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
- Local NHS / support route
- DAN 24/7, the Wales Drug and Alcohol Helpline
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Cardiff
Why people in Cardiff get in touch
Cardiff has a very large student population, and a good deal of drug use in the city belongs to people whose lives look completely on track. A shared house in Cathays, three assignments due, something to get through the week and something else to come down at the end of it. Elsewhere the picture is older and harder, in parts of Splott, Adamsdown or Butetown where money has been short for a long time and a substance is the cheapest available comfort. The capital holds both at once. What they have in common is how rarely it gets said out loud, and how easily a person can decide their own use does not qualify as a problem worth anybody's time.
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
Official figures for Cardiff, for context rather than as a description of you.
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).
In Cardiff, 8.5% of adults reported a low life satisfaction score (4 or below out of 10) in the year ending March 2023, compared with a Wales average of 6.9%, 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 is substance use counselling, in practice?
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 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 main substance use counselling page, alongside the practical side and my credentials and registration.
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.
Everything runs over secure video, from wherever in Cardiff you happen to be, because Bradley works from Hove rather than from anywhere in Wales. That suits people in shared housing better than it might sound: headphones, a closed door and an hour when the house is quiet. It also means a session does not depend on you feeling well enough to travel, which some days is the difference between attending and cancelling.
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 Cardiff
Why people in Cardiff come for substance use counselling
This is not a service that asks you to be abstinent before it will talk to you. Bring your use exactly as it is. A lot of people put off getting help because they assume the first thing they will hear is that they must stop, and they are not ready to hear it, so nothing happens for another two years. Instead we get curious. What does the drug do for you, at the specific moments you reach for it? What was going on when it became regular? What has it cost, and what would you actually like to be different? Anything clinical belongs elsewhere, and that is deliberate: CAVDAS is the drug and alcohol service for Cardiff and the Vale, the NHS find a service directory will show what is near you, and DAN 24/7 takes calls at any hour on 0808 808 2234.
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 drug and alcohol services, and you can find support through DAN 24/7, the Wales Drug and Alcohol Helpline.
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, 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.
Cardiff questions
Online Substance Use Counselling in Cardiff: common questions
I am a student in Cathays and share a house. Can I really do this from my room?
Plenty of people do. Headphones make it private enough, and a time when housemates are in lectures usually works. If your room is not workable, some students book the session from a study space or a car. The connection matters more than the location.
What are the costs involved?
A 60-minute session costs £80, a 90-minute one £100 and a two-hour one £120. There is a free 15-minute conversation before any of that, which is there so you can ask what you like and decide afterwards rather than committing on the spot.
Which service in Cardiff deals with drugs, and can I use both?
CAVDAS is the drug and alcohol service for Cardiff and the Vale, delivered by Barod, and Recovery Cymru offers peer support alongside it. The NHS find a service directory lists what else is available. Using them and seeing me at the same time is perfectly normal.
Will you tell me I have to stop?
That is not my job and it rarely works when it is done. You set the aim. My part is to help you see the whole picture clearly, including the parts you usually skip, so that whatever you decide about using is a real decision rather than a reaction.
I am prescribed medication and also using. Is that a problem for counselling?
It is not a barrier, but keep the prescriber informed, because anything to do with medication, dosage or withdrawal sits with them rather than with me. Counselling works on the reasons and the patterns. The two run alongside each other quite comfortably.
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.
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.
Related work in Cardiff: addiction counselling, counselling for drinking problems and anxiety counselling.
There is more on this in my writing: three ways to handle a craving and calming a craving as it rises.
Within reach of Sussex? substance use counselling is offered in the room in Hove, where the room is as well as online; see the full list of areas.