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Online Addiction Counselling · Guildford
Online Addiction Counselling in Guildford
Online addiction counselling for Guildford, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Guildford, from the cobbled High Street and the centre to the streets around the castle, 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 Guildford
Addiction Counselling for Guildford, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Guildford: from the cobbled High Street and the centre to Stoughton, Burpham and Onslow Village
- Known for
- The castle, the cathedral and the Hog's Back
- Region
- London & South East (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- Healthy Surrey's drugs and alcohol support
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Guildford
What brings people in Guildford to counselling?
Guildford is one of the most expensive places in the country to live, and keeping up with it costs more than money. The commute is long, the work around the Surrey Research Park and Guildford's video-games industry is demanding, and the standard for looking as though you are managing is high. A habit fits into that neatly. Gaming that began as recreation and became the only part of the day nobody asks anything of; betting that fills the train home; spending that keeps pace with a life. In Merrow or Onslow Village nothing looks wrong from outside, and where prosperity is the local dialect, admitting otherwise feels like a larger confession than it is.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Guildford
StoughtonBurphamOnslow VillageMerrowBellfieldsCharlottevillePark BarnBushy Hill
Wherever you are in Guildford, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Guildford
Official figures for Guildford, for context rather than as a description of you.
the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions (narrow definition) was 386.7 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 2.9 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 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 main addiction counselling page sets out the methods, the practical side covers the practicalities, and my credentials and registration covers accountability.
How do online sessions actually work?
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.
Guildford is seen online. Bradley works from Hove, so there is no Surrey address to be spotted going into, and for people who work locally that anonymity is the whole appeal. An hour by secure video fits into a lunch break or the gap before the train, with no journey at either end. People take sessions from home, from a parked car, or from a room at work with the door shut and the camera off.
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 Guildford
Why people in Guildford come for addiction counselling
Addiction counselling here is deliberately broad, because a great deal of what people bring is behavioural rather than chemical. Gambling and gaming come up most, and both are built to be endlessly available on a device you already carry, in a town where long hours in front of a screen are entirely ordinary. Compulsive spending is a close third when income and outgoings are both high. The work follows the loop rather than the label: what it reliably supplies, what it postpones, and what it has started to take. Healthy Surrey's drugs and alcohol support is the statutory route for anything prescribed or medical, i-access provides drug and alcohol care across the county, and Woking Mind supports the wider area. Locally 27.3% of adults reported a high anxiety score in 2022/23, well above the England average of 23.8%.
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 Guildford
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Guildford, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Healthy Surrey'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.
Guildford questions
Online Addiction Counselling in Guildford: common questions
Can I do this without it showing up anywhere professionally?
Yes. This is private counselling, so no employer, occupational health scheme or NHS record is involved at any point. You arrange the free 15-minute consultation directly. If you go ahead, sessions usually begin within a fortnight and stay confidential within the usual legal limits.
Is there any flexibility on the fee?
Prices are fixed at £80 for an hour, £100 for 90 minutes and £120 for two hours. Frequency is the flexible part, and fortnightly works for plenty of people. There is no charge for the initial 15-minute conversation, and none for rescheduling with reasonable notice.
What is Healthy Surrey's drugs and alcohol support?
It is the county's free route into drug and alcohol help, with i-access providing that care in partnership across Surrey. Prescribing, structured treatment and harm reduction all belong there. Counselling is separate, private and quicker to arrange, and works on the reasons rather than the medical side.
How much of my day does a session take?
Sixty minutes and nothing else. There is no travel, no parking and no waiting around, which is why an hour at lunchtime stays realistic even in a demanding week. Longer appointments of 90 or 120 minutes exist if you would rather come less often and go further.
My problem is gaming, not drink or drugs. Is this the right place?
It is. Compulsive gaming follows the same pattern as any other habit: it reliably changes how you feel, then begins costing sleep, work and the people around you. Working in or near the games industry can make it harder to see, because the hours look like everybody else's.
I commute into Waterloo and work long days. When would sessions actually fit?
Because there is no counselling room to travel to, sessions can be set for the early evening once you are home, or for days you work remotely. Many Guildford commuters find that removing the extra journey is what makes regular support possible around a demanding week.
How soon can I start online addiction counselling in Guildford?
Usually within a week. After a free 15-minute consultation we agree a regular time. With a fast line into Waterloo already claiming hours of the day, the point of online is that no further trip is needed; you join securely from home in Stoughton, Burpham or Onslow Village, evenings included.
What are the fees in Guildford, and can I get addiction counselling on the NHS?
Privately, £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for 120, after a free 15-minute consultation. For free NHS support, your GP can refer you and Surrey's council-funded drug and alcohol service accepts self-referrals, with university welfare available if you study here.
Behind an outwardly successful life in Guildford, is online easier to keep private?
For many it is. Where the comfortable Surrey backdrop makes it awkward to admit things are hard, an online session from home lets you be straight about the pressure without keeping up a front. Evenings suit commuters. The room is in Hove if you would ever prefer to meet in person.
Online Addiction Counselling in Guildford, 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 London & South East: Woking, London. See all of London & South East.
Also available in Guildford: substance use counselling, counselling for drinking problems and trauma counselling.
Some further reading, if that helps before getting in touch: the four-stage cycle of addiction and the four Rs framework.
For anyone near the coast, the same addiction counselling runs in person in Hove, where the room is. Every area covered is listed separately.