Online Addiction Counselling · Sheffield

Online Addiction Counselling in Sheffield

Online addiction counselling for Sheffield, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Sheffield, from the centre and Kelham Island to the streets around the Peak District edge, with the same BACP-registered, confidential support as an in-person session, and no journey.

Online across the UKSecure videoFree 15-min consultation
BACP registered member25+ years of experienceLived experience
Bradley Riddell, BACP-registered counsellor offering online addiction counselling for Sheffield, introducing his approach
ConfidentialA safe, private space
Person-centredThe therapy fits you

In and around Sheffield

Addiction Counselling for Sheffield, at a glance

Areas covered online
All of Sheffield: from the centre and Kelham Island to Hillsborough, Crookes, Sharrow and Gleadless
Known for
The Peak District edge, the steel heritage and the two universities
Region
Yorkshire & North East (England)
Local NHS / support route
Sheffield City Council's drugs and alcohol support
Format
Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.

Life in Sheffield

What brings people in Sheffield to counselling?

Sheffield holds several cities inside one. There is the student one around Broomhill and Crookes, filled by the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University; the rebuilt working one in the advanced manufacturing sector; and the older one that lost its steel and has never entirely stopped mourning it. Compulsions attach themselves differently in each. A bar-lined evening in Kelham Island hides one kind of drinking; a flat in Walkley or Heeley with nothing scheduled hides another. What does not vary is the concealment. Gambling apps, cocaine, alcohol and endless scrolling all fit inside a normal-looking life without anyone close to you noticing a thing.

University of SheffieldSheffield Hallam Universitythe advanced manufacturing sector (the AMRC)Sheffield Teaching Hospitals

Areas covered

Neighbourhoods in and around Sheffield

Kelham IslandHillsboroughCrookesSharrowGleadlessEcclesallNether EdgeBroomhillWalkleyHeeleyWoodseats

Wherever you are in Sheffield, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.

The local picture

The local picture in Sheffield

Official figures for Sheffield, for context rather than as a description of you.

Reviewed June 2026.

What actually happens 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.

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, how sessions run and what they cost covers the practicalities, and professional standards 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.

Sessions are held online by secure video, which suits a city built on hills where crossing town in the evening is nobody's idea of a good time. Bradley is in Hove and keeps no room in Sheffield. That means no reception, no car park and no risk of meeting somebody you know on the way in. People join from Nether Edge, Woodseats, Hillsborough and anywhere with a door that shuts. The opening 15-minute chat about whether this suits you carries no charge at all.

Book a free 15-minute call

What I help with

What sort of things do people bring?

Alcohol

For when drinking has stopped feeling like a choice.

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 Sheffield

Why people in Sheffield come for addiction counselling

Most people who write to me have been managing this by themselves for a long time and have concluded that repeated failure to stop says something damning about them. It does not. It says the habit is doing a job, and jobs do not vacate simply because you disapprove of them. Addiction here means more than substances. Betting accounts, gaming and compulsive spending follow an identical arc, and they are easier to fund and harder to spot. We map the loop honestly: the trigger, the twenty minutes before, the relief, the aftermath. Then we look at what else could meet the same need. Sheffield City Council's drugs and alcohol support is the free route into local treatment, Likewise Sheffield provides adult drug and alcohol treatment for the city, and Sheffield Mind covers wider mental health. If your use is daily, your GP needs to be part of this.

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 call

Drug, alcohol & addiction support in Sheffield

My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Sheffield, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Sheffield City Council'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.

Sheffield questions

Online Addiction Counselling in Sheffield: common questions

I am a student here and it has got out of hand - is counselling only for older people?

Not remotely. Student patterns tend to be intense and recent, which often makes them quicker to shift than something twenty years deep. Working online also means nothing stops when term does, so the work carries on through vacations and after you leave the city.

Does gambling count as addiction, or is that a separate thing?

It counts. Gambling produces the same cycle of anticipation, relief, concealment and shame that substances do, and the phone makes it available every minute of the day. Gaming and compulsive spending are approached the same way. No substance is needed for this to be real.

What do sessions cost, and is anything free in Sheffield?

The fee is £80 / 60 min, rising to £100 / 90 min and £120 / 120 min for longer work, and the introductory 15 minutes cost nothing. Likewise Sheffield provides free adult drug and alcohol treatment, reached via Sheffield City Council's drugs and alcohol support.

Can I do this from a shared house in Crookes without flatmates knowing?

Usually without difficulty. Headphones make the conversation one-sided to anyone outside the room, and a bedroom door is generally enough. Nothing is posted to the address, no calendar invitation is required, and nothing is added to your GP record unless you ask.

How long does this kind of work usually take?

It depends on how long the pattern has been in place and what sits under it. A recent compulsion can shift noticeably inside six to eight sessions. Something that has been load-bearing for years takes longer, and we would review together every few weeks rather than assume a fixed length.

Are you based in Sheffield?

No, I'm on the south coast in Hove and work with Sheffield clients over secure video. There's no trip into the centre or out to the university, and you can talk from wherever feels private, which many people find makes it easier to keep sessions going.

Is there addiction counselling available in Sheffield, and how quickly?

There is no consulting room in Sheffield, but I work right across the area by secure video from Hove. Whether you are near Kelham Island or Crookes, we can arrange a free 15-minute call first and then a weekly time for addiction counselling, often within days of you getting in touch.

Is addiction counselling for Sheffield done online or face to face?

I do not offer face-to-face sessions in Sheffield; everything is by confidential video call. For addiction, that often helps, as you can speak openly from a private space rather than a waiting room. I keep a few evening slots alongside daytime ones, so working around the AMRC and advanced manufacturing sector is manageable.

Online Addiction Counselling in Sheffield, 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: Rotherham, Barnsley, Leeds. 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 Sheffield.

You may also find it useful to read about the four-stage cycle of addiction and the four Rs framework.

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.