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Online Addiction Counselling · Wigan
Online Addiction Counselling in Wigan
Online addiction counselling for Wigan, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Wigan, from the town centre and the pier to the streets around the rugby league 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 Wigan
Addiction Counselling for Wigan, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Wigan: from the town centre and the pier to Ince, Pemberton and Hindley
- Known for
- Wigan Pier, the rugby league heritage and the flashes
- Region
- North West (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 Wigan
Why people in Wigan get in touch
Wigan has a fierce sense of itself. Mining and mill work built the town, rugby league gave it a religion, and what came out of all that is a place that prizes getting on with things and not making a song and dance. It is a fine quality and it is also why addiction here goes unspoken for years. In Ince, Pemberton, Hindley or Standish, the drink after the shift, the tablets left over from an injury and the bet placed every day on a phone are all managed privately. Asking for help would mean admitting you are not coping, and in a town this proud that is the hardest sentence to say out loud.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Wigan
the town centreIncePembertonHindleyStandishAspullOrrellAshton-in-Makerfield
Wherever you are in Wigan, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Wigan
Official figures for Wigan, for context rather than as a description of you.
the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions (narrow definition) was 485.7 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 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 does addiction counselling involve?
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.
Rather than say the same thing on every page, the substance lives on the addiction counselling page, with how I work for the practical questions and professional standards and registration for registration and ethics.
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.
There is no room in Wigan; Bradley is in Hove and everything happens by secure video. In a town where people know each other's business, that matters more than any other feature. Nobody sees you go in anywhere, because there is nowhere to go. The hour can be taken at home, in a parked car, or out by the flashes if that is the only place you get any peace. Times are agreed ahead and can fit around shifts.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
Which difficulties does addiction counselling address?
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 Wigan
Why people in Wigan come for addiction counselling
Addiction counselling in Wigan takes in alcohol, drugs, prescribed medication, gambling and the compulsive habits that never get a name of their own. The alcohol harm here is well above the national picture: hospital admissions for alcohol-specific conditions were 775.9 per 100,000 in 2023/24, against an England average of 611.7 per 100,000. That is what the town looks like from the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary. From inside a house in Aspull or Orrell it looks like an ordinary evening that has been ordinary for a very long time. The work does not begin with a demand or a diagnosis. It begins with what the habit is doing and what would have to be in place before it could stop being necessary. Wigan Council drug and alcohol services and the NHS 'find a service' directory are the routes to 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 Wigan
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 “Wigan”).
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.
Wigan questions
Online Addiction Counselling in Wigan: common questions
Round here you just get on with it. Does counselling not seem a bit soft?
Describing something you have hidden for years to a stranger is not the easy option. Getting on with it is a genuine strength, and it is also what allows a habit to run unchallenged for a decade. Using an hour a week to look at it straight is a practical decision, not a soft one.
Mine is betting on the rugby. Is that covered here?
It is, and betting on sport is one of the commonest versions, precisely because it looks like following the game. The line is not about how much you know or how sensible the stakes seem. It is about whether you can leave a weekend alone once you have decided to.
What do Wigan Council drug and alcohol services do?
They are the local route to assessment, prescribing and structured treatment for both drink and drugs, and the NHS 'find a service' directory lists what covers the borough. If there is physical dependence, that route comes first because withdrawal needs medical oversight. Counselling handles everything a prescription cannot.
What is the damage, cost-wise?
An hour costs £80, ninety minutes £100 and two hours £120, and before any of that a free 15-minute consultation lets you ask whatever you want without paying anything. Sessions are settled one at a time, so there is no lump sum and nothing to sign up to.
How would I even start?
With a message and then a free consultation, which is a short conversation rather than an assessment. You say as much or as little as you want, ask what you need to ask, and decide afterwards. Nothing is booked and nothing is expected until you say so.
Asking for help feels like admitting I've failed. Is it?
Not at all. Choosing to face something head-on takes more strength than carrying it alone. Plenty of proud, capable people in Wigan use counselling to deal with an addiction and move forward. It's a private, practical step, and it stays between us.
How soon can I start addiction counselling in Wigan online?
Usually within a week. We begin with a free 15-minute consultation, then set your first session by secure video or phone. I am based in Hove and work across Wigan online, from Pemberton to Standish, so there is no trip to the station and no clinic list to wait on.
How do your fees compare with Wigan Talking Therapies on the NHS?
Wigan Talking Therapies and services through the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary are free, though waits vary. Privately with me it is a free 15-minute consultation, then £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for 120 minutes, all set out clearly.
Do you offer in-person or evening addiction sessions in Wigan?
I do not work in person here; my room is in Hove and Wigan sessions are all online. That saves any trip into town, and working online makes evening and quieter daytime slots easier to arrange around shifts, work and family.
Online Addiction Counselling in Wigan, 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 North West: Bolton, Manchester, Warrington. See all of North West.
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 Wigan.
There is more on this in my writing: the four-stage cycle of addiction and the four Rs framework.
Within reach of Sussex? addiction counselling is offered in the room in Brighton as well as online; see the full list of areas.