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Online Addiction Counselling · Stoke-on-Trent
Online Addiction Counselling in Stoke-on-Trent
Online addiction counselling for Stoke-on-Trent, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Stoke-on-Trent, from across the six towns, Hanley and Stoke to the streets around the bottle kilns, 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 Stoke-on-Trent
Addiction Counselling for Stoke-on-Trent, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Stoke-on-Trent: across the six towns, from Hanley and Stoke to Burslem, Tunstall, Longton and Fenton
- Known for
- The bottle kilns, the Potteries and the canals
- Region
- Midlands (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- NHS drug & alcohol service finder (see below)
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Stoke-on-Trent
What brings people in Stoke-on-Trent to counselling?
Stoke-on-Trent is six towns stitched into one city, and people still tell you which of them they are from. Hanley for the shops, Burslem and Tunstall up to the north, Longton and Fenton to the south. What that means in practice is a lot of small worlds where faces repeat, and a habit does not stay hidden in a place like that so much as get defended. The betting shop becomes a bit of a flutter. The drink after a shift becomes what anybody would do. The phone or the console becomes how you wind down. Naming it properly is the difficult part, because the instinct round here is to get on with things and not make a fuss about yourself.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Stoke-on-Trent
HanleyBurslemTunstallLongtonFentonStokeMeirBentileeTrenthamBucknall
Wherever you are in Stoke-on-Trent, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Stoke-on-Trent
Official figures for Stoke-on-Trent, for context rather than as a description of you.
the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions (narrow definition) was 861.2 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 6.9 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 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.
The approach does not change with the postcode, so rather than repeat it on every page you can read it in full, the methods and what each session covers, on addiction counselling in detail, alongside the practical side and how to check my registration.
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 is in Hove, there is no room in this city, and so the work is done online by secure video. Across six towns where somebody usually knows somebody, that takes away the risk of being spotted on the way in: no car left outside a recognisable door, nobody passing you on a stair. The hour gets taken at home, in a van between jobs, or in a vehicle pulled up somewhere quiet. When shifts change or work moves you about, the appointment moves too.
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 Stoke-on-Trent
Why people in Stoke-on-Trent come for addiction counselling
Addiction is taken broadly in this work. Alcohol and drugs belong in it, and so do gambling, gaming, phones and shopping, because the shape underneath is identical: a dependable way of altering the next hour that ends up charging more than it returns. Betting is the one people name last. The verified picture for this city is stark. Hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions ran at 861.2 per 100,000 in 2023/24 against an England average of 504.1, and deaths from drug misuse were 6.9 per 100,000 across 2022 to 2024, above the England average of 5.8. Those are not moral figures. They are what decades of hardship do to a population. The community drug and alcohol service for the city, CDAS, and the NHS find a service directory cover assessment, prescribing and structured treatment.
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 Stoke-on-Trent
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. You can find your nearest free NHS-funded drug and alcohol service via the NHS “find a service” directory (search “Stoke-on-Trent”).
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.
Stoke-on-Trent questions
Online Addiction Counselling in Stoke-on-Trent: common questions
How do I start, and will I be waiting long?
It begins with a free 15-minute call, which is not an assessment and commits you to nothing. If you want to go ahead after it, a weekly slot normally comes free within a week or two. There is no referral to chase, no form to complete and nothing that has to go through your GP first.
Is £80 an hour realistic on the wages round here?
It is a real cost, and worth being straight about. An hour is £80, 90 minutes is £100 and two hours is £120. The opening 15-minute call is free and there is nothing owed if you decide against it. Weekly is the usual rhythm, though some people space sessions further apart.
What is there on the NHS if I cannot pay for counselling?
The NHS find a service directory lists drug and alcohol provision by area, and here that means CDAS, the community drug and alcohol service, which is free at the point of use. It handles assessment, prescribing and structured treatment. Your GP can help you make contact with it.
I have never done anything by video. Is it complicated?
Not particularly. You get a link, you click it at the agreed time, and that is the whole technical side of it. Headphones make the hour feel more private. A phone will do if there is no laptop, though having somewhere with a door matters considerably more than the device does.
It is the bookies and the app rather than drink, so is that really the same problem?
It works the same way. The stake changes the next twenty minutes, the chase takes care of the rest, and there is nothing on your breath afterwards. Gambling takes money and sleep long before it takes anything anybody can see, which is why people leave it so late.
How does online counselling work if I have never tried it?
It is straightforward. Sessions happen over a video call at an agreed time, from wherever you feel private, whether that is one of the six towns or somewhere quieter nearby. You need only a reliable connection and a space where you will not be interrupted.
How soon can I start addiction counselling in Stoke-on-Trent?
Fairly quickly. Stoke-on-Trent is served online from the Hove consulting room, so there is no local waiting list. We begin with a free 15-minute consultation, then arrange a first full session, often within the same week, wherever you are across the six towns.
How do private addiction counselling fees compare with NHS help in Stoke-on-Trent?
Sessions are £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for two hours, after a free 15-minute consultation. NHS addiction support across Stoke is free through your GP or community services but can mean waiting, while private counselling starts sooner and more flexibly.
Can we meet in person, or are evenings possible for Stoke-on-Trent?
The room is in Hove, so Stoke-on-Trent is served online rather than face to face, with no journey between Hanley, Burslem or Longton. Because it is by video, evening sessions can often be arranged around work across the Potteries, at a time that suits you.
Online Addiction Counselling in Stoke-on-Trent, 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 Midlands: Derby, Telford, Tamworth. See all of Midlands.
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 Stoke-on-Trent.
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.
Closer to the Sussex coast? The same addiction counselling is available in person, in Brighton, or see every area I cover.