Drugs and substances
Confidential support for any kind of substance use.
Online Substance Use Counselling · Oxford
Online Substance Use Counselling in Oxford
Online substance use counselling for Oxford, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Oxford, from the city centre and Jericho to the streets around the dreaming spires, 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 Oxford
Substance Use Counselling for Oxford, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Oxford: from the city centre and Jericho to Cowley, Headington and Summertown
- Known for
- The dreaming spires, the Cherwell and the colleges
- Region
- London & South East (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 Oxford
Why people in Oxford reach out
Oxford carries an intensity all of its own. The academic calendar runs at a relentless pitch, and the expectation to perform, whether you are a student, an academic or working in one of the research and hospital institutions, can leave little space to admit you are struggling. Behind the postcard architecture, perfectionism and burnout are common companions.
Oxford holds two lives at once: the colleges and libraries of the University and Oxford Brookes, and the working city of Cowley, with the car plant, the John Radcliffe and the research and hospital campuses at Headington. Term time sets a demanding tempo for students and staff alike, while people in Jericho, Summertown and out towards Botley juggle high housing costs with jobs in academia, medicine and publishing. Beneath the honey-stone calm there is a lot of quiet striving. The pressure to keep achieving, to appear to be coping, can make it hard to say when you are not, and having somewhere impartial to be honest, away from the college or the department, can bring real relief.
Beneath a calm, historic surface, struggle can be hard to voice; a confidential online hour asks nothing of appearances.
Oxford is dominated by the University of Oxford and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (John Radcliffe Hospital), and the BMW Mini plant at Cowley is a major local employer.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Oxford
JerichoCowleyHeadingtonSummertownBotleyMarstonIffleyRose HillWolvercote
Wherever you are in Oxford, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Oxford
These figures are local context from official sources, not a description of you, but they show the scale of what people in and around Oxford are living with, and why local support matters.
the rate of deaths from drug misuse was 2.9 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).
3.6 adults per 1,000 were in treatment at specialist drug-misuse services in 2020/21, below 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.
Oxford's coach and rail links point mostly towards London, and getting to counselling elsewhere would mean giving up hours you may not have during term. Online sessions sidestep that entirely, fitting between lectures, clinics or shifts from wherever you are. The practice room is in Hove, an option if you can travel down to the Sussex coast for an in-person meeting, but for people in Oxford the work is done securely online around the academic week.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
How online substance use counselling in Oxford 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 Oxford
Why people in Oxford come for substance use counselling
Among Oxford's relentless deadlines, substances can slide from a way to focus or unwind into something you rely on to get through the term. Whether that is something taken to keep studying, to quiet the pressure, or simply out of a night that went further than planned, it deserves an honest, unhurried look rather than panic. Sessions are held securely online with a male counsellor based in Hove, fitted between lectures, clinics or shifts from wherever you are. Nothing is written into a college record, nothing is judged, and you decide what you want to change and when.
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 Oxford
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Oxford, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Oxfordshire County Council's alcohol and drug 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.
Oxford questions
Online Substance Use Counselling in Oxford: common questions
Can I get online substance use counselling if I live in Oxford?
Yes. I work with people right across Oxford, from the city centre and Jericho outwards, and anywhere else in London & South East, 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.
Can sessions work around a hospital or research shift at Headington?
Yes. Because nothing needs travelling to, we can settle on times that fit around clinical or lab rotas, including quieter parts of the day. If a shift changes we can be flexible, which is harder to manage with in-person appointments across the city.
Can I begin online substance use counselling quickly in Oxford?
Generally yes. We start with a free 15-minute consultation, then agree a regular time, often within a week. There is nothing to travel to across the city, so you can join securely from your room, a college set or home in Summertown or Botley, around the academic week.
Is substance use counselling free on the NHS in Oxford?
There are free routes: your GP can refer you, Oxfordshire's drug and alcohol service takes self-referrals, and FRANK gives confidential national advice. Students can also use college welfare. This counselling is private, at £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for 120, with a free consultation.
I feel I have to look as though I am coping in Oxford. Is online more discreet?
For many here it is. An online session, away from the college or department, lets you be honest without being seen going in anywhere. Sessions flex around perfectionism and burnout at their own quiet pitch, evenings included. In-person is possible in Hove, a train down the line, if you would rather.
I am a student and worried about being seen using support during term.
Online sessions keep things discreet. You join from your room or another private space, with no counselling room in town to walk into and no chance of passing someone you know on the way. Many students find that privacy makes it far easier to start.
Can sessions work around a hospital or research shift pattern at Headington?
Yes. Because nothing needs travelling to, we can settle on times that fit around clinical or lab rotas, including quieter parts of the day. If a shift changes we can be flexible, which is harder to manage with in-person appointments across the city.
Online Substance Use Counselling in Oxford, 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 London & South East: Reading, Aylesbury, High Wycombe, London. See all of London & South East.
All counselling & therapy in Oxford: 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.