Drugs and substances
Confidential support for any kind of substance use.
Online Substance Use Counselling · Manchester
Online Substance Use Counselling in Manchester
Online substance use counselling for Manchester, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Manchester, from the city centre and the Northern Quarter to the streets around the canals, 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 Manchester
Substance Use Counselling for Manchester, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Manchester: from the city centre and the Northern Quarter to Didsbury, Rusholme, Chorlton and Wythenshawe
- Known for
- The canals, the music venues and the two universities
- Region
- North West (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- Manchester City Council's alcohol, drugs and substance use support
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Manchester
Why people in Manchester get in touch
Drug use in Manchester is normalised in a way it is not everywhere. Cocaine is ordinary in the bars off the Northern Quarter, ketamine has become unremarkable among students in Fallowfield and Withington, and cannabis is simply part of the furniture in a lot of shared houses. Because it is so common, the point at which it stops being recreational is very hard to locate. Nobody stages an intervention over a weekend habit in Chorlton. The rate of deaths from drug misuse here was 10.4 per 100,000 in 2022 - 24, above the England average of 5.8 per 100,000, and the distance between a normal weekend and a serious problem is shorter than the city likes to think.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Manchester
the Northern QuarterAncoatsDidsburyChorltonRusholmeFallowfieldLevenshulmeWithingtonHulmeWythenshawePrestwich
Wherever you are in Manchester, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Manchester
Official figures for Manchester, for context rather than as a description of you.
7.2 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 10.4 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 does substance use counselling involve?
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 everything on substance use counselling, alongside how I work and qualifications, registration and ethics.
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 Manchester; Bradley works from Hove and the sessions are online. For drug use that removes the part people stall on, which is being seen going somewhere. There is no reception, no building and no local paperwork. It also fits a city where nobody has a spare two hours: an appointment costs you an hour, not an afternoon. A bedroom, a car or a quiet corner all serve as long as you will not be overheard.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What can substance use counselling in Manchester 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 Manchester
Why people in Manchester come for substance use counselling
This is drug-focused counselling and there is no requirement to have stopped, cut down, or decided anything. Manchester has substantial formal provision, with 7.2 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 plenty of people still never reach it because they do not see themselves as the kind of person who needs it. That gap is where this sits. The hour goes on the actual pattern: what you take, when, what it fixes, and what the following days cost. Nobody will explain how to reduce or come off, because that belongs with medical services. Manchester City Council's alcohol, drugs and substance use support and Change Grow Live Manchester are the routes there whenever you want them. Manchester Mind sits alongside for the wider picture.
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 Manchester
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Manchester, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Manchester City Council's alcohol, drugs and substance use 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.
Manchester questions
Online Substance Use Counselling in Manchester: common questions
Will you tell me to stop?
No. You will be asked what you want, and if the answer is that you do not know yet, that is a perfectly good place to start. Instructions from a stranger rarely change anything. Understanding what the substance is actually doing for you tends to be more useful, and it lasts longer.
What is the Manchester service if I want more than counselling?
Change Grow Live Manchester runs the city's drug and alcohol service, and Manchester City Council's alcohol, drugs and substance use support is the way to find it. Assessment, prescribing and structured treatment are all handled there. Approaching it does not end counselling and counselling does not delay it.
How much per session and is there a commitment?
No commitment. £80 / 60 min, £100 / 90 min or £120 / 120 min, and the initial 15-minute consultation is free. You book one at a time. In a city with rents like these, being able to pause for a month without penalty is not a trivial feature.
Everyone in my flat in Fallowfield uses. Would I have to move out to change anything?
Not necessarily, though the environment is part of the picture and pretending otherwise would be dishonest. Plenty can shift without moving: what you do on the nights you had planned not to, how you handle the first hour home, what you say when it is offered. Bigger changes can follow if they need to.
Does it matter that my use is only ever social?
Social use is still use, and the label mostly determines how easy it is to ignore. What matters is the trajectory: whether the occasions are multiplying, whether the amount is climbing, and whether the days in between are getting harder. Those questions are worth an honest look regardless of the setting.
Is online substance-use counselling private enough to be honest?
Yes. You choose a private spot, put in headphones if you like, and we speak on a secure connection. Many people find it easier to be honest about drug use from their own room in Manchester than sitting face to face in an unfamiliar building.
How quickly can I begin substance use counselling in Manchester online?
Quickly. After a free 15-minute consultation to check we are a good fit, we would usually hold your first session within a week. Everything runs by secure video or phone from my Hove base, so whether you are in Hulme, Levenshulme or Didsbury, there is nothing to travel to.
Can we do evening online sessions rather than meeting in Manchester?
Yes. I only work online, so there is no Manchester office to visit; my room is in Hove. That makes it straightforward to hold sessions in the evening or during a lunch break, which many people around Oxford Road or MediaCityUK find fits their working day far better.
Online Substance Use Counselling in Manchester, 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: Bolton, Stockport, Oldham. See all of North West.
Also available in Manchester: addiction counselling, counselling for drinking problems and anxiety counselling.
There is more on this in my writing: calming a craving as it rises and once an addict, always an addict?.
Closer to the Sussex coast? The same substance use counselling is available in person, in Brighton, or see every area I cover.