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Online Addiction Counselling · Plymouth
Online Addiction Counselling in Plymouth
Online addiction counselling for Plymouth, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Plymouth, from the Barbican and the Hoe to the streets around the Sound, 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 Plymouth
Addiction Counselling for Plymouth, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Plymouth: from the Barbican and the Hoe to Devonport, Stonehouse and Mutley
- Known for
- Plymouth Hoe, the Barbican and the Sound
- Region
- South West (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- Plymouth City Council's substance misuse support
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Plymouth
What is going on for people in Plymouth?
Plymouth turns towards the sea and works to its rhythms. HM Naval Base Devonport and the marine and dockyard sector shape the week for thousands of households, with deployments, refits and shift rotations deciding when people are home and when they are not. That brings long gaps and abrupt returns, and habits fill gaps very efficiently. A run of nights alone in Peverell or Plymstock, a phone, an account, a bottle: none of it looks like much on any single evening. The city also sits a long way from anywhere else, which can make a private difficulty feel more private still. From the Barbican to St Budeaux, plenty of people carry something they have never once named.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Plymouth
DevonportStonehouseMutleythe BarbicanPeverellMannameadPlymptonPlymstockSt BudeauxEffordStoke
Wherever you are in Plymouth, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Plymouth
Official figures for Plymouth, for context rather than as a description of you.
the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions (narrow definition) was 434.8 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 5.9 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.
Because the work itself is the same wherever you live, the detail sits in one place rather than all of them: everything on addiction counselling sets out the methods, how I work covers the practicalities, and qualifications, registration and ethics covers accountability.
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 works from Hove, so Plymouth is served online by secure video. Distance is not a factor, and neither is a rota. Sessions can be arranged around a shift pattern, and they carry on if you are posted elsewhere, which for a city built on deployments is very much the point. Nobody sees you attend anything. You need a private hour, headphones if the house is full, and a connection good enough to hold a conversation.
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 Plymouth
Why people in Plymouth come for addiction counselling
Addiction in this work is broader than substances. Gambling in particular travels well: an app functions on a mess deck, in a van, or in a quiet house at two in the morning, and it leaves nothing behind to be discovered. Gaming, pornography, shopping and drinking follow the same logic. We look at the function rather than the substance. What does it fix, how long does the fix last, and what has it begun to cost you? Local figures give some context. Deaths from drug misuse ran at 5.9 per 100,000 across 2022 to 2024, just above the England average of 5.8, and hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions were 434.8 per 100,000 in 2023/24, below the England average of 504.1. Plymouth City Council's substance misuse support is the statutory route and Harbour is the local drug and alcohol service.
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 Plymouth
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Plymouth, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Plymouth City Council's substance misuse 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.
Plymouth questions
Online Addiction Counselling in Plymouth: common questions
What is the first step?
A free 15-minute call, arranged at a time that suits your week. It is not an assessment and nothing is recorded. If it feels like something you could use, weekly sessions usually begin within a fortnight, with no referral to obtain and no list to join.
What do sessions cost?
An hour is £80, 90 minutes is £100 and two hours is £120, with that first 15-minute call free. Payment is per session. There is no contract, so if a deployment or a refit interrupts things, you simply pick the work up again afterwards.
Is Plymouth City Council's substance misuse support the same thing?
No, and both are worth knowing about. The council route reaches Harbour, the local drug and alcohol service, which provides free structured treatment, harm reduction and prescribing. This is private counselling about what sits underneath. People commonly use one alongside the other.
Could I keep sessions going while I am away?
Often, yes, if you have a private space and a reliable connection. Continuity is one of the strongest arguments for working this way. Where signal or privacy is impossible for a period, sessions can pause and restart without you losing your place.
I bet when I am away from home and it has become a problem. Is that common?
Very. Separation is part of why. Long stretches away, boredom, disrupted sleep and a phone in your hand make betting an easy way to pass time that then turns hard to stop. Nothing said here goes anywhere near your employer.
I'm connected to the naval base and worried about a habit. Can this stay private?
Yes. Sessions are held by secure video and are wholly confidential, which many forces families value. Nothing needs to go through the base. The counselling room is in Hove, so we would meet online wherever you are stationed around Plymouth.
How soon can I start addiction counselling in Plymouth?
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 Plymouth, from Devonport to Stonehouse, you can begin without waiting for a local referral.
What are your fees, and how do they compare with NHS support in Plymouth?
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 Plymouth, through your GP or services around Derriford 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 Plymouth?
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 Plymouth near the Hoe, and I keep some later appointments for busy weeks.
Online Addiction Counselling in Plymouth, 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: Exeter, Torquay. See all of South West.
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 Plymouth.
There is more on this in my writing: the four-stage cycle of addiction and the four Rs framework.
Within reach of Sussex? addiction counselling is offered in the room in Brighton as well as online; see the full list of areas.