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Online Addiction Counselling · Ipswich
Online Addiction Counselling in Ipswich
Online addiction counselling for Ipswich, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Ipswich, from the waterfront and the centre to the streets around the docks, 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 Ipswich
Addiction Counselling for Ipswich, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Ipswich: from the waterfront and the centre to Gainsborough, Whitton and Chantry
- Known for
- The historic waterfront, the docks and the river Orwell
- Region
- East of England (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- Healthy Suffolk (Suffolk County Council) substance use support
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Ipswich
Why do people in Ipswich reach out?
Ipswich has had to remake itself more than once. The Port of Ipswich and its Waterfront now look nothing like the working docks they replaced, and the industries that once provided a steady wage largely went with them. What is left is a mix of insecure hours and steadier desk work in the town's insurance and financial services sector, and a lot of people holding on somewhere between the two. Admissions for alcohol-related conditions here reached 522.9 per 100,000 in 2023/24, above the England average of 504.1 per 100,000. Habits grow in that kind of uncertainty, whether the habit is a bookmaker's app, a bag at the weekend or a nightly bottle.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Ipswich
GainsboroughWhittonChantryStokeCaliforniaRushmereCastle HillPriory HeathMaidenhallPinewood
Wherever you are in Ipswich, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Ipswich
Official figures for Ipswich, for context rather than as a description of you.
the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions (narrow definition) was 522.9 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 3.8 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 full addiction counselling page sets out the methods, how sessions run and what they cost covers the practicalities, and my credentials and registration covers accountability.
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.
Bradley sees this town online from Hove, so nothing requires a bus across Ipswich or a walk into a building someone might recognise. In a town this size, and this far from anywhere larger, that anonymity is worth a great deal. Sessions can be arranged around shift patterns, zero-hours rotas and childcare, and taken from a bedroom in Chantry or Whitton with headphones on. No travel time, no fare, and nothing on show to a neighbour.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What does addiction counselling 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 Ipswich
Why people in Ipswich come for addiction counselling
Addiction here takes in far more than drink and drugs. Betting shops and phone apps come up constantly, and so do compulsive spending, gaming and pornography. Underneath every one of them is the same arrangement: something that dependably lifts or numbs a feeling, repeated until it starts setting the terms. Money worries make that loop tighter, because the habit both costs money and makes the shortage bearable for an hour. Sessions look at what the compulsion is carrying for you rather than opening with a demand to stop. Where structured treatment is wanted, Healthy Suffolk lists the free substance use support run through Suffolk County Council, and Turning Point runs the Suffolk drug and alcohol service with a hub in Ipswich. Suffolk Mind covers wider mental health. Counselling can run alongside any of them.
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 Ipswich
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Ipswich, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Healthy Suffolk (Suffolk County Council) substance use 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.
Ipswich questions
Online Addiction Counselling in Ipswich: common questions
Am I going to be waiting weeks to start?
No. A free 15-minute call is normally arranged within a few days and a first full session follows soon after. That is a genuine difference from the local statutory route, where an assessment can take weeks and the impulse to ask for help often fades in between.
What will it cost me?
Sixty minutes is £80, ninety minutes is £100 and two hours is £120. Before any of that there is a free 15-minute conversation with no obligation. Nothing is paid in blocks, and if a gambling habit has already emptied an account, that can be discussed openly.
Is this the same as Healthy Suffolk's substance use support?
No, and they are not in competition. That route is free, covers medical assessment and structured programmes, and connects you to Turning Point locally. Counselling is a private hour on the causes with the same person each week. A good many people use both.
Can sessions fit around a zero-hours rota?
They can. Times get set week by week where a rota demands it, including early mornings and late evenings. For anyone in Ipswich juggling insecure shifts, that flexibility is usually the difference between attending consistently and giving up after three weeks.
My problem is the bookmaker rather than the bottle. Do you work with that?
Yes. Gambling is one of the most common reasons people here make contact, and phone betting has removed every natural point at which it used to stop. The secrecy, the chasing and the debt behave exactly like any other addiction, and the work is the same.
Do you have a room in Ipswich I would come to?
No, I work entirely online from Hove, by secure video or phone. For Ipswich that means no travel across town and no waiting room; you take part from home or another private space, at a time that fits around work and family.
How soon can I begin online addiction counselling in Ipswich?
Usually within a week. I am based in Hove and work with people across Ipswich and wider Suffolk by video and phone, so there is no local waiting list. We start with a free 15-minute consultation, then arrange a first session around work and family.
What are your fees, and how do they compare with NHS addiction support in Ipswich?
I charge £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for 120, with a free 15-minute consultation first. NHS addiction services in Ipswich are free but can involve a wait, while private online work with me is not restricted to what is available locally and can start soon.
Do you have a room in Ipswich, or is addiction counselling online, and can you do evenings?
I work entirely online, by secure video or phone from Hove, rather than a room in town. For Ipswich that means no travel across town and no waiting room, and evening times are available. From the Waterfront to Gainsborough, you take part from a private space at home.
Online Addiction Counselling in Ipswich, 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 East of England: Colchester, Norwich, Chelmsford. See all of East of England.
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 Ipswich.
If you would like to read more first, I have written about a cognitive-restructuring exercise for compulsive behaviour and the four-stage cycle of addiction.
For anyone near the coast, the same addiction counselling runs in person in Brighton. Every area covered is listed separately.