Drugs and substances
Confidential support for any kind of substance use.
Online Substance Use Counselling · Exeter
Online Substance Use Counselling in Exeter
Online substance use counselling for Exeter, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Exeter, from the cathedral quarter and the quay to the streets around the university, 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 Exeter
Substance Use Counselling for Exeter, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Exeter: from the cathedral quarter and the quay to St Thomas, Heavitree and Pinhoe
- Known for
- The cathedral, the quay and the university
- Region
- South West (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- Devon County Council's alcohol and drug support
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Exeter
What brings people in Exeter to counselling?
Drug use in Exeter is quieter than a bigger city's, not smaller. It sits in student houses in St Leonards, in kitchens in Wonford and Heavitree, and in professional lives nobody outside would describe that way. Just 2.5 adults per 1,000 were in treatment at specialist drug-misuse services in 2020/21, well below the England average of 4.5, and yet deaths from drug misuse ran at 6.4 per 100,000 across 2022 to 2024, above the England average of 5.8. Put together, those two figures tell a familiar story. People here are using, and comparatively few of them are asking anyone for help.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Exeter
St ThomasHeavitreePinhoeSt LeonardsExwickWhiptonAlphingtonWonfordTopsham
Wherever you are in Exeter, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Exeter
Official figures for Exeter, for context rather than as a description of you.
2.5 adults per 1,000 were in treatment at specialist drug-misuse services in 2020/21, below 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 6.4 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.
What actually happens in the room is the same everywhere, so it is written up once: see the full substance use counselling page for the methods, how I work, sessions and fees for fees and session lengths, and professional standards and registration if you want to check who you would be working with.
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.
Bradley works from Hove, so this part of Devon is covered online by secure video. For drug work that removes both the distance and the exposure. There is no long drive to a service in another town and no chance of being recognised outside one. You pick the setting yourself. Sessions carry on unchanged if you go home for the holidays or take work elsewhere in the county, which counts where people travel a long way for jobs.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What can substance use counselling in Exeter help with?
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 Exeter
Why people in Exeter come for substance use counselling
Nothing about this requires you to have stopped, or to be planning to. You will not be told what your use means or handed a target you did not choose. The work begins with what is actually happening: what you take, when, what it does for you, and what has changed since it started. Cocaine, cannabis, ketamine, stimulants and prescribed medication all belong in that conversation, as do comedowns, broken sleep and the anxiety that tends to arrive a day later. Devon County Council's alcohol and drug support is the free statutory route, and the Together drug and alcohol service is the local provider for structured treatment, harm reduction and anything needing a prescriber. None of that is what counselling does. It offers the hour in which you get to be honest about all of it.
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 Exeter
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Exeter, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Devon County Council's alcohol and drug 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.
Exeter questions
Online Substance Use Counselling in Exeter: common questions
Will you try to make me quit?
No. That is not what this is, and pressure rarely produces lasting change anyway. You set the direction. Some people reduce, some stop, and some spend several months simply understanding why the use began before they alter anything at all.
What does it cost, and how do I pay?
Sessions are £80 for an hour, £100 for 90 minutes and £120 for two hours, paid individually rather than as a block. Beforehand there is a 15-minute consultation at no cost. You are not tied to a number of weeks and you can stop at any point without a charge.
What can the Together drug and alcohol service do that this cannot?
Prescribing, structured treatment, harm-reduction supplies and clinical monitoring, all free of charge and reached through Devon County Council's alcohol and drug support. Counselling provides none of that. What it provides is a weekly hour to think, and the two combine well.
Can I keep this entirely separate from my GP?
Yes. No letter is sent, no NHS record is created and nothing appears in your medical notes. Confidentiality follows the BACP Ethical Framework, with the standard exception where there is serious risk to life. Whether to tell your GP remains entirely your decision.
I use because of pressure at work, not for fun. Does that change anything?
It changes what we look at. When use is doing a job, taking it away without understanding the job tends to leave people worse off. So we look at the pressure first, and at what would have to change for the evening not to need blunting.
I'm a student at Exeter concerned about my drug use. Can we work online?
Yes. Secure video sessions fit around lectures and deadlines and can be taken privately from your accommodation, without crossing the city. We look together at what sits underneath the use. The counselling room is in Hove, so Exeter is served online.
Can I begin substance use counselling online in Exeter 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 Exeter, whether that is Pinhoe, St Leonards or Exwick, with no waiting list to join.
How much does private substance use counselling cost compared with NHS options in Exeter?
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 Exeter 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 Exeter?
I hold some appointments later in the day, which helps if you work shifts or long hours around Exeter. Sessions are online, so you join from wherever feels private, from Whipton to Alphington. In-person work is only at my Hove room, for those who can reach the Sussex coast.
Online Substance Use Counselling in Exeter, 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: Plymouth, Torquay, Taunton. See all of South West.
People who come for substance use counselling in Exeter often also look at addiction counselling, counselling for drinking problems and anxiety counselling.
You may also find it useful to read about 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 Hove, where the room is — all in-person areas are listed here.