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Online Addiction Counselling · Torquay
Online Addiction Counselling in Torquay
Online addiction counselling for Torquay, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Torquay, from the harbour and seafront to the streets around the English Riviera, 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 Torquay
Addiction Counselling for Torquay, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Torquay: from the harbour and seafront to Babbacombe, St Marychurch and Chelston
- Known for
- The harbour, the seafront and the English Riviera
- Region
- South West (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- Torbay Council's drugs support
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Torquay
What is going on for people in Torquay?
Torquay has two winters: the calendar one and the economic one. The English Riviera tourism and hospitality sector employs a great deal of the bay through the season, and then the season ends and the hours go with it. What is left is time, and not much money to spend on it. That combination suits a compulsion perfectly. A betting app costs nothing to open, a game asks nothing of you, and a drink is cheaper than an evening out. Behind the palm trees and the seafront, Ellacombe, Torre and Watcombe carry some of the sharpest hardship in the region, and habits begun in a busy August are still running quietly in February.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Torquay
BabbacombeSt MarychurchChelstonEllacombeWellswoodCockingtonShiphayTorreWatcombe
Wherever you are in Torquay, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Torquay
Official figures for Torquay, for context rather than as a description of you.
the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions (narrow definition) was 672.3 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 4.6 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 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 I work, sessions and fees covers the practicalities, and qualifications, registration and ethics covers accountability.
How do online sessions actually work?
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 the bay is served online by secure video. In a town where the same people work the same places year after year, that counts for a lot. There is no local service to be seen walking into and no reception where somebody might know your face. Sessions run from a bedroom, a car park above the bay, or anywhere private for an hour. They also fit around a season, moving as the hours move.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What can addiction counselling in Torquay help with?
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 Torquay
Why people in Torquay come for addiction counselling
This work covers the whole range, not only substances. Gambling in particular thrives in a seasonal economy, because it fills the empty months and promises to solve the money problem it is busy creating. Gaming, shopping, pornography and phone use follow the same pattern, as does drinking. What we examine is the loop: what starts it, how long the relief lasts, and what it takes in return. Nobody is lectured. The alcohol figures for this area are hard to ignore, with hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions at 672.3 per 100,000 in 2023/24, well above the England average of 504.1, while deaths from drug misuse were lower at 4.6 per 100,000 for 2022 to 2024 against 5.8 nationally. Torbay Council's drugs support is the free route, and the Torbay Drug and Alcohol Service provides local 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 Torquay
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Torquay, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Torbay Council's drugs 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.
Torquay questions
Online Addiction Counselling in Torquay: common questions
How do I get started?
You get in touch and a free 15-minute call is set up. There is no assessment and no paperwork, and you are under no obligation afterwards. If you want to continue, weekly sessions usually start within a fortnight, with no referral and no waiting list involved.
Is this affordable on seasonal earnings?
That depends on the season, and it is worth saying plainly. An hour is £80, 90 minutes is £100 and two hours is £120, with a free first call. Because nothing is prepaid, you can work weekly through the busy months and pause when the hours disappear.
What is Torbay Council's drugs support?
It is the free local route into help, leading to the Torbay Drug and Alcohol Service for structured treatment, harm reduction and prescribing. Counselling here does none of that. It is the private weekly conversation about why the habit took hold, and the two run together well.
Can I do sessions between shifts?
Yes. Because there is no travel, an appointment fits into a gap rather than needing a whole free evening. Slots exist early and late. If your hours change every week, the session can move rather than be lost, though a fixed time helps where possible.
The betting started to cover a quiet winter. How do I stop it running the year?
By looking at what the winter actually does to you, rather than only at the betting. Empty months, reduced income and long evenings are the conditions it grew in. Change those and the habit has less to hold onto, which is usually where this work begins.
The bay can feel isolating, especially in winter. Can regular sessions help?
They can. A steady, confidential conversation offers a fixed point through the long off-season, whatever else is changing around you. Sessions are held online by secure video from home. The counselling room is in Hove, on the Sussex coast.
How soon can I start addiction counselling in Torquay?
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 Torquay, from Babbacombe to St Marychurch, you can begin without waiting for a local referral.
What are your fees, and how do they compare with NHS support in Torquay?
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 Torquay, through your GP or services around Torbay 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 Torquay?
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 Torquay near the harbour, and I keep some later appointments for busy weeks.
Online Addiction Counselling in Torquay, 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, Plymouth. See all of South West.
Close to this in Torquay, there is substance use counselling, counselling for drinking problems and trauma counselling.
Some further reading, if that helps before getting in touch: the four Rs framework and illness or indulgence?.
If you can reach the south coast, this work is also done face to face in Brighton — all in-person areas are listed here.