Drugs and substances
Confidential support for any kind of substance use.
Online Substance Use Counselling · Bath
Online Substance Use Counselling in Bath
Online substance use counselling for Bath, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Bath, from the Georgian centre and the river to the streets around the Roman Baths, 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 Bath
Substance Use Counselling for Bath, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Bath: from the Georgian centre and the river to Widcombe, Oldfield Park and Twerton
- Known for
- The Roman Baths, the Royal Crescent and the Abbey
- Region
- South West (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- Bath and North East Somerset Council's drug and alcohol support
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Bath
Why do people in Bath reach out?
Drug use in Bath rarely looks like the version people picture. It is a graduate in Bathwick doing lines on a Friday to keep pace with a job that never quite stops, a hospitality worker using something to get through a double shift, a student in Twerton whose weekends have quietly spread into the week. The cost of living pushes people into houses full of other people, so use turns social, then routine, then hard to see clearly. Meanwhile the heritage and tourism trade keeps the streets busy and cheerful, which leaves an honest conversation about drugs feeling oddly out of key. That gap is where plenty of people stay stuck.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Bath
WidcombeOldfield ParkTwertonBathwickLarkhallWestonCombe DownBear FlatBatheastonOdd Down
Wherever you are in Bath, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Bath
Official figures for Bath, for context rather than as a description of you.
4.9 adults per 1,000 were in treatment at specialist drug-misuse services in 2020/21, above the England average of 4.5 per 1,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Adults in treatment at specialist drug misuse services (2020/21).
the rate of deaths from drug misuse was 6.7 per 100,000 in 2022 - 24, above the England average of 5.8 per 100,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Deaths from drug misuse (2022 - 24).
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.
Rather than say the same thing on every page, the substance lives on the main substance use counselling page, with session lengths and fees for the practical questions and professional standards and registration for registration and ethics.
What do I need for an online session?
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 consulting space in Bath; Bradley is in Hove and these sessions run by secure video. That suits a conversation about drugs, because you are not signing into a building or sitting somewhere you might be placed. You can talk from home, from a locked bathroom if that is what privacy looks like this week, or from a car. Sessions carry on unchanged if you leave the city for the summer or move away entirely.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What sort of things do people bring?
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 Bath
Why people in Bath come for substance use counselling
This is drug-focused work and it does not require you to have stopped. Turning up while you are still using is entirely fine. Nothing here is conditional on abstinence, and you will not be told off for a decision you have not yet made. A few people arrive already wanting out of it. Others want to understand why the amount keeps creeping, what the comedowns are doing to their mood, or why cocaine has attached itself to every social evening. Cannabis, ketamine, stimulants and prescribed medication all come up. The numbers suggest this is not a fringe matter here: 4.9 adults per 1,000 were in treatment at specialist drug-misuse services in 2020/21, above the England average of 4.5, and deaths from drug misuse stood at 6.7 per 100,000 across 2022 to 2024 against an England average of 5.8. For structured treatment or anything prescribed, Bath and North East Somerset Council's drug and alcohol support points you to DHI. Counselling runs beside that.
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 Bath
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Bath, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Bath and North East Somerset Council's drug and alcohol 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.
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.
Bath questions
Online Substance Use Counselling in Bath: common questions
Can I do this while I am still using?
Yes. Stopping is not an entry requirement and it is not the assumed goal either. Plenty of people want to look at what the use is doing before deciding anything at all. What you get is a straight, non-judgemental conversation about what is actually happening.
How do the fees work?
One hour is £80. If you want longer, there is a 90-minute session at £100 and a two-hour one at £120. Ahead of all that sits a free 15-minute conversation with nothing owed for it. Payment is made session by session, so nothing is booked in blocks you cannot leave.
What does the council route give me that counselling cannot?
Bath and North East Somerset Council's drug and alcohol support leads to DHI, which provides structured treatment, harm-reduction advice and anything needing a prescriber. Counselling does none of those and does not pretend to. Running both at the same time is common and entirely sensible.
Will anyone in Bath find out I am doing this?
No. Everything is online by secure video, so there is nothing to be seen walking into. Notes are kept under the BACP Ethical Framework and go to nobody, including your GP, your university and your employer, unless you ask for that or somebody is at serious risk.
I only use at weekends and I function fine in the week. Is that worth talking about?
It can be. The useful question is not how much or how often, but what the use is holding up. Weekend use still shapes Monday, and it still shapes money, sleep and mood. Being curious enough to read this far is usually reason enough to talk.
I study at Bath and use substances to cope with pressure. Can we work online?
Yes. Secure video sessions save the climb to campus and fit around a busy timetable, taken privately from your accommodation. We look together at what the substance is doing for you. The counselling room is in Hove, so Bath is served online.
Can I begin substance use counselling online in Bath this week?
Often yes. After a short message we set up a free 15-minute call, then arrange your first session, frequently within the same week. Because we meet online, you can talk from home anywhere in Bath, whether that is Twerton, Bathwick or Larkhall, with no waiting list to join.
How much does private substance use counselling cost compared with NHS options in Bath?
I charge £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 minutes and £120 for two hours, and the initial 15-minute consultation is free. NHS drug services and GP referrals in Bath are free of charge but often have waits, while private sessions can start quickly and stay flexible around you.
Do you offer evening online sessions for substance use counselling in Bath?
I hold some appointments later in the day, which helps if you work shifts or long hours around Bath. Sessions are online, so you join from wherever feels private, from Weston to Combe Down. In-person work is only at my Hove room, for those who can reach the Sussex coast.
Online Substance Use Counselling in Bath, 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 South West: Bristol, Swindon. See all of South West.
Also available in Bath: addiction counselling, counselling for drinking problems and anxiety counselling.
Some further reading, if that helps before getting in touch: calming a craving as it rises and once an addict, always 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.