Drugs and substances
Confidential support for any kind of substance use.
Online Substance Use Counselling · Oldham
Online Substance Use Counselling in Oldham
Online substance use counselling for Oldham, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Oldham, from the town centre and the market to the streets around the old mills, 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 Oldham
Substance Use Counselling for Oldham, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Oldham: from the town centre and the market to Chadderton, Royton and Failsworth
- Known for
- The old mills, the Pennine edge and the tram into Manchester
- Region
- North West (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- Oldham Council's drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Oldham
Why do people in Oldham reach out?
Drug use in Oldham runs quietly through ordinary streets. Cannabis in Hollinwood and Lees that started as something to help sleep and turned into the whole evening. Cocaine at weekends that has become a habit with a shape. Prescription medication that outlasted whatever it was prescribed for. In a town with strong family networks and a long memory, being seen going into a service carries a cost that people weigh carefully. The result is that a great deal of use never surfaces anywhere official. The rate of deaths from drug misuse here was 5.4 per 100,000 in 2022 - 24, below the England average of 5.8 per 100,000, which says nothing about how many are quietly managing.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Oldham
the town centreChaddertonRoytonFailsworthShawLeesHollinwoodthe Saddleworth villages
Wherever you are in Oldham, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Oldham
Official figures for Oldham, for context rather than as a description of you.
5.9 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 5.4 per 100,000 in 2022 - 24, below 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.
What actually happens in the room is the same everywhere, so it is written up once: see everything on substance use counselling for the methods, how I work, sessions and fees for fees and session lengths, and my credentials and registration if you want to check who you would be working with.
How do online sessions actually work?
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.
Bradley is in Hove and there is no room in Oldham, so this is video work. For drug use in a close-knit town, that is not a compromise but the main attraction: nobody local is involved, no car is parked anywhere recognisable, and nothing appears on a service list. You need an hour and somewhere you cannot be overheard. Headphones make most rooms workable, and a parked car makes the rest.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What can substance use counselling in Oldham 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 Oldham
Why people in Oldham come for substance use counselling
This work is drug-focused and it does not begin with a demand that you stop. You can be using and still be taken seriously, and you will not be asked to prove commitment before anyone will listen. In Oldham, 5.9 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, so the local services are being used, but formal treatment is not the only thing people need. Some need somewhere to think about it first, without a file being opened. The counselling looks at the job the drug is doing, the hours around it and the cost by the end of the week. Oldham Council's drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services and Turning Point's ROAR are there when more is needed.
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 Oldham
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Oldham, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Oldham Council's drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services.
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.
Oldham questions
Online Substance Use Counselling in Oldham: common questions
Do I have to stop using first?
No. Coming while you are still using is the normal way this starts. Being asked to stop first would mean the only people who could get help are the ones who least need it. What is useful is describing the week as it actually is, including the parts you would rather not.
Would going to ROAR mean a permanent record?
It is confidential health care, held like any other health record and not shared with police or employers. Oldham Council's drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services page explains how to reach it. If that feels like too big a step for now, counselling is a private place to work out whether you want it.
What are the fees and is there anything hidden?
Nothing hidden. £80 / 60 min, £100 / 90 min or £120 / 120 min, with a free 15-minute consultation at the start. No registration charge, no cancellation trap, no minimum run of sessions. What you pay is the sessions you have had, and nothing else.
The house is always full. How do people manage a private hour?
Usually by moving rather than waiting for quiet. A car parked somewhere ordinary, a walk with headphones, or an hour booked when the house is at work or school all solve it. Video does not require you to be at home, only somewhere you can talk without an audience.
What if it is prescription medication rather than street drugs?
That belongs here too, and it is more common than people think. Medication that was prescribed for a genuine reason can outlive the reason and become something else entirely. Any change to a prescription is a matter for the prescriber, but the thinking around it, and the fear of stopping, can be worked on here.
What if I've been using for a long time and think I'm past helping?
You're not. How long it's gone on doesn't close the door; people make real changes after years of use. We don't start by demanding a transformation, we start by understanding your situation honestly and finding a realistic next step, at whatever pace suits you.
How quickly can substance use counselling begin online in Oldham?
Usually within a week of a free 15-minute consultation, once we have checked we are a good fit. Everything runs online from my Hove base, so whether you are in Royton, Failsworth, Shaw or up in Uppermill, there is nothing to travel to first.
Is substance use counselling free on the NHS in Oldham, or do you charge?
Oldham has free NHS drug and alcohol 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 you see people up in the Saddleworth villages online in the evening?
Yes. The hill villages can feel a fair way from support if you must travel, but online brings it to Delph, Diggle or wherever you are. My room is in Hove; sessions are by video or phone, with evenings usually available.
Online Substance Use Counselling in Oldham, 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: Manchester, Rochdale, Stockport. See all of North West.
People who come for substance use counselling in Oldham often also look at 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?.
If you can reach the south coast, this work is also done face to face in Brighton — all in-person areas are listed here.