Daily or binge drinking
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Online Counselling for Drinking Problems · Liverpool
Online Counselling for Drinking Problems in Liverpool
Online counselling for drinking problems for Liverpool, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Liverpool, from the waterfront and the centre to the streets around the two cathedrals, 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 Liverpool
Counselling for Drinking Problems for Liverpool, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Liverpool: from the waterfront and the centre to Toxteth, Anfield, Allerton and Walton
- Known for
- The waterfront, the two cathedrals and the music heritage
- 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 Liverpool
What is going on for people in Liverpool?
Drinking in Liverpool is social, generous and everywhere, and that is not a criticism. A city that goes out together is a good place to live. It is also a place where the drink that stopped being social is nearly impossible to spot. Nobody notices the extra one on the way home, or the bottle that waits in Anfield or Toxteth for after everyone has gone to bed. The round is a courtesy and refusing it takes explaining. So the drinking that has quietly changed carries on inside a culture that will never comment, which is why it is possible to get a long way in without ever being asked a single question about it.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Liverpool
the city centre and waterfrontToxtethAnfieldAllertonWaltonAigburthWavertreeWooltonKensingtonthe Baltic Triangle
Wherever you are in Liverpool, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Liverpool
Official figures for Liverpool, for context rather than as a description of you.
the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-specific conditions was 1151.5 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 18.8 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 actually happens 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.
Because the work itself is the same wherever you live, the detail sits in one place rather than all of them: the main counselling for drinking problems page sets out the methods, how I work, sessions and fees covers the practicalities, and professional standards and registration covers accountability.
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.
Bradley works from Hove and there is no room in Liverpool, so sessions happen online. For drinking, the practical gains are immediate: no journey either way, no car to think about, and no arriving anywhere feeling rough. Appointments can be set for the morning, which is often when the previous night is most honest, or later if that suits the week better. Nothing about it is visible to anyone in the city.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What sort of things do people bring?
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 Liverpool
Why people in Liverpool come for counselling for drinking problems
You do not need a rock bottom, a label, or a plan to stop for good. The city's alcohol figures are among the heavier ones in the country: hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions were 596 per 100,000 in 2023/24, above the England average of 504.1 per 100,000, and the alcohol-specific death rate was 18.8 per 100,000 in 2024, well above the England average of 13.8 per 100,000. What those numbers cannot show is the far larger group who are worried and functioning. That is who this is for. The aim can be stopping, cutting back, or working out what the drink is doing on the evenings you had meant to leave it alone. River, Mersey Care's Hope Centre and the NHS 'find a service' directory cover the medical and structured side, and a GP should be involved before you change a heavy daily amount.
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 Liverpool
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 “Liverpool”).
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.
Liverpool questions
Online Counselling for Drinking Problems in Liverpool: common questions
How do I get out of rounds without a whole conversation about it?
That is a practical problem and worth planning properly rather than improvising. Buying your own, arriving later, driving, or having a reason ready that is nobody's business all work. It is worth rehearsing, because the moment at the bar is not when anyone thinks clearly.
Do I have to stop completely?
No. That decision is yours and it can be revisited as often as you like. Reducing, taking a period off, or changing where and when you drink are all legitimate. The one hard rule is medical: heavy daily drinking should not be stopped abruptly without a GP, because it can be dangerous.
What do River and the Hope Centre offer?
River is the community drug and alcohol service for Liverpool, and Mersey Care's Hope Centre provides NHS drug and alcohol services. Between them they cover assessment, prescribing, detoxification pathways and structured recovery. The NHS 'find a service' directory will point you to both. Counselling works well alongside either and is not a replacement for them.
How much is a session?
Sixty minutes costs £80, ninety minutes £100 and two hours £120, after a free 15-minute consultation that costs nothing and commits you to nothing. Payment happens per session. Weekly is the usual pattern at first, though that is a matter for discussion rather than a rule.
I have tried stopping on my own more than once. Does that mean it will not work?
It means willpower on its own has not been enough, which is true for almost everyone. Repeated attempts are information about what the drinking is doing rather than evidence about you. The work usually starts by looking at what happened just before each attempt came apart.
Do you work with people who've tried to cut down before and failed?
Absolutely. Slipping back is common and it doesn't mean you can't change. Often it tells us something useful about what's driving the drinking. We build on what you've already learned, without shame, and work out an approach that has a better chance of lasting.
How do I begin counselling for a drinking problem in Liverpool?
Book a free 15-minute consultation, we talk through what is happening, and if it feels right we arrange a first session, often within a week. It runs online from Hove, so wherever you are in Liverpool, from Allerton to Walton, you can start from home.
What will drinking problem counselling cost compared with the NHS in Liverpool?
NHS alcohol support across Merseyside is free but sometimes involves a wait. With me you get a free 15-minute consultation, then £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for 120 minutes, with nothing hidden.
Is online counselling for drinking as effective as meeting in Liverpool, and are evenings possible?
For many, speaking from home makes it easier to be honest about drinking, and online keeps that. There is no Liverpool room to visit, only Hove, so it is video or phone. Evenings are usually available when daytime does not work.
Online Counselling for Drinking Problems in Liverpool, 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: Warrington, Preston, Chester. See all of North West.
Also available in Liverpool: addiction counselling, substance use counselling and depression counselling.
Some further reading, if that helps before getting in touch: riding out an urge and why practice makes permanent.
If you can reach the south coast, this work is also done face to face in Brighton — all in-person areas are listed here.