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Online Addiction Counselling · Swindon
Online Addiction Counselling in Swindon
Online addiction counselling for Swindon, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Swindon, from the Old Town and the centre to the streets around the railway heritage, 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 Swindon
Addiction Counselling for Swindon, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Swindon: from the Old Town and the centre to Old Walcot, Stratton and West Swindon
- Known for
- The railway heritage, the Magic Roundabout and the Old Town
- Region
- South West (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- Swindon Borough Council's drug and alcohol support services
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Swindon
Why do people in Swindon reach out?
Swindon is a town people arrive in for work. The distribution and logistics sector runs around the clock, Nationwide Building Society and the office economy set their own targets, and the fast line east and west means many residents spend more waking hours elsewhere than here. That produces a particular kind of loneliness: a full week, a tired evening, and not many people who go back far enough to notice a change in you. Habits do well in that. A bet during a break in Rodbourne, a few drinks after a late shift in Stratton, a game or a scroll that runs until two. Nobody comments, because nobody is close enough to.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Swindon
Old TownOld WalcotStrattonWest SwindonGorse HillRodbourneFreshbrookToothillPark NorthWroughton
Wherever you are in Swindon, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Swindon
Official figures for Swindon, for context rather than as a description of you.
the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions (narrow definition) was 605.5 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 2.9 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 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.
The method travels; only the geography changes. everything on addiction counselling explains it properly, the practical side answers the practical questions, and qualifications, registration and ethics shows how the practice is held to account.
How does meeting by video work in practice?
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 Swindon is served online by secure video. That suits a commuting town. No evening is lost to travelling somewhere else after a day already spent travelling, and a session can happen at home before the train or after it. Nobody sees you attend, and no local building is involved at any point. You need a private hour, a decent connection, and headphones if the house is not empty.
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 Swindon
Why people in Swindon come for addiction counselling
This service is broader than drink and drugs, and deliberately so. Gambling belongs here, along with gaming, shopping, pornography and the phone habit that quietly eats an evening. They all offer the same bargain: a dependable change in how you feel, in exchange for money, time or honesty. We look at the bargain rather than lecturing about it. The town's drinking figures stand out. Hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions were 605.5 per 100,000 in 2023/24, above the England average of 504.1, while deaths from drug misuse were 2.9 per 100,000 for 2022 to 2024, half the England average of 5.8. Swindon Borough Council's drug and alcohol support services is the free statutory route, delivered by Change Grow Live. Anything needing a prescriber or a structured programme sits with them rather than here.
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 Swindon
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Swindon, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Swindon Borough Council's drug and alcohol support services.
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.
Swindon questions
Online Addiction Counselling in Swindon: common questions
How soon could I be talking to somebody?
Often within days for the free 15-minute call, and a week or two after that for a first full session. It is a conversation rather than an intake process. No GP is involved, no referral is written, and nothing goes onto a waiting list.
What are the costs?
An hour is £80, 90 minutes is £100 and two hours is £120, with the introductory call free. Payment is per session. If a commute or a shift pattern means you occasionally have to miss a week, that costs you nothing beyond the missed hour.
Where does Swindon Borough Council's drug and alcohol support services fit?
It is the free route into local treatment, provided by Change Grow Live. Prescribing, structured programmes and clinical support all belong there. This is private weekly counselling about the reasons behind the habit, and the two are commonly used side by side.
Does a session have to be at the same time every week?
It helps, though it is not a rule. Consistency gives the work a rhythm, particularly where a habit is tied to one specific evening. Where shifts or travel make that impossible, appointments can move week to week without the work losing its thread.
I gamble on the train and during breaks at work. Does that make it worse?
It makes it easier to hide, which is not the same thing but often more dangerous. Betting fits neatly into dead time, and a commute or a warehouse break is nothing but dead time. Better to look at that directly than to try resisting it.
I moved to Swindon for work and have no family nearby. Can that be part of the work?
Yes. Feeling unrooted in a town you came to for a job is common here, and it is something we can talk through alongside the habit itself. Sessions are held online by secure video. The counselling room is in Hove, on the Sussex coast.
How soon can I start addiction counselling in Swindon?
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 Swindon, from Old Town to Old Walcot, you can begin without waiting for a local referral.
What are your fees, and how do they compare with NHS support in Swindon?
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 Swindon, through your GP, 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 Swindon?
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 Swindon near the Old Town, and I keep some later appointments for busy weeks.
Online Addiction Counselling in Swindon, 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: Bristol, Bath, Reading. See all of South West.
People who come for addiction counselling in Swindon often also look at substance use counselling, counselling for drinking problems and trauma counselling.
There is more on this in my writing: the four Rs framework and illness or indulgence?.
For anyone near the coast, the same addiction counselling runs in person in Hove, where the room is. Every area covered is listed separately.