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Online Addiction Counselling · Gateshead
Online Addiction Counselling in Gateshead
Online addiction counselling for Gateshead, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Gateshead, from the Quays and the centre to the streets around the Angel of the North, 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 Gateshead
Addiction Counselling for Gateshead, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Gateshead: from the Quays and the centre to Low Fell, Felling and Dunston
- Known for
- The Angel of the North, the Sage and the Millennium Bridge
- Region
- Yorkshire & North East (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- Gateshead Council's alcohol and drugs support
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Gateshead
What brings people in Gateshead to counselling?
Gateshead holds two realities a mile apart. Along the river there is the Baltic and The Glasshouse, all glass and confidence, and out at the MetroCentre and Team Valley there is work of the shift-and-rota kind that pays the bills and takes the evenings. Then there are the streets around Bensham, Felling, Dunston and Wrekenton where industrial decline never really finished. Addiction fits into that gap comfortably. It might be drink that started as a way to sleep after nights, a betting app that fills the dead hours, or pills that stayed long after the injury. Very little of it looks like anybody's idea of an addict, which is part of why it goes unmentioned for years.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Gateshead
Low FellFellingDunstonBenshamSaltwellWhickhamBlaydonBirtleyWrekentonWinlaton
Wherever you are in Gateshead, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Gateshead
Official figures for Gateshead, for context rather than as a description of you.
the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions (narrow definition) was 841.1 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 14.2 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 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.
Because the work itself is the same wherever you live, the detail sits in one place rather than all of them: the addiction counselling page sets out the methods, session lengths and fees covers the practicalities, and my credentials and registration covers accountability.
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.
There is nothing of Bradley's on this side of the Tyne, so counselling reaches Gateshead online, by secure video from Hove. That solves both the practical and the private problem. No bus, no waiting, no chance of being spotted going in somewhere. A regular weekly time holds firm around shifts at Team Valley or a rota at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Gateshead, and sessions can be set early or late depending on when the house is your own.
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 Gateshead
Why people in Gateshead come for addiction counselling
This work takes in alcohol, drugs, gambling, gaming and prescribed medication, because the underlying machinery hardly varies. The scale of it locally is hard to overstate: hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions (narrow definition) reached 841.1 per 100,000 in 2023/24, far above the England average of 504.1 per 100,000, and the rate of deaths from drug misuse was 14.2 per 100,000 in 2022 - 24, well over twice the England average of 5.8 per 100,000. Those numbers describe a borough under strain, not a personal verdict. Where you need structured treatment, prescribing or a keyworker, Gateshead Recovery Partnership is the local drug and alcohol service and Gateshead Council's alcohol and drugs support is the route in, with Tyneside and Northumberland Mind covering wider mental health. Counselling goes after the function instead: what the habit steadies, and what it is standing in for.
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 Gateshead
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Gateshead, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Gateshead Council's alcohol and drugs 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.
Gateshead questions
Online Addiction Counselling in Gateshead: common questions
Can I have addiction counselling in Gateshead without anyone seeing me go in?
Yes, because there is nowhere to go in. Everything happens by video from wherever suits you, so there is no reception, no car park and no chance encounter. Nothing is shared with your GP or employer unless you ask me to.
What is the difference between you and Gateshead Recovery Partnership?
They provide the borough's structured drug and alcohol treatment, keyworkers and anything medical, reached through Gateshead Council's alcohol and drugs support. I provide one-to-one counselling for what sits underneath. Neither replaces the other, and using both at once is perfectly normal.
What are your charges?
£80 / 60 min for a standard session, £100 / 90 min or £120 / 120 min where longer helps. Nothing is charged for the initial 15-minute consultation, which is there so you can hear how I work and decide without any pressure or commitment.
My problem is betting, not drink. Do you cover that?
Yes. Gambling produces the same cycle of relief and chase, and it hides far better because there is nothing physical to notice. Online accounts make it constant rather than occasional, and the money disappears without ever passing through anybody's hands.
I work nights and my sleep is wrecked. Does that make this harder?
It makes it more necessary, and it is very workable. Night shifts and substances often prop each other up, one used to get to sleep and another to get going. We can schedule around the rota rather than expecting you to fit an office day.
Are you based in Gateshead?
No, I work from Hove and see Gateshead clients by secure video call. Being far to the south makes no difference online - sessions come to you at home in Low Fell, Dunston or wherever's quiet, with no need to cross the Tyne or travel at all.
How soon could I begin addiction counselling from Gateshead?
Usually fairly soon. Working online means I am not tied to Gateshead clinic hours, so we can find a slot that fits around the Team Valley business estate. 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 Gateshead 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. Gateshead also has NHS routes, through your GP or Queen Elizabeth Hospital Gateshead, 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 Gateshead, and is it online?
Sessions with me are online only for Gateshead, as I am based in Hove. People working near the Team Valley business estate 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 Gateshead, 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, Durham. 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 Gateshead.
Some further reading, if that helps before getting in touch: the four Rs framework and illness or indulgence?.
If you can reach the south coast, this work is also done face to face in Brighton — all in-person areas are listed here.