Daily or binge drinking
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Online Counselling for Drinking Problems · Sunderland
Online Counselling for Drinking Problems in Sunderland
Online counselling for drinking problems for Sunderland, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Sunderland, from the city centre and the river to the streets around the river Wear, 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 Sunderland
Counselling for Drinking Problems for Sunderland, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Sunderland: from the city centre and the river to Roker, Hendon and Washington
- Known for
- The river Wear, Roker beach and the Stadium of Light
- Region
- Yorkshire & North East (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 Sunderland
Why people in Sunderland reach out
Sunderland is a proud city shaped by shipbuilding, coal and now car manufacturing, with a strong identity and the lasting marks of industrial change. Insecure work, money worries and a deep local pride that prizes coping all shape what people here carry.
Sunderland stands where the Wear reaches the North Sea, a city with the beaches of Roker and Seaburn on its doorstep and Roker pier reaching out to its lighthouse. Once one of the great shipbuilding rivers of the world, and a major coal port, the city now builds cars, the Nissan plant at Washington is among the largest in Europe, and remembers its craft heritage at the National Glass Centre. The Stadium of Light rises by the river on a former colliery site, home to a football club at the heart of local identity. Penshaw Monument, a Greek-temple folly, watches over Wearside from its hill, and Washington, with its old hall linked to George Washington's forebears, sits within the wider city.
Where work follows shifts and the rhythm of the docks, online sessions bend around unsociable hours rather than asking you to fit your life around them.
Sunderland is home to the University of Sunderland and South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust (Sunderland Royal Hospital); it is also the site of Nissan's car manufacturing plant, one of the largest in Europe.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Sunderland
RokerSeaburnHendonWashingtonSouthwickFulwellMillfieldSilksworthRyhopeHoughton-le-Spring
Wherever you are in Sunderland, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Sunderland
These figures are local context from official sources, not a description of you, but they show the scale of what people in and around Sunderland are living with, and why local support matters.
the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-specific conditions was 1167.1 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 25.4 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.
I'm based in Hove on the south coast and work with people in Sunderland online, by secure video, rather than in person. The distance never comes into it, you meet from home in Roker, Washington or wherever's private, without a journey across Wearside. We'd hold a regular weekly time that fits around shift work, family or study.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
How online counselling for drinking problems in Sunderland 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 Sunderland
Why people in Sunderland come for counselling for drinking problems
In a sociable city that rallies around its football club and its nights out, drinking can be so woven into how people unwind in Sunderland that it's hard to see when it's tipped into something heavier. You don't need to have hit a crisis to look at it. I'm Bradley, a counsellor based in Hove who works with Sunderland clients by secure video. We'd meet at a regular time you can keep from home in Fulwell, Silksworth or wherever's private, and talk through your drinking honestly and without judgement - whether you want to stop, cut back, or simply understand its hold.
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 Sunderland
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Sunderland, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Sunderland City Council's alcohol, drugs and substance misuse 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.
Sunderland questions
Online Counselling for Drinking Problems in Sunderland: common questions
Can I get online counselling for drinking problems if I live in Sunderland?
Yes. I work with people right across Sunderland, from the city centre and the river outwards, and anywhere else in Yorkshire & North East, 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.
Do I have to stop drinking completely to start?
No. Counselling isn't about handing you rules. Some people aim for abstinence, others to cut back or make sense of their drinking. We start from where you are and what you want, and work out together what change would genuinely help you.
Can I start drinking problem counselling in Sunderland soon?
Yes. I'm Bradley Riddell, a counsellor based in Hove, and I see people across Sunderland 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.
What do you charge for drinking problem counselling in Sunderland, and is there an NHS option?
My fees are 80 pounds for a 60-minute session, 100 pounds for 90 minutes and 120 pounds for two hours, after a free 15-minute consultation. In Sunderland you can also self-refer to NHS Talking Therapies or ask your GP; that route is free, though waits for drinking help vary, so private work often starts sooner.
Do you offer in-person or evening drinking problem counselling in Sunderland?
For Sunderland 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 Roker or Seaburn without a commute. I hold some daytime and early-evening slots, so we can usually find a regular time that fits.
Are you based in Sunderland?
No. I work from Hove and see Sunderland clients by secure video call. Being far to the south makes no difference online, sessions come to you at home rather than needing a trip into the city, which many find easier to keep up week to week.
I work shifts at the car plant, can this fit around that?
Yes. Everything is online, so we can find a time that works around rotas rather than office hours, and shifting a video session when a shift changes is straightforward. We'd aim for a steady weekly slot and move it whenever we need to.
Online Counselling for Drinking Problems in Sunderland, 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: Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, Durham. See all of Yorkshire & North East.
All counselling & therapy in Sunderland: 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.