Drugs and substances
Confidential support for any kind of substance use.
Online Substance Use Counselling · Bangor
Online Substance Use Counselling in Bangor
Online substance use counselling for Bangor, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Bangor, from the marina and the centre to the streets around the coastal path, 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 Bangor
Substance Use Counselling for Bangor, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Bangor: from the marina and the centre to Ballyholme, Groomsport and Conlig
- Known for
- The marina, the coastal path and Belfast Lough
- Region
- Northern Ireland
- Local NHS / support route
- ASCERT, which supports people across Northern Ireland with drug and alcohol use
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Bangor
Why do people in Bangor reach out?
Drug use in Bangor is generally quiet and domestic rather than visible. In a town known for its marina, its parks and a comfortable reputation, that reputation becomes its own reason to say nothing. There is weekend cocaine among people with mortgages. There are tablets that began with a prescription after an injury or a bad year and simply stayed. Younger use gathers near the front in summer; steadier, older use goes on in flats near the centre through the winter. Whitehill and Conlig look no different from the outside than Groomsport does. The common thread is somebody turning up to work every Monday and telling nobody anything.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Bangor
BallyholmeGroomsportConligBloomfieldClandeboyeWhitehillRathgaelBryansburn
Wherever you are in Bangor, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Bangor
Official figures for Bangor, for context rather than as a description of you.
There were 9 drug-related deaths registered in the Ards and North Down council area (which covers Bangor) in 2023, 5.3% of the 169 drug-related deaths registered across Northern Ireland that year, which had an age-standardised rate of 9.1 per 100,000. Source: NISRA - Drug-related and drug misuse deaths in Northern Ireland, 2013-2023 (Table 9a) (2023).
In Ards and North Down, the council area covering Bangor, 3.3% of adults reported a low life satisfaction score (4 or below out of 10) in the year ending March 2023, compared with a Northern Ireland average of 5.2%, a difference the survey's margin of error does not confirm. Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Personal well-being estimates by local authority (Year ending March 2023 (2022-23)).
Reviewed June 2026.
What actually happens in substance use counselling?
Substance use counselling here is non-judgemental and one-to-one, working with the pain, fear or loneliness the substance has been managing, at a pace that protects your sense of safety.
The method travels; only the geography changes. the substance use counselling page explains it properly, how sessions run and what they cost answers the practical questions, and professional standards and registration shows how the practice is held to account.
How does meeting by video work in practice?
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.
There is no room in this town, so work with Bangor is online by secure video from Hove. With drugs that has a practical value: nothing is written down at a local desk, and you do not have to walk past anybody you recognise in order to be honest for an hour. Appointments can be early, late, or arranged around a shift pattern, and the telephone is there if a camera makes the conversation harder than it needs to be.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
Which difficulties does substance use counselling address?
The false self
Letting go of the protective self that no longer serves you.
Specialised attention
One-to-one sessions shaped entirely around you.
Self-discovery
Rediscovering the authentic self beneath the coping.
Anxiety and low mood
Treating what the substance has been masking.
Sustainable change
Growing into recovery rather than forcing it.
Substance Use Counselling in Bangor
Why people in Bangor come for substance use counselling
Coming here does not depend on having stopped, and it does not depend on wanting to stop yet either. That distinction matters, because the honest answer for a great many people is that the drug still works, or worked until fairly recently, and that is where a real conversation has to start. So we look at what it does, what it holds off, and what it has quietly taken in exchange. Then we look at the practical mess trailing behind it: sleep, money, and the people you have been managing rather than talking to. Nothing gets moralised and nothing gets exaggerated. If you want the statutory side running in parallel, a GP referral is the way into Health and Social Care, ASCERT supports people with drugs and alcohol across Northern Ireland, and the NHS find a service directory lists what else is open.
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 Bangor
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Bangor, your GP can refer you to local drug and alcohol services, and you can find support through ASCERT, which supports people across Northern Ireland with drug and alcohol use.
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 Lifeline free on 0808 808 8000. Lifeline is free on 0808 808 8000, the Samaritans are on 116 123, and you can 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.
Bangor questions
Online Substance Use Counselling in Bangor: common questions
Is this only for people who want to come off drugs?
No. Some people arrive certain they want to stop, others arrive unsure, and a fair number arrive wanting the rest of their life to work better while they decide. All three get the same hour. Deciding in advance would only mean deciding without the information the work provides.
What do sessions cost and how often are they?
The fee is £80 an hour, £100 for ninety minutes, or £120 for two hours where a longer session earns its place. Your opening 15-minute consultation is free. Weekly is the usual rhythm because it keeps continuity, though fortnightly suits some people and can be arranged.
Which service in Northern Ireland handles drugs officially?
Health and Social Care does, and your GP is the door into it. ASCERT works across Northern Ireland on drugs and alcohol and can be approached directly. Prescribing, medical care and anything to do with withdrawal belong with them, not with counselling, and it is sensible to have both.
I use in the city rather than at home. Does that change anything?
It changes the practicalities more than the work. Use that happens away from where you live is easier to keep separate and therefore easier to keep going, sometimes for years. Part of what we do is join those two halves back up, because the split is usually doing a job of its own.
Do you need to know exactly what I take before I book?
Not before, no. Bring whatever detail you have when we start, including the parts you are unsure about, and we build the picture from there. Nothing is checked against a record and nothing has to be named on a form in advance of the first conversation.
The town feels quiet in winter. Can I still get help then?
Yes. Online support does not depend on the season or on what is open locally. The counsellor works across Northern Ireland by secure video from a Hove base, so you can talk from home in Bangor through the quietest winter months.
How quickly can substance use counselling begin in Bangor?
Often within days. A free 15-minute call lets us see whether this is a good fit, then we arrange a first session soon after. Everything is online by secure video, so along the north Down coast you can start from home without a queue or a trip to Belfast.
Is substance use counselling free on the NHS in Bangor?
NHS drug and alcohol services here sit within the South Eastern Trust and cost nothing, though access can take time. My sessions are £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for two hours, with a free 15-minute consultation first and no waiting to start.
Are evening online substance use sessions available for Bangor?
Yes. Being on the coast can make some support feel far off, especially in winter, so an evening session from home helps. Held by secure video, from Ballyholme to Bloomfield you can take part in private with only a quiet space and a reliable connection.
Online Substance Use Counselling in Bangor, 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 Northern Ireland: Belfast, Newtownabbey. See all of Northern Ireland.
Also available in Bangor: addiction counselling, counselling for drinking problems and anxiety counselling.
If you would like to read more first, I have written about once an addict, always an addict? and three ways to handle a craving.
For anyone near the coast, the same substance use counselling runs in person in Brighton. Every area covered is listed separately.