Daily or binge drinking
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Online Counselling for Drinking Problems · Bristol
Online Counselling for Drinking Problems in Bristol
Online counselling for drinking problems for Bristol, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Bristol, from the harbourside and the centre to the streets around the Suspension Bridge, 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 Bristol
Counselling for Drinking Problems for Bristol, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Bristol: from the harbourside and the centre to Clifton, Bedminster, Stokes Croft and Easton
- Known for
- The Suspension Bridge, the harbourside and the Downs
- Region
- South West (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- Local council drug & alcohol service (see below)
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Bristol
Why people in Bristol reach out
Bristol is the creative, independent capital of the South West, but its energy comes with sharp housing costs and a widening gap between its prosperous and its struggling neighbourhoods. The pace of a fast-growing city, long hours in its tech and creative industries, and the sheer cost of affording to live here can quietly wear people down.
Bristol keeps a lot of plates spinning. Mornings on Gloucester Road, one of the longest runs of independent shops in the country, give way to the offices around Temple Quay and the aerospace works up at Filton, where much of the city's engineering still turns. Students from the university and UWE fill the terraces of Redland and Stokes Croft, while families in Bedminster and Easton juggle rising rents against wages that rarely keep pace. Between the harbourside studios, the music nights and the ferry crossing the Floating Harbour, it is a city that prizes doing things its own way. That same independence can make it hard to say when you are struggling, and a quiet, confidential hour can be a real relief.
With the academic year setting a relentless pace, online sessions flex around terms, deadlines and shift work rather than fighting them.
Bristol is home to the University of Bristol and UWE Bristol, with acute hospitals run by University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (Bristol Royal Infirmary) and North Bristol NHS Trust (Southmead Hospital). Major employers include the aerospace cluster at Filton (Airbus and Rolls-Royce).
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Bristol
CliftonBedminsterStokes CroftEastonBishopstonSouthvilleRedlandMontpelierFishpondsKnowleHorfieldSt Pauls
Wherever you are in Bristol, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Bristol
These figures are local context from official sources, not a description of you, but they show the scale of what people in and around Bristol are living with, and why local support matters.
the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-specific conditions was 1156.4 per 100,000 in 2023/24, above the England average of 611.7 per 100,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Admission episodes for alcohol-specific conditions (2023/24).
the alcohol-specific death rate was 15.3 per 100,000 in 2024, above the England average of 13.8 per 100,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Alcohol-specific mortality (2024).
Local data last reviewed June 2026. Each figure shows the year and links to the official source it was read on.
The counselling for drinking problems itself
Counselling for drinking problems here looks beneath the habit at what drives it, you do not need to have hit rock bottom to begin, and signposts medical, detox and peer support where useful.
The approach is the same wherever you live, so rather than repeat it on every page you can read it in full, the methods, what each session covers and fees, on the main counselling for drinking problems page and on how I work.
How online sessions work
Sessions run over a secure, encrypted video link held to the same strict BACP confidentiality as meeting in person. After a free fifteen-minute call to check we are a good fit, you join each session from any private space using a phone, tablet or laptop, no software to install, no waiting room and no journey at either end.
Bristol moves people by rail from Temple Meads, by the MetroBus routes that thread across the city, and along the M4 and M5 that ring it. Even so, cross-city traffic and parking can turn a short trip into a long one. Secure online sessions remove that entirely, letting us meet from wherever you feel private. The consulting room itself is in Hove, so Bristol is served online; in-person appointments only suit those able to travel to the Sussex coast.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
How online counselling for drinking problems in Bristol can help
The cause, not the habit
Looking beneath the drinking to what drives it.
Anxiety and low mood
Working with what the alcohol has been managing.
Privacy at home
Sensitive support without anyone needing to know.
Signposting
Links to medical, detox and peer support where useful.
Without the anaesthetic
Reconnecting with the person beneath the drinking.
Counselling for Drinking Problems in Bristol
Why people in Bristol come for counselling for drinking problems
In a city with as lively a social life as Bristol, from the harbourside bars to the pubs of Southville, drinking can blur from a way of unwinding into something you lean on. When most evenings seem to involve a drink, noticing that the balance has tipped takes real honesty. Counselling gives you an unhurried, confidential hour to look at your relationship with alcohol, without shame or lectures. Sessions are held by secure video, so there is no journey across the city. The room is in Hove, meaning Bristol is served online, with in-person visits only for those who can reach the Sussex coast.
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 Bristol
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Bristol, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Bristol City Council's drug and alcohol 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.
Bristol questions
Online Counselling for Drinking Problems in Bristol: common questions
Can I get online counselling for drinking problems if I live in Bristol?
Yes. I work with people right across Bristol, from the harbourside and the centre outwards, and anywhere else in South West, by secure video, no need to travel to Hove, and just as confidential as meeting in the room.
Do I have to stop drinking completely to start?
No, and you do not need to have hit rock bottom. We look at the role drinking plays and find a steadier way forward at your pace.
Can you help me cut down rather than quit?
For many people moderation is a valid goal, and we will be honest together about what is realistic for you.
What if I've tried before and relapsed?
Relapse is part of many people's recovery, not a failure. We learn from it rather than start the count again from zero.
Everyone around me in Bristol drinks. How do I know if it's a problem?
If drink has become something you plan around, hide, or struggle to cut back on, that is worth exploring, whatever those around you do. Counselling offers space to look honestly. We meet online by secure video; the room is in Hove.
How quickly can I get help for a drinking problem in Bristol?
Usually within days. We start with a free 15-minute consultation to see whether we are a good fit, then book your first full session. It is all online, so you can begin from anywhere in Bristol, from Montpelier to Fishponds, without joining a local waiting list.
What will drinking problem counselling cost, and is NHS help available in Bristol?
My fees are £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 minutes and £120 for 120 minutes, after a free 15-minute consultation. NHS alcohol support in Bristol, through your GP, is free but can mean a wait, whereas private online sessions with me are paced around you.
Is online drinking problem counselling private, and can we meet in the evening in Bristol?
Yes. Online sessions are discreet, and you speak from home rather than a clinic anywhere in Bristol, including Knowle or Horfield. I offer some evening slots for after work. My only in-person room is in Hove, so face-to-face suits those able to travel to the Sussex coast.
I'm a student at the University of Bristol or UWE. Can we still work together?
Yes. Many students find online sessions easier to fit around lectures and can take them from a room in halls or a shared house without crossing the city. The counselling room is in Hove, so we would meet by secure video wherever you are in Bristol.
Does shift work at Filton or on the harbourside make counselling hard to arrange?
Not really. Because sessions are held online, they can be booked around irregular hours in the aerospace works or the creative studios, without tying you to a fixed commute. We meet by video; the room itself is in Hove, on the Sussex coast.
Online Counselling for Drinking Problems in Bristol, 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: Bath, Weston-super-Mare, Gloucester. See all of South West.
All counselling & therapy in Bristol: Addiction · Substance Use · Anxiety · Depression · Relationship · Trauma · Counselling & Therapy · Psychotherapy.
Closer to the Sussex coast? The same counselling for drinking problems is available in person in Brighton & Hove, or see all in-person areas.