Daily or binge drinking
Support whatever your pattern looks like.
Online Counselling for Drinking Problems · Leeds
Online Counselling for Drinking Problems in Leeds
Online counselling for drinking problems for Leeds, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Leeds, from the centre and the waterfront to the streets around the arcades, 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 Leeds
Counselling for Drinking Problems for Leeds, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Leeds: from the centre and the waterfront to Headingley, Chapeltown, Armley and Roundhay
- Known for
- The arcades, the waterfront and the universities
- Region
- Yorkshire & North East (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- Leeds City Council's Forward Leeds drug and alcohol service
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Leeds
Why do people in Leeds reach out?
Leeds looks moderate on paper and is not. The rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions was 443.7 per 100,000 in 2023/24, below the England average of 504.1, yet the alcohol-specific death rate stood at 15.8 per 100,000 in 2024 against 13.8 nationally. Serious drinking here does not usually announce itself in an ambulance. It looks like client entertaining that never really ends, a bottle shared over supper in Roundhay that became a bottle each, wine bought on the walk home to Chapel Allerton because the day needs a full stop. Function is maintained long after any of the enjoyment has gone.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Leeds
HeadingleyHyde ParkChapel AllertonRoundhayKirkstallMeanwoodHorsforthArmleyBeestonHolbeckMorleyPudsey
Wherever you are in Leeds, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Leeds
Official figures for Leeds, for context rather than as a description of you.
the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-specific conditions was 596.3 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 15.8 per 100,000 in 2024, above the England average of 13.8 per 100,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Alcohol-specific mortality (2024).
Reviewed June 2026.
What would we do together in counselling for drinking problems?
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 does not change with the postcode, so rather than repeat it on every page you can read it in full, the methods and what each session covers, on counselling for drinking problems in detail, alongside the practical side and my BACP registration.
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.
Everything is online by secure video, which suits a city where the evening commute eats the hour a session would need. Bradley works from Hove and there is no room here to attend. That means no car park, no reception and no chance of passing somebody from work on the stairs. People book from home in Morley or Pudsey, from a quiet office after six, or from a bedroom while the house eats downstairs. The opening 15 minutes cost nothing, whenever you use them.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
Which difficulties does counselling for drinking problems address?
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 Leeds
Why people in Leeds come for counselling for drinking problems
Two beliefs keep people drinking longer than they meant to. The first is that you must want to stop entirely before you are entitled to ask for help. The second is that something has to go badly wrong first. Neither is true, and both are expensive. You can come while you are still doing well at work, still liked, still nowhere near the version of a drinker you picture when you hear the word. What we examine is the job the drink is doing: switching off a mind trained to stay switched on, softening a commute, taking the edge off a house that has gone quiet. Some people choose to stop. Others change when, where and with whom. Leeds City Council's Forward Leeds drug and alcohol service offers free help with alcohol, and Leeds Mind supports the wider picture. If you drink heavily every day, talk to your GP before making sudden changes.
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 Leeds
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Leeds, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Leeds City Council's Forward Leeds drug and alcohol service.
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.
Leeds questions
Online Counselling for Drinking Problems in Leeds: common questions
Everyone in my industry drinks like this - how do I know where the line is?
Volume is a poor guide because the whole room has moved together. Better questions are whether you can stop once started, whether the evening quietly organises itself around it, and whether you drink to steady yourself rather than to enjoy anything. Compare yourself with yourself, earlier.
Can I keep drinking while we work, or is abstinence the condition?
You can keep drinking. Abstinence is one destination among several and is never the price of entry. Some people reduce, some separate drink from particular triggers, and some do eventually stop. What you choose emerges from the work rather than preceding it.
Is there anything free in Leeds if I cannot afford counselling?
Yes. Forward Leeds provides free confidential alcohol support for the city and takes self-referrals, and Leeds City Council's Forward Leeds drug and alcohol service explains how to reach it. Using that service does not stop you adding counselling later if you want to.
Would an evening session be possible after a late finish in town?
Evening slots exist and are usually the first to go. Working online means the session starts when you get in rather than when you have crossed the city to reach it, which is often the difference between attending and cancelling. A 90-minute slot at £100 suits fortnightly work.
I only drink at home alone - does that make it worse or better?
Neither, but it does make it easier to miss. Solitary drinking has no social brake and no witness, so the amount drifts upward without any obvious moment of change. It also tends to be doing a specific job, and that job is exactly what the sessions look at.
Do I have to stop drinking completely to start counselling?
No. Counselling isn't about being handed rules. Some people aim for abstinence, others to cut back or understand their drinking better. We start from where you are and what you want, and figure out together what change would actually help you.
How soon could I begin drinking problem counselling from Leeds?
Usually fairly soon. Working online means I am not tied to Leeds clinic hours, so we can find a slot that fits around Wellington Place and the legal quarter. It starts with a free 15-minute consultation about your drinking, then a regular weekly session once we agree things suit you.
Is private drinking problem counselling in Leeds worth it over the NHS route?
Privately I charge £80 an hour, £100 for 90 minutes and £120 for two hours, with a free 15-minute call first. Leeds also has NHS routes, through your GP or Leeds Teaching Hospitals, at no cost; those can involve a wait, so private sessions suit anyone wanting to begin drinking work now.
Can drinking problem counselling fit around work in Leeds, and is it online?
Sessions with me are online only for Leeds, as I am based in Hove. People working near Wellington Place and the legal quarter often prefer this, fitting drinking counselling around the day without travel across the city. I offer daytime and some early-evening appointments, and we would keep the same weekly slot wherever possible.
Online Counselling for Drinking Problems in Leeds, 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: Bradford, Wakefield, Sheffield. See all of Yorkshire & North East.
Related work in Leeds: addiction counselling, substance use counselling and depression counselling.
There is more on this in my writing: why practice makes permanent and questioning “once an addict”.
If you can reach the south coast, this work is also done face to face in Brighton — all in-person areas are listed here.