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Online Addiction Counselling · Reading
Online Addiction Counselling in Reading
Online addiction counselling for Reading, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Reading, from the centre and the university quarter to the streets around the Thames, 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 Reading
Addiction Counselling for Reading, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Reading: from the centre and the university quarter to Caversham, Tilehurst and Earley
- Known for
- The Thames, the Oracle and the Kennet
- Region
- London & South East (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- Reading Borough Council's drug and alcohol support
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Reading
What is going on for people in Reading?
Reading runs at the pace of the Thames Valley technology corridor. The work is demanding, the pay looks good on paper and disappears into housing, and the day is bookended by a commute along the M4 or up the line to the capital. Caversham, Earley and Lower Earley empty early and refill late. What that produces is a lot of people who are extremely busy and slightly unreachable, including to themselves. Habits settle comfortably into that. A drink to mark the point where work finally stops. A betting account checked on the train. A phone that takes the last hour of every night. None of it looks like a problem, because everything else is still being delivered on time.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Reading
CavershamTilehurstEarleyLower EarleyWoodleyWhitleySouthcoteColeyEmmer Green
Wherever you are in Reading, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Reading
Official figures for Reading, for context rather than as a description of you.
the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions (narrow definition) was 337.3 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 6.3 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 would we do together 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.
What actually happens in the room is the same everywhere, so it is written up once: see the full addiction counselling page for the methods, how I work for fees and session lengths, and how to check my registration if you want to check who you would be working with.
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 Reading is seen online by secure video. In a town where the commute already takes a serious bite out of the day, that matters more than convenience: an appointment costs one hour and adds no travel at either end of it. Sessions can be placed early, late, or across a lunch break. Nobody sits in a waiting area, and there is no building where a colleague might see you going in.
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 Reading
Why people in Reading come for addiction counselling
The service is broad by design. Alcohol and drugs belong to it, and so do gambling, gaming, shopping, pornography and the phone: anything that has become the automatic move when a particular feeling arrives. Reading's hospital figures look mild, with alcohol-related admissions at 337.3 per 100,000 in 2023/24 against an England average of 504.1 per 100,000. Its death figures do not look mild at all. The alcohol-specific death rate was 25.5 per 100,000 in 2024, well above the England average of 13.8 per 100,000, and deaths from drug misuse ran at 6.3 per 100,000 across 2022 to 2024. That gap describes a town where a great deal is absorbed privately until very late in the day. What we look at is the loop and what it is doing for you. Reading Borough Council's drug and alcohol support is the statutory route.
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 Reading
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Reading, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Reading Borough Council's drug 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.
Reading questions
Online Addiction Counselling in Reading: common questions
My diary is impossible. Can this fit around work?
It usually can. Early appointments, late ones and lunchtime slots are all possible, and because no journey is involved the whole thing occupies one hour of the day. The first step is a free 15-minute consultation, generally available within days rather than weeks of asking.
What are the fees?
Sessions cost £80 / 60 min, £100 / 90 min or £120 / 120 min. You pay for each one as it happens, with no package and no minimum number. There is no charge for the 15-minute consultation that comes first. Reading Borough Council's route is free throughout if paying is not realistic.
What is the council or NHS route in Reading?
Reading Borough Council's drug and alcohol support is the statutory way in, and Change Grow Live runs the Reading drug and alcohol service. Anything prescribed or medical belongs there or with your GP. Mind in Berkshire covers wellbeing support if low mood is part of the picture.
Is everything by video?
Video is standard, with telephone available when the connection is poor or when talking is easier than being seen. There is no room in Reading, so nothing happens in person. People join from home, from a car in a quiet corner of a car park, or from a bookable room at work.
It is my phone rather than a substance. Does that belong here?
It does. A trading app, a betting account or a game is engineered to hold your attention, and a long commute hands it two uninterrupted hours a day to work with. A habit of that kind takes money, sleep and attention from the people at home without involving a substance at all.
I commute into Paddington and get home late. When could sessions happen?
That is very common in Reading. With no room to travel to, sessions can be booked for the early evening once you are back, or on days you work from home. We simply find a regular slot that survives the rhythm of the commute.
How quickly can I start online addiction counselling in Reading?
Generally within a week. We start with a free 15-minute consultation, then fix a regular slot. Because the work is online, there is nothing to travel to along the M4 or into town by the Oracle, and no local waiting list, so people across the Thames Valley can begin promptly.
What are the fees for addiction counselling in Reading, and is it on the NHS?
Privately, it is £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for 120, after a free 15-minute consultation. For NHS help, your GP can refer you and Berkshire's council-funded drug and alcohol service takes self-referrals at no cost, separate from this private practice.
I commute into Paddington from Reading. Are evening online sessions available?
Yes. Sessions are held securely online, which fits a Thames Valley week of long project deadlines and a packed commute far better than another journey. Evening and remote-working slots are usually the most practical. The room is in Hove, a train down the coast, if you ever want to meet in person.
Online Addiction Counselling in Reading, 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: Slough, Oxford, Basingstoke, London. See all of London & South 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 Reading.
Some further reading, if that helps before getting in touch: illness or indulgence? and a cognitive-restructuring exercise for compulsive behaviour.
Closer to the Sussex coast? The same addiction counselling is available in person, in Hove, where the room is, or see every area I cover.