Drugs and substances
Confidential support for any kind of substance use.
Online Substance Use Counselling · Cardiff
Online Substance Use Counselling in Cardiff
Online substance use counselling for Cardiff, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Cardiff, from the bay and the centre to the streets around the castle, 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 Cardiff
Substance Use Counselling for Cardiff, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Cardiff: from the bay and the centre to Cathays, Roath, Canton and Grangetown
- Known for
- The castle, the bay and the Principality Stadium
- Region
- Wales (Wales)
- 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 Cardiff
Why people in Cardiff reach out
Cardiff, the Welsh capital, blends a revived waterfront and a big student population with neighbourhoods that carry real hardship. The pace of capital-city life, rising costs and the contrast between the gleaming bay and harder-pressed areas all shape the pressures people here carry.
Cardiff grew from a modest market town into what was once the greatest coal-exporting port in the world, its wealth shipped out through Butetown and the docks that locals still call Tiger Bay. The old Coal Exchange and the Pierhead Building remember those days, while the regenerated bay now holds the Senedd and the Wales Millennium Centre. As the Welsh capital, the city carries the national rhythms: rugby internationals filling the streets around the Principality Stadium, a large student population around Cathays and Cathays Park, and the civic grandeur of City Hall and the National Museum. Beyond the centre, Roath, Canton and Grangetown keep their own village feel, each with independent shops, cafes and a strong sense of neighbourhood pride.
Capital-city life is exhilarating and exhausting at once, with time and privacy always short; an hour that comes to you is often what makes therapy possible.
Cardiff is home to Cardiff University and the University Hospital of Wales (the Heath) in Cathays/Heath, and hosts the Senedd and Welsh Government at Cardiff Bay alongside the Principality Stadium in the city centre.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Cardiff
CathaysRoathCantonGrangetownSplottAdamsdownButetownLlandaffWhitchurchCyncoedRiversidePontcanna
Wherever you are in Cardiff, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Cardiff
These figures are local context from official sources, not a description of you, but they show the scale of what people in and around Cardiff are living with, and why local support matters.
In Cardiff the age-standardised drug-misuse death rate was 6.9 per 100,000 in 2022 to 2024, below the Wales average of 8.5 per 100,000. Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Deaths related to drug poisoning by local authority, England and Wales (drug misuse, Table 6) (2022 to 2024).
Local data last reviewed June 2026. Each figure shows the year and links to the official source it was read on.
The substance use counselling itself
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 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 substance use counselling 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.
Face-to-face counselling and specialist addiction services can be found across Cardiff, and it is always worth exploring what is close to home. My own practice is based in Hove, on the Sussex coast, so I am not in the city in person. What I offer instead is confidential counselling by secure video, which reaches anywhere in Wales and across the UK. For many people, meeting online from their own front room turns out to be easier than travelling to an appointment at all.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
How online substance use counselling in Cardiff can help
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 Cardiff
Why people in Cardiff come for substance use counselling
Around Cardiff's universities and its busy nightlife, substance use can slide from something social into something heavier without any clear line being crossed. I am not here to judge how it started or where it has got to. My approach is to understand what the substance has been doing for you, whether steadying nerves, numbing something or filling a gap, and to work at a pace that feels safe. As a Hove-based counsellor I do not have a room in the capital, so sessions are held by secure video, reaching Cathays, Roath, Grangetown or wherever in the city you are, without anyone needing to know.
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 Cardiff
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Cardiff, your GP can refer you to local NHS-funded drug and alcohol services, and you can find your nearest one via the NHS “find a service” directory.
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 press 2 for urgent mental health support. The CALL Helpline for Wales is free on 0800 132 737, and the Samaritans are on 116 123.
Cardiff questions
Online Substance Use Counselling in Cardiff: common questions
Can I get online substance use counselling if I live in Cardiff?
Yes. I work with people right across Cardiff, from the bay and the centre outwards, and anywhere else in Wales, by secure video, no need to travel to Hove, and just as confidential as meeting in the room.
Can I get support while I'm still using?
Yes. This is non-judgemental, one-to-one work that meets you where you are, and it can run alongside any medical or detox support you have.
How is this different from a group or 12-step programme?
It is individual and shaped entirely around you. Some people use it instead of groups, others alongside them.
Will you tell my GP or employer?
No. What you share is confidential within the BACP framework; nothing goes to anyone else without your consent.
Do I have to stop completely before we start?
No. You are welcome exactly as you are, whether you want to stop, cut down, or simply understand what is going on first. We begin from where you actually are, and any goals are yours to set. Sessions run by secure video wherever you are in Cardiff.
Can I begin substance use counselling quickly if I live in Cardiff?
Yes. Once you have had your free 15-minute consultation, a first session can often be arranged the same week. I work with people right across the capital, including students around Cathays and the universities, entirely by secure video, so there is nothing to wait for.
Is substance use counselling cheaper on the NHS in Cardiff?
NHS drug services through Cardiff and Vale health board are free, and Dan 24/7 gives free all-Wales advice, but demand is high. Privately I charge £80 for an hour, £100 for 90 minutes and £120 for two hours, after a free 15-minute consultation.
How does online substance use counselling work for someone in Cardiff?
You join by secure video from anywhere in the city, whether Roath, Canton or further out towards Llandaff. All you need is a private space and a steady connection. I keep some evening appointments too, so work in the city centre need not get in the way.
Can I see you in person in Cardiff?
No. My practice is based in Hove, so I do not offer face-to-face sessions in Cardiff. I work with people across the capital and the wider region by secure video, which many find more convenient than travelling to an appointment.
Do you work with Cardiff's student population?
Yes, by video. Students around Cathays and the universities are welcome to get in touch. Sessions take place online wherever you are based, so term time and holidays back home need not interrupt the work.
Online Substance Use Counselling in Cardiff, 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 Wales: Newport, Barry, Pontypridd. See all of Wales.
All counselling & therapy in Cardiff: Addiction · Drinking Problems · Anxiety · Depression · Relationship · Trauma · Counselling & Therapy · Psychotherapy.
Closer to the Sussex coast? The same substance use counselling is available in person in Brighton & Hove, or see all in-person areas.