Daily or binge drinking
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Online Counselling for Drinking Problems · Wigan
Online Counselling for Drinking Problems in Wigan
Online counselling for drinking problems for Wigan, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Wigan, from the town centre and the pier to the streets around the rugby league heritage, 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 Wigan
Counselling for Drinking Problems for Wigan, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Wigan: from the town centre and the pier to Ince, Pemberton and Hindley
- Known for
- Wigan Pier, the rugby league heritage and the flashes
- 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 Wigan
Why people in Wigan get in touch
Drinking in Wigan is sociable, generous and largely beyond comment. Matchdays, the end of a shift, a Friday in the town centre, cans at home on a wet Sunday. The overall admissions figure for the borough is below the national one, so from the outside there is nothing to see. From the inside, the alcohol-specific death rate tells a much harder story. Between those two facts sit a great many ordinary evenings in Hindley or Pemberton where somebody is drinking more than they meant to and nobody is going to say anything, because in a town that prides itself on coping, mentioning it would be the bigger breach.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Wigan
the town centreIncePembertonHindleyStandishAspullOrrellAshton-in-Makerfield
Wherever you are in Wigan, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Wigan
Official figures for Wigan, for context rather than as a description of you.
the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-specific conditions was 775.9 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 19.7 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 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 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 the counselling for drinking problems page, alongside how I work and how to check my 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.
Bradley is based in Hove and there is no room in Wigan, so this is done by video at a time you choose. For drinking the advantages are simple: no journey in either direction, and no need to be presentable to a receptionist. Mornings tend to be the clearest hour and can be booked without explaining yourself to anyone. Evening slots exist for people whose shifts do not finish until late.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What can counselling for drinking problems in Wigan 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 Wigan
Why people in Wigan come for counselling for drinking problems
You do not have to call yourself anything or promise anything to start this work. Wigan's alcohol-related hospital admissions were 485.7 per 100,000 in 2023/24, below the England average of 504.1 per 100,000, while the alcohol-specific death rate was 19.7 per 100,000 in 2024, well above the England average of 13.8 per 100,000. The gap between those two figures is the part nobody sees: heavy drinking that never troubles a hospital until it does, all at once. This work is for the years before that, when the drinking is heavy, functional and entirely unmentioned. Stopping, cutting down and simply understanding it are all legitimate aims. Wigan Council drug and alcohol services and the NHS 'find a service' directory handle the medical side, and a GP should be involved before you change a heavy daily habit.
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 Wigan
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 “Wigan”).
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.
Wigan questions
Online Counselling for Drinking Problems in Wigan: common questions
Everyone drinks like this round here. What makes mine different?
Possibly nothing, and possibly a lot. The group tells you what is normal locally, not what is happening to you. A more useful measure is whether you can decide not to drink on a given night and then actually not drink, and how often that decision has been failing lately.
Do I have to pack it in altogether?
No. Cutting back, having planned dry stretches, or getting the solitary drinking down while keeping the social side are all legitimate places to aim. What is genuinely unsafe is stopping a heavy daily habit on your own, so a GP needs to be involved in that part.
What is there locally for alcohol?
Wigan Council drug and alcohol services covers alcohol as well as drugs, and the NHS 'find a service' directory will confirm what serves the borough. That is where assessment and any medical management sit. Counselling can run alongside from the start, and there is no order you are obliged to follow.
What am I looking at for cost?
£80 for the standard hour, £100 for ninety minutes, £120 for two hours, and a free 15-minute consultation before any of it. There is no charge to find out whether this suits you, and no obligation afterwards. Sessions are paid as you have them.
I am fine all week and then write off the weekend. Does that count?
It counts. Concentrated weekend drinking does real physical and personal damage, and the sober weekdays often become the argument for carrying on. What matters is whether the weekend is under your control or running to its own schedule regardless of what you had planned.
Everyone round here drinks. How do I know when it's too much?
It's less about comparing yourself to others and more about the impact on you. If drinking is affecting your sleep, mood, money or relationships, or you've tried to cut back and couldn't, that's a sign worth taking seriously, wherever you are in Wigan.
How do I start counselling for a drinking problem in Wigan?
You book a free 15-minute consultation, we talk over what is troubling you, and if it feels right we set a first session, usually within a week. It is online from Hove, so wherever you are in Wigan, from Orrell to Aspull, you can begin at home.
What are your drinking counselling fees against NHS help in Wigan?
Wigan's NHS alcohol services are free at the point of use but can involve a wait. With me there is a free 15-minute consultation, then £80 for an hour, £100 for 90 minutes and £120 for two hours, with no extras.
Is online as good as in person for drinking in Wigan, and can it be evenings?
Many people find home the easier place to admit when drinking weighs heavy, and online keeps that. There is a proud instinct here to get on with it; online lowers the step of asking. My room is in Hove only, and evenings are usually available.
Online Counselling for Drinking Problems in Wigan, 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: Bolton, Manchester, Warrington. See all of North West.
Close to this in Wigan, there is addiction counselling, substance use counselling and depression counselling.
Some further reading, if that helps before getting in touch: why practice makes permanent and questioning “once an addict”.
Within reach of Sussex? counselling for drinking problems is offered in the room in Brighton as well as online; see the full list of areas.