Drugs and substances
Confidential support for any kind of substance use.
Online Substance Use Counselling · Newport
Online Substance Use Counselling in Newport
Online substance use counselling for Newport, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Newport, from the centre and the transporter bridge to the streets around the river Usk, 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 Newport
Substance Use Counselling for Newport, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Newport: from the centre and the transporter bridge to Maindee, Bettws and Ringland
- Known for
- The transporter bridge, the river Usk and the wetlands
- Region
- Wales
- Local NHS / support route
- DAN 24/7, the Wales Drug and Alcohol Helpline
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Newport
Why people in Newport get in touch
Newport's drug picture is a city one, which means it is layered. There is use among students and young workers that everyone treats as ordinary, and there is much harder use in parts of Pill, Bettws and Stow Hill where money has been short for a generation. The drug-misuse death rate here for 2022 to 2024 was above the Wales average. Between those two extremes sits the largest group of all: people holding down a job, saying nothing, using more than they meant to and quietly aware of it. Caerleon and Malpas produce as many of those as anywhere else in the city.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Newport
MaindeeBettwsRinglandPillStow HillCaerleonMalpasRogerstoneSt JuliansAlwayGaer
Wherever you are in Newport, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Newport
Official figures for Newport, for context rather than as a description of you.
In Newport the age-standardised drug-misuse death rate was 9.8 per 100,000 in 2022 to 2024, above the Wales average of 8.5 per 100,000. Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Deaths related to drug poisoning by local authority, England and Wales (drug misuse, Table 6) (2022 to 2024).
In Newport, 8.5% of adults reported a low life satisfaction score (4 or below out of 10) in the year ending March 2023, compared with a Wales average of 6.9%, a difference the survey's margin of error does not confirm. Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Personal well-being estimates by local authority (Year ending March 2023 (2022-23)).
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.
Because the work itself is the same wherever you live, the detail sits in one place rather than all of them: substance use counselling in detail sets out the methods, the practical side covers the practicalities, and how to check my registration covers accountability.
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.
Nothing about this requires a bus into town. Bradley works from Hove and every Newport appointment happens by secure video, which for substance use removes the two things people dread most: being seen going in, and having to explain themselves at a desk. You can take the session from home or from a parked car. Weekly, at a time that fits your actual life, with telephone available when the signal is weak.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What sort of things do people bring?
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 Newport
Why people in Newport come for substance use counselling
There is no requirement to have stopped, and no requirement to intend to stop. That is a deliberate position, not a loophole. People who are told they must be ready before they can be seen usually go away and wait, and waiting is where the harm accumulates. We start with what is true now. What you use, what it does for you at the moment you take it, what it has cost, and what you would want if you allowed yourself to want anything. Underneath that there is often sleeplessness, pain, anger or something from a long way back that has never been said. Prescribing and anything medical belongs with GDAS on 0333 999 3577 or your doctor, the NHS find a service directory lists services by area, and DAN 24/7 answers overnight on 0808 808 2234.
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 Newport
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Newport, your GP can refer you to local drug and alcohol services, and you can find support through DAN 24/7, the Wales Drug and Alcohol Helpline.
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 press 2 for urgent mental health support. The CALL Helpline for Wales is free on 0800 132 737, the Samaritans are on 116 123, and you can 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.
Newport questions
Online Substance Use Counselling in Newport: common questions
Do I need to be drug free to have counselling?
No. Turning up while still using is normal and it is not held against you. The only practical requirement is being able to engage during the hour. Anything to do with physical dependence needs a doctor involved as well, because that side is outside counselling.
How are the sessions priced?
The hourly fee is £80, with £100 for ninety minutes and £120 for a two-hour session. Before you decide, the 15-minute consultation is free. Most people take a weekly hour; a few prefer longer sessions less often, and either arrangement is fine as long as it is sustainable for you.
Which drug and alcohol service covers Newport?
GDAS covers Gwent, on 0333 999 3577, and it is the usual door for treatment and prescribing locally. The NHS find a service directory shows what else exists near your postcode. Working with them and with me at the same time is perfectly common.
I use with the same friends every weekend. Does counselling mean losing them?
It does not have to, and I would not tell you to cut anybody off. What usually happens is a clearer look at which relationships depend on using and which do not, and that understanding tends to change things gradually rather than by dramatic decision.
Is anything reported to the police or to my employer?
No. What you tell me about drug use is confidential under the BACP Ethical Framework and goes nowhere. The narrow exceptions concern serious risk to life, and I will set them out clearly at the start so you know exactly where you stand.
Is online counselling suitable if I am using regularly?
For most people, yes. You need only a private space and a steady connection. Working by secure video means honest support reaches you at home in Newport, which many find steadier and easier to keep up than travelling to appointments.
How quickly can I begin substance use counselling in Newport?
Often the same week. After a free 15-minute consultation to check we fit, we book your first session. I work across Newport by secure video, so whether you are near the Usk in the centre or out towards Caerleon, nothing holds up the start.
How do your substance use fees compare with local NHS help in Newport?
NHS drug support through Aneurin Bevan health board is free, and Dan 24/7 offers free all-Wales advice, though demand is high. Privately I charge £80 an hour, £100 for 90 minutes and £120 for two hours, with a free 15-minute consultation first.
What is online substance use counselling like for someone in Newport?
You join by secure video from a private room at home, whether in Maindee, Bettws or Malpas, needing only a steady connection. Some evening appointments are available too, so the trip across town and any waiting room are taken out of the picture entirely.
Online Substance Use Counselling in Newport, 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 Wales: Cardiff, Cwmbran, Pontypridd. See all of Wales.
People who come for substance use counselling in Newport often also look at addiction counselling, counselling for drinking problems and anxiety counselling.
If you would like to read more first, I have written about 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 Hove, where the room is, or see every area I cover.