Drugs and substances
Confidential support for any kind of substance use.
Online Substance Use Counselling · Gloucester
Online Substance Use Counselling in Gloucester
Online substance use counselling for Gloucester, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Gloucester, from the historic docks and the city centre to the streets around the cathedral, 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 Gloucester
Substance Use Counselling for Gloucester, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Gloucester: from the historic docks and the city centre to Barton, Tredworth and Quedgeley
- Known for
- The cathedral, the historic docks and the quays
- Region
- South West (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- Gloucestershire County Council's drug and alcohol recovery support
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Gloucester
Why do people in Gloucester reach out?
Drug use in Gloucester is unevenly spread and rarely discussed. It looks different in Barton and Tredworth from how it looks in Longlevens or Abbeymead, though the pattern underneath is often identical: something that began as relief and turned into routine. Across the county, 3.8 adults per 1,000 were in treatment at specialist drug-misuse services in 2020/21, below the England average of 4.5. That is not evidence that fewer people are using. In a city where work is often insecure and the hours are long, it more usually means people are managing alone and would rather not become a case on anybody's list.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Gloucester
BartonTredworthQuedgeleyKingsholmLonglevensHucclecotePodsmeadMatsonAbbeymeadTuffley
Wherever you are in Gloucester, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Gloucester
Official figures for Gloucester, for context rather than as a description of you.
3.8 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 5.1 per 100,000 in 2022 - 24, below the England average of 5.8 per 100,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Deaths from drug misuse (2022 - 24).
Reviewed June 2026.
What would we do together 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.
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 full substance use counselling page, alongside the practical side and my credentials and registration.
What happens in 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.
Bradley is in Hove, which means Gloucester is covered by secure video only. For a conversation about drugs, the advantages are clear. Nothing is signed, nobody sees you arrive, and no service building becomes associated with your name. You can talk from home, from a vehicle, or from anywhere you can be alone for an hour. Sessions stay the same if work moves you around the county or your housing changes.
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 Gloucester
Why people in Gloucester come for substance use counselling
You are not required to have stopped, and you will not be pushed to. This is drug-focused work that treats your use as information rather than as evidence against you. We look at what it does: what it makes tolerable, what it interrupts, and how the day after tends to feel. Cannabis that has become the only route to sleep, cocaine that arrives with every payday, ketamine, stimulants and prescribed medication taken differently from how it was meant are all ordinary subjects here. Deaths from drug misuse across Gloucestershire ran at 5.1 per 100,000 for 2022 to 2024, under the England average of 5.8, which is no comfort at all if you are one of the people such a figure might one day count. For treatment and prescribing, Gloucestershire County Council's drug and alcohol recovery support leads to Via Gloucestershire.
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 Gloucester
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Gloucester, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Gloucestershire County Council's drug and alcohol recovery 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.
Gloucester questions
Online Substance Use Counselling in Gloucester: common questions
Is it all right to come while I am still using?
Yes, and most people do. Waiting until you have stopped means doing the hardest part with the least support. There is no drug test, no abstinence agreement and no condition attached to booking. You bring what is happening and the work starts from there.
How much are sessions, and is there anything up front?
Nothing up front. Sessions cost £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for two hours, paid one at a time. The initial 15-minute call is free. You can pause for a few weeks and return without losing anything or paying to hold a slot.
How does the county route differ from this?
Gloucestershire County Council's drug and alcohol recovery support is the free statutory route, delivered by Via Gloucestershire, and it handles treatment, harm reduction and anything needing a prescriber. This is private weekly counselling about the reasons underneath. Using both is often the sensible answer.
Will this be on my record at work?
No. There is no employer notification, no NHS entry and no note to your GP. Private notes are kept under the BACP Ethical Framework and go nowhere, apart from the rare situation where somebody is in serious danger. Your workplace has no way of learning about it.
I use to get through long shifts. Is that different from using for fun?
It is, and it usually matters more. Use that props up work is harder to give up, because stopping appears to threaten the job. So we look at the job too: the hours, the exhaustion, and what would need to change for the shifts to be survivable without it.
I keep my worries to myself in Gloucester. Is substance counselling really private?
Yes. Sessions are held by secure video with no local premises and no waiting room, so nobody need know you are attending. You take them from somewhere private at home. The counselling room is in Hove, so Gloucester is served online.
Can I begin substance use counselling online in Gloucester 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 Gloucester, whether that is Quedgeley, Kingsholm or Longlevens, with no waiting list to join.
How much does private substance use counselling cost compared with NHS options in Gloucester?
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 Gloucester 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 Gloucester?
I hold some appointments later in the day, which helps if you work shifts or long hours around Gloucester. Sessions are online, so you join from wherever feels private, from Hucclecote to Podsmead. In-person work is only at my Hove room, for those who can reach the Sussex coast.
Online Substance Use Counselling in Gloucester, 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: Cheltenham, Worcester, Swindon. See all of South West.
People who come for substance use counselling in Gloucester often also look at addiction counselling, counselling for drinking problems and anxiety counselling.
You may also find it useful to read about once an addict, always an addict? and three ways to handle a craving.
For anyone near the coast, the same substance use counselling runs in person in Brighton. Every area covered is listed separately.