video with no local waiting room, so nobody in the city need know you are attending. You take them privately from home. The counselling room is in Hove, meaning Exeter is served online rather than in person.
How soon can I start addiction counselling in Exeter?
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 Exeter, from St Thomas to Heavitree, you can begin without waiting for a local referral.
What are your fees, and how do they compare with NHS support in Exeter?
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 Exeter, through your GP or services around the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, 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 Exeter?
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 Exeter near the quay, and I keep some later appointments for busy weeks.
Online Addiction Counselling in Exeter, 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: Plymouth, Torquay, Taunton. See all of South West.
Close to this in Exeter, there is substance use counselling, counselling for drinking problems and trauma counselling.
You may also find it useful to read about the four-stage cycle of addiction and the four Rs framework.
If you can reach the south coast, this work is also done face to face in Brighton — all in-person areas are listed here.