Daily or binge drinking
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Online Counselling for Drinking Problems · Halifax
Online Counselling for Drinking Problems in Halifax
Online counselling for drinking problems for Halifax, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Halifax, from the Piece Hall 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 Halifax
Counselling for Drinking Problems for Halifax, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Halifax: from the Piece Hall and the centre to King Cross, Sowerby Bridge and Illingworth
- Known for
- The Piece Hall, the Minster and the Calderdale hills
- Region
- Yorkshire & North East (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- Calderdale Council's drugs support
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Halifax
What brings people in Halifax to counselling?
The drinking that brings people to this work in Halifax is almost never dramatic. It is a habit that grew a glass at a time across a decade, in a house in Skircoat or Savile Park or Warley where nothing else appears to be wrong. Long hours, thin pay, the weather closing in on the valley, and an evening that is easier with a drink in it. Nobody stages an intervention over that. Most people arrive because of something small and private: an evening they cannot account for, a promise to themselves that did not survive the week, or simply noticing they no longer want to try a night without it.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Halifax
King CrossSowerby BridgeIllingworthOvendenPellonSavile ParkSkircoatWarleyBoothtownMixenden
Wherever you are in Halifax, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Halifax
Official figures for Halifax, for context rather than as a description of you.
the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-specific conditions was 607.1 per 100,000 in 2023/24, below 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 13.2 per 100,000 in 2024, below the England average of 13.8 per 100,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Alcohol-specific mortality (2024).
Reviewed June 2026.
What does counselling for drinking problems involve?
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 method travels; only the geography changes. the full counselling for drinking problems page explains it properly, how I work 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.
Alcohol counselling for this town is provided online by secure video from Hove, so no one sees you attend anything and there is no journey down into the centre. That matters more than it sounds when the evenings are exactly when the trouble starts. Appointments hold the same weekly time, which gives the week a shape, and they can be set late enough that the house has quietened and you can speak freely.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What can counselling for drinking problems in Halifax help with?
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 Halifax
Why people in Halifax come for counselling for drinking problems
There is no requirement to be abstinent, to be in crisis, or to use the word alcoholic about yourself. Some people stop, some reduce, some spend a while working out what the drink has been doing before deciding anything. On paper the town does not look alarming: admissions for alcohol-specific conditions were 607.1 per 100,000 in 2023/24, below the England average of 611.7 per 100,000, and the alcohol-specific death rate was 13.2 per 100,000 in 2024, below the England average of 13.8. That is genuinely better than much of the region, and it says nothing whatsoever about your own drinking. Averages do not attend anyone's evenings. In sessions we look at what alcohol regulates for you, whether that is sleep, anxiety, loneliness or grief. If your body has become dependent, a doctor or Calderdale Recovery Steps comes first, through Calderdale Council's drugs support.
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 Halifax
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Halifax, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Calderdale 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.
Halifax questions
Online Counselling for Drinking Problems in Halifax: common questions
Halifax does not look bad on the alcohol figures. Does that mean I am fine?
It does not follow at all. Local rates sit below the England average on both admissions and alcohol-specific deaths, but an average describes a population, not a person. Your own sleep, mood, memory and relationships are the only evidence that counts here.
Will I be told to stop drinking altogether?
No. Abstinence turns out to be right for some people and unnecessary for others, and that is not a decision anyone can make for you in week one. The work is about seeing clearly what drinking gives you and what it takes, then choosing.
What if stopping makes me feel physically unwell?
Speak to a doctor before you change anything, since alcohol withdrawal can be genuinely dangerous without medical oversight. Calderdale Recovery Steps handles that from its Halifax hub, reached via Calderdale Council's drugs support, and counselling carries on alongside whatever they put in place.
How much do you charge for alcohol counselling?
The fees are £80 / 60 min, £100 / 90 min and £120 / 120 min, and there is a free 15-minute consultation before anything begins. Payment is per session. Nothing is booked in blocks, so you are never paying for appointments you have not yet had.
My drinking got heavier after the flooding and the disruption. Is that worth raising?
Very much so. Drink is often the quickest way to take the edge off a stretch of upheaval, and it tends to outstay the crisis that started it. Looking at what has not settled since usually does more good than counting glasses.
What if I'm not sure my drinking is bad enough for help?
That uncertainty is a common and reasonable place to start. You don't need a label or a rock-bottom moment. If drinking is on your mind enough to wonder about it, that's reason enough to talk it through and decide what, if anything, you'd like to change.
Can I start drinking problem counselling in Halifax soon?
Yes. I'm Bradley Riddell, a counsellor based in Hove, and I see people across Halifax online rather than from a room in the city. We begin with a free 15-minute consultation, then set a regular weekly slot for drinking support, usually starting within a week or two once you feel ready.
Do you offer in-person or evening drinking problem counselling in Halifax?
For Halifax it is online rather than in person, since my room is in Hove on the south coast. Many find secure video suits drinking work well, joining from home in Savile Park or Sowerby Bridge without a commute. I hold some daytime and early-evening slots, so we can usually find a regular time that fits.
Online Counselling for Drinking Problems in Halifax, 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: Huddersfield, Bradford. See all of Yorkshire & North East.
People who come for counselling for drinking problems in Halifax often also look at addiction counselling, substance use counselling and depression counselling.
You may also find it useful to read about riding out an urge and why practice makes permanent.
For anyone near the coast, the same counselling for drinking problems runs in person in Hove, where the room is. Every area covered is listed separately.