Drugs and substances
Confidential support for any kind of substance use.
Online Substance Use Counselling · Derry
Online Substance Use Counselling in Derry
Online substance use counselling for Derry, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Derry, from within the walls and the centre to the streets around the Peace Bridge, 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 Derry
Substance Use Counselling for Derry, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Derry: from within the walls and the centre to the Bogside, the Waterside and Creggan
- Known for
- The city walls, the Peace Bridge and the river Foyle
- Region
- Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland)
- 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 Derry
Why people in Derry reach out
Derry, the walled city on the Foyle, carries a particularly deep history of the Troubles alongside long-standing economic hardship and its distance from Belfast. Intergenerational trauma, insecure work and isolation in the north-west all shape the pressures people here carry.
Derry, also called Londonderry, sits inside the only complete set of city walls left in Ireland, looking down over the Foyle and the elegant sweep of the Peace Bridge. The Bogside carries its Free Derry mural and its history close to the surface, while the Waterside spreads across the far bank and Creggan climbs the hill above. It is a warm, quick-witted city that comes alive each autumn for one of Europe's biggest Halloween celebrations, with the Guildhall lit up and the streets in costume. Ulster University's Magee campus, the shops of Foyleside and the new transport hub give the north-west its own centre of gravity, a long way from Belfast and proud of it.
Border communities can feel far from the nearest city and its services; online brings discreet, experienced support directly to you.
Derry hosts Ulster University's Magee campus and is served by Altnagelvin Area Hospital, the main acute hospital of the Western HSC Trust for the north-west.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Derry
BogsideWatersideCregganBishop StreetRosemountCulmoreShantallowthe DiamondBallymagroarty
Wherever you are in Derry, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Derry
These figures are local context from official sources, not a description of you, but they show the scale of what people in and around Derry are living with, and why local support matters.
There were 14 drug-related deaths registered in the Derry City and Strabane council area in 2023, out of 169 across Northern Ireland (NI age-standardised rate 9.1 per 100,000). Source: NISRA - Drug-related and drug misuse deaths in Northern Ireland, 2023 (2023).
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.
Getting support in Derry need not mean a long drive to Belfast for an appointment. Sessions are held online, by secure video, across the whole of Northern Ireland, so help reaches the north-west as easily as anywhere else. The counsellor is based in Hove and works UK-wide by video rather than seeing anyone face to face in the city, which means you can talk from home, wherever you are on either bank of the Foyle.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
How online substance use counselling in Derry 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 Derry
Why people in Derry come for substance use counselling
In Derry, substance use is often tangled up with a deep history and the strain of insecure work far from the region's bigger centres. Reaching for something to take the edge off is understandable, and no reason for shame. Online substance use counselling meets you where you are, without needing to travel to Belfast or be seen walking into a service in a city where faces are known. Held by secure video from home, whether in Rosemount, Shantallow or across the Foyle in the Waterside, it offers an honest, patient space to look at what is happening and what might change.
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 Derry
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Derry, 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 Lifeline free on 0808 808 8000. Lifeline is free on 0808 808 8000, and the Samaritans are on 116 123.
Derry questions
Online Substance Use Counselling in Derry: common questions
Can I get online substance use counselling if I live in Derry?
Yes. I work with people right across Derry, from within the walls and the centre outwards, and anywhere else in Northern Ireland, 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.
I do not want people knowing my business. Is this confidential?
Completely. Sessions are held privately by secure video from your own home, with no local service to be seen entering. Working across Northern Ireland from a Hove base, the counsellor keeps everything confidential, which many in Derry value in a close-knit city.
How quickly can substance use counselling begin in Derry?
Often within a few days. A free 15-minute call helps us see whether this is a good fit, then we arrange your first session soon after. It is all online by secure video, so the distance from Belfast makes no difference to how quickly you can start in Derry.
Is substance use support free on the NHS in Derry, and what do you charge?
NHS drug services in the city sit within the Western Trust and cost nothing, though access can take time. My fees are £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 minutes and £120 for two hours, with a free 15-minute consultation first and no wait before you begin.
Are evening online substance use sessions available for Derry?
Yes. An evening slot can be easier than travelling anywhere after work in the north-west. Sessions are held by secure video from home, whether in Creggan, Rosemount or the Waterside, so you need only a quiet room and a reliable connection to take part.
Do I have to travel to Belfast to be seen?
No. Because sessions are online by secure video, you can take part from home in Derry without the long journey east. The counsellor is based in Hove and works UK-wide by video, so distance from Belfast makes no difference to getting started.
Online Substance Use Counselling in Derry, 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: Lisburn, Craigavon. See all of Northern Ireland.
All counselling & therapy in Derry: 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.