Drugs and substances
Confidential support for any kind of substance use.
Online Substance Use Counselling · Liverpool
Online Substance Use Counselling in Liverpool
Online substance use counselling for Liverpool, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Liverpool, from the waterfront and the centre to the streets around the two cathedrals, 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 Liverpool
Substance Use Counselling for Liverpool, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Liverpool: from the waterfront and the centre to Toxteth, Anfield, Allerton and Walton
- Known for
- The waterfront, the two cathedrals and the music heritage
- Region
- North West (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 Liverpool
Why people in Liverpool reach out
Liverpool's warmth, humour and strong sense of community are famous, but the city has also weathered real hardship and disinvestment over the years. Insecure work and money pressure remain part of life for many, and the expectation to stay strong for everyone else can make it hard to admit you are struggling.
Liverpool is a city that talks, sings and remembers. The waterfront at the Pier Head, with its Three Graces and the Albert Dock, looks out over the Mersey that made the place, and the two cathedrals stand at either end of Hope Street. Music is everywhere, from the Cavern's memory to the Phil, and football runs deep on both sides of Stanley Park. Neighbourhoods each have their own character, from Georgian Toxteth to leafy Allerton and the terraces of Anfield and Walton. Scousers are known for humour and for looking out for one another, but that same instinct to stay strong for everyone else can make it harder to say when you yourself are struggling.
Where work follows shifts and the rhythm of the docks, online sessions bend around unsociable hours rather than asking you to fit your life around them.
Liverpool hosts the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University, the Royal Liverpool University Hospital and the Port of Liverpool. Community drug and alcohol services have been provided by Change Grow Live (River) since April 2025.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Liverpool
the city centre and waterfrontToxtethAnfieldAllertonWaltonAigburthWavertreeWooltonKensingtonthe Baltic Triangle
Wherever you are in Liverpool, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Liverpool
These figures are local context from official sources, not a description of you, but they show the scale of what people in and around Liverpool are living with, and why local support matters.
the rate of deaths from drug misuse was 13.9 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).
9.1 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 Hove, on the south coast, and see people across Liverpool online by secure video or phone. Wherever you are, in Aigburth, Wavertree or nearer the docks, the session comes to you, with nothing to arrange but a quiet hour and a connection. A lot of people find the familiarity of home makes it easier to open up. We'd fix a regular time that works around your week, and there'd be no journey into town.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
How online substance use counselling in Liverpool 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 Liverpool
Why people in Liverpool come for substance use counselling
Insecure work and money pressure are part of life for many across Liverpool, and substances can become a way of coping with strain that never quite lets up. Around the creative scene of the Baltic Triangle or the students at the two universities, use can also just become normal. I'm Bradley Riddell, a Hove-based counsellor working with people across Liverpool online. We talk honestly about what you're using and why, without judgement, and figure out what would help. Sessions are by secure video or phone, from Wavertree, Kensington or wherever feels comfortable, so support fits around your life rather than the other way round.
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 Liverpool
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. You can find your nearest free NHS-funded drug and alcohol service via the NHS “find a service” directory (search “Liverpool”).
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.
Liverpool questions
Online Substance Use Counselling in Liverpool: common questions
Can I get online substance use counselling if I live in Liverpool?
Yes. I work with people right across Liverpool, from the waterfront and the centre outwards, and anywhere else in North West, 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.
What if I'm not ready to stop completely?
That's fine. You don't have to commit to stopping before we begin. We start where you are, look honestly at what the substance does for you and what it costs, and go at your pace. Many people in Liverpool start these conversations while still deciding what they want.
How quickly can substance use counselling begin online in Liverpool?
Usually within a week of your free 15-minute consultation, once we have checked we are a good fit. Everything is online from my Hove base, so it makes no difference whether you live near the docks, in Kensington or out towards Crosby and Bootle.
Is substance use counselling free on the NHS in Liverpool, or do you charge?
Merseyside has free NHS and community drug services, which can carry a wait. I am independent, with clear fees: a free 15-minute consultation, then GBP 80 for an hour, GBP 100 for 90 minutes and GBP 120 for two hours.
Can we meet online in the evening instead of a Liverpool clinic?
Yes. I have no Liverpool premises; I work from Hove online, so there is nothing to travel to. Evening and lunchtime sessions are usually available, which many people across the city and the Baltic Triangle studios find fits far better than a fixed daytime appointment.
Is this the same as the NHS talking therapies in Liverpool?
No. I'm an independent counsellor working online from Hove, separate from NHS Talking Therapies Liverpool. Some people come to me while waiting for NHS support, others prefer private sessions from the start. I'm glad to talk through which route might suit you, with no pressure either way.
Do you work with people right across Merseyside?
Yes. Because we meet online, it makes no difference whether you're in the city itself or out towards Bootle, Crosby or the Wirral. The connection is the same wherever you are, so we're not limited by which side of the river you happen to live on.
Online Substance Use Counselling in Liverpool, 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 North West: Warrington, Preston, Chester. See all of North West.
All counselling & therapy in Liverpool: 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.