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
- NHS drug & alcohol service finder (see below)
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Liverpool
Why people in Liverpool get in touch
Drug use in Liverpool spans everything from a bag shared in a flat in Kensington to cocaine bought without a second thought after work in the city centre. The city has lived with this for decades and has services that know what they are doing, but familiarity is not the same as safety. The rate of deaths from drug misuse here was 13.9 per 100,000 in 2022 - 24, against an England average of 5.8 per 100,000. Behind that sits a much larger group who are not in trouble yet: students at Liverpool John Moores University, people working in the creative studios of the Baltic Triangle, someone in Wavertree whose weekend has been creeping backwards into Thursday for a year.
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
Official figures for Liverpool, for context rather than as a description of you.
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).
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).
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.
The method travels; only the geography changes. substance use counselling in detail explains it properly, session lengths and fees answers the practical questions, and qualifications, registration and ethics shows how the practice is held to account.
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.
There is no room in Liverpool; Bradley works from Hove and sessions run by secure video. For drug use that means nothing local is involved at all: no reception, no local record, nobody who might know your family. It also means you can talk about what you actually take without watching the door. All you need is a private hour and a connection, and a car or a walk works when the house does not.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What does substance use counselling 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 Liverpool
Why people in Liverpool come for substance use counselling
This is drug-focused counselling that does not make stopping a condition of being seen. Liverpool has more people in formal treatment than most places, with 9.1 adults per 1,000 in treatment at specialist drug-misuse services in 2020/21 against an England average of 4.5 per 1,000, and it still loses people who never get near a service. Some of that is shame and some of it is simply not seeing yourself in the picture. Counselling here starts from the practical: what the substance does, when it is needed, and what happens on the days without it. Nobody will tell you how to reduce or come off, because that is medical territory. River and Mersey Care's Hope Centre hold that side, and the NHS 'find a service' directory will take you to them.
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.
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.
Liverpool questions
Online Substance Use Counselling in Liverpool: common questions
Do I have to be ready to stop?
No. Readiness is something that develops, not something you have to arrive with. You can start while your use is unchanged and while you are still unsure whether you want it to change. That is a normal place to begin, not a reason to be turned away.
How do I find the NHS drug and alcohol services here?
The NHS 'find a service' directory is the national starting point and lists what covers Liverpool. Locally that means River, run by Change Grow Live, and Mersey Care's Hope Centre. Both are confidential health services rather than anything to do with the police, and either can be approached directly.
What are your rates?
£80 / 60 min, £100 / 90 min and £120 / 120 min, preceded by a free 15-minute consultation. You pay session by session with no package to buy. If money is tight, the shorter hour weekly is usually more useful than a longer session occasionally.
Everyone I know uses. How do I talk about it without it sounding normal?
By describing your own week rather than the group's. When a whole circle uses, the comparison stops being informative and the only useful measure is what it is doing to you specifically. That is what an outside hour is for: someone with no stake in the scene you are describing.
Is there any judgement about what I use?
None. The substance itself is the least interesting part of the conversation. What matters is the job it does, the hours around it, and what it is costing you in sleep, money and relationships. You will not be lectured, and you will not have to justify anything.
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 £80 for an hour, £100 for 90 minutes and £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.
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.
Also available in Liverpool: addiction counselling, counselling for drinking problems and anxiety counselling.
Some further reading, if that helps before getting in touch: three ways to handle a craving and calming a craving as it rises.
Within reach of Sussex? substance use counselling is offered in the room in Brighton as well as online; see the full list of areas.