Drugs and substances
Confidential support for any kind of substance use.
Online Substance Use Counselling · Leeds
Online Substance Use Counselling in Leeds
Online substance use counselling for Leeds, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Leeds, from the centre and the waterfront to the streets around the arcades, 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 Leeds
Substance Use Counselling for Leeds, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Leeds: from the centre and the waterfront to Headingley, Chapeltown, Armley and Roundhay
- Known for
- The arcades, the waterfront and the universities
- Region
- Yorkshire & North East (England)
- 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 Leeds
Why people in Leeds reach out
Leeds is the financial and cultural capital of West Yorkshire, a fast-growing city of finance, law and two big universities. The pace of professional life, rising costs and the gap between its prosperous and its struggling neighbourhoods all take a toll, and the busy centre can hide a great deal of private strain.
Leeds is the commercial and cultural heart of West Yorkshire, a city of Victorian arcades like the County Arcade and Victoria Quarter, a revived waterfront around Granary Wharf and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, and a compact centre ringed by red-brick terraces. The financial and legal district around Park Row and Wellington Place sits a short walk from the two universities and the student streets of Hyde Park and Headingley. Channel 4 has made its national home here, and the railway station is among the busiest outside London, feeding the M1 and M62 that thread out towards Bradford and the wider county. Beyond the centre, leafy Roundhay and its lake give way to Otley, Wetherby and the edge of the Dales.
With the academic year setting a relentless pace, online sessions flex around terms, deadlines and shift work rather than fighting them.
Leeds is home to the University of Leeds and Leeds Beckett University and to Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs St James's University Hospital and Leeds General Infirmary; it is also one of the UK's largest financial and legal centres outside London.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Leeds
HeadingleyHyde ParkChapel AllertonRoundhayKirkstallMeanwoodHorsforthArmleyBeestonHolbeckMorleyPudsey
Wherever you are in Leeds, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Leeds
These figures are local context from official sources, not a description of you, but they show the scale of what people in and around Leeds are living with, and why local support matters.
the rate of deaths from drug misuse was 9.3 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).
6.3 adults per 1,000 were in treatment at specialist drug-misuse services in 2020/21, above the England average of 4.5 per 1,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Adults in treatment at specialist drug misuse services (2020/21).
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.
I work from a base in Hove, on the south coast, and see people across Leeds by secure video call rather than from a room in the city. For a busy Leeds working week that often suits well: there's no cross-city trip or parking to arrange around the appointment, and we'd agree a regular slot you can join from home, from the office at Wellington Place, or wherever you can speak privately.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
How online substance use counselling in Leeds 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 Leeds
Why people in Leeds come for substance use counselling
Substance use in Leeds can start in the student streets of Hyde Park and Headingley or in the pressured world of the professional centre, and it doesn't always look like a crisis. Sometimes it's weekend use that has crept into the week, or something you rely on to keep up. I'm Bradley, a counsellor working online from Hove with people across Leeds. Sessions happen by secure video, so there's no clinic to attend and nothing visible to anyone locally. We look honestly at what the substance is doing for you and what you'd like to change, without judgement and at your own pace.
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 Leeds
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Leeds, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Leeds City Council's Forward Leeds drug and alcohol service.
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.
Leeds questions
Online Substance Use Counselling in Leeds: common questions
Can I get online substance use counselling if I live in Leeds?
Yes. I work with people right across Leeds, from the centre and the waterfront outwards, and anywhere else in Yorkshire & North East, 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'm a student in Leeds - can you help alongside university support?
Yes. I'm a private counsellor, separate from your university's wellbeing service, and online sessions carry on through term, placements and trips home wherever you are. Many people use both together, and nothing about our work needs to be visible to anyone at your university.
Is there substance use counselling available in Leeds, and how quickly?
There is no consulting room in Leeds, but I work right across the area by secure video from Hove. Whether you are near Headingley or Roundhay, we can arrange a free 15-minute call first and then a weekly time for substance use counselling, often within days of you getting in touch.
How much is substance use counselling for Leeds, and can I get it on the NHS?
There is a free 15-minute consultation first, then it is 80 pounds for a 60-minute hour, 100 pounds for 90 minutes and 120 pounds for two hours. Locally, Leeds Teaching Hospitals and NHS Talking Therapies provide free substance use support, but waiting lists differ, so many people choose private counselling for a quicker start.
Is substance use counselling for Leeds done online or face to face?
I do not offer face-to-face sessions in Leeds; everything is by confidential video call. For substance use, that often helps, as you can speak openly from a private space rather than a waiting room. I keep a few evening slots alongside daytime ones, so working around Wellington Place and the legal quarter is manageable.
Do you offer counselling in person in Leeds?
No. I'm based in Hove and work with people across Leeds by secure video call rather than from a room in the city. For many that suits a busy Leeds working week well, since there's no cross-city trip or parking to arrange around the appointment.
I work in the city centre, how would sessions fit around that?
Sessions happen online, so you can join from home, from a quiet room, or from wherever you can speak privately, without travelling into the centre or losing time to the commute. We'd agree a regular weekly slot that works around your week in Leeds.
Online Substance Use Counselling in Leeds, 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 Yorkshire & North East: Bradford, Wakefield, Sheffield. See all of Yorkshire & North East.
All counselling & therapy in Leeds: 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.