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Online Addiction Counselling · York
Online Addiction Counselling in York
Online addiction counselling for York, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across York, from within the walls and the centre to the streets around the Minster, 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 York
Addiction Counselling for York, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of York: from within the walls and the centre to Clifton, Acomb and Heworth
- Known for
- The Minster, the city walls and the Shambles
- Region
- Yorkshire & North East (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- City of York Council's alcohol and drugs support
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in York
Why people in York get in touch
York is a city that is always being looked at. The tourism and heritage sector keeps the centre polished and busy, and living inside a postcard makes any private mess feel doubly out of place. That shows up in how late people leave it before saying anything: 26.2% of adults here reported a high anxiety score in 2022/23, above the England average of 23.8%. Hospitality shifts finish when the pubs do, students from the University of York fill Heslington and Fulford, and the cost of living keeps everyone stretched. A betting account, a bottle or a screen slots into those hours without a word to anyone in Clifton or Acomb.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around York
CliftonAcombHeworthBishopthorpeFulfordFishergateHolgateDringhousesHuntingtonHeslington
Wherever you are in York, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in York
Official figures for York, for context rather than as a description of you.
the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions (narrow definition) was 518.4 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 8.2 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 method travels; only the geography changes. addiction counselling in detail explains it properly, how I work, sessions and fees answers the practical questions, and professional standards and registration shows how the practice is held to account.
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.
Counselling is delivered online by secure video. Bradley is in Hove and there is no room in York, which matters in a compact city where the same faces recur all week. Nobody sees you go anywhere. Sessions can be set for late morning after a night on the bar, an early evening before a shift, or a quiet weekday hour once a house in Holgate or Dringhouses is empty. The introductory 15-minute conversation carries no fee.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What does addiction counselling 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 York
Why people in York come for addiction counselling
A lot of people here have spent years deciding their problem is not serious enough to mention, partly because the surroundings seem to insist that life is pleasant. Comparison is a poor guide. Addiction covers gambling, gaming and compulsive spending alongside drink and drugs, and behavioural compulsions are especially easy to hide in a city of long, irregular hospitality hours and expensive rent. What we do is take the loop apart: what starts it, what it hands you within minutes, what it takes back by the next day, and what has quietly been organised around it. City of York Council's alcohol and drugs support is the free local route, York Drug and Alcohol Service works with drink and drugs across the city, and York Mind covers wider mental health. This work sits beside them, and daily use is a reason to talk to your GP.
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 York
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In York, free local drug and alcohol support is available through City of York Council's alcohol and 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.
York questions
Online Addiction Counselling in York: common questions
I work hospitality shifts in the city centre - when could I actually have sessions?
Late mornings and early afternoons tend to suit hospitality best, and both are available. Because there is no travelling involved, a session fits into a gap that would otherwise be too short to use. Appointments are arranged around each rota rather than fixed permanently.
Does gambling count, or would I be sent somewhere else?
It counts here. Betting produces the same anticipation, relief and concealment that any substance does, and it leaves no physical evidence at all, which is why it runs so long undetected. Gaming and compulsive spending are worked with in the same way.
What are the fees, and is there free help in York?
Sessions cost £80 / 60 min, £100 / 90 min or £120 / 120 min, and the first 15 minutes are free. York Drug and Alcohol Service offers free confidential help with drink and drugs, reached through City of York Council's alcohol and drugs support.
Everything looks fine from outside - will I be told I am overreacting?
You will not. How a life looks from the street has no bearing on what it costs to keep it looking that way. If you are worried enough to have gone looking for a counsellor, that concern is treated as real from the first minute onwards.
I am a student at Heslington - is it worth starting mid-term?
It is, and mid-term is often when patterns become obvious. Because everything happens online, the work does not stop at the end of term or when you go home for the summer, which is usually when a habit either loosens or quietly gets worse.
Are you based in York?
No, I work from Hove and see York clients by secure video call. In a city where the centre is always busy with visitors, meeting from home means no walk through the crowds and no parking within the walls - you can talk from wherever feels private.
Is there addiction counselling available in York, and how quickly?
There is no consulting room in York, but I work right across the area by secure video from Hove. Whether you are near Clifton or Acomb, 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 York done online or face to face?
I do not offer face-to-face sessions in York; 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 university and heritage sector is manageable.
Online Addiction Counselling in York, 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: Leeds, Hull, Harrogate. 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 York.
There is more on this in my writing: the four Rs framework and illness or indulgence?.
Within reach of Sussex? addiction counselling is offered in the room in Hove, where the room is as well as online; see the full list of areas.