Drugs and substances
Confidential support for any kind of substance use.
Online Substance Use Counselling · Peterborough
Online Substance Use Counselling in Peterborough
Online substance use counselling for Peterborough, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Peterborough, from the cathedral and the centre to the streets around the river Nene, 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 Peterborough
Substance Use Counselling for Peterborough, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Peterborough: from the cathedral and the centre to Bretton, Orton and Werrington
- Known for
- The cathedral, the river Nene and the fenland beyond
- Region
- East of England (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 Peterborough
Why people in Peterborough reach out
Peterborough has grown quickly as a cathedral city and distribution hub on the edge of the Fens, drawing many new arrivals for work and affordable housing. Insecure and shift-based work, money pressure and the task of building a life without established networks all shape what people here carry.
Peterborough is a Fenland city of two speeds. Around the great Norman cathedral and the old market centre sits the newer Peterborough, the townships of Bretton, Orton and Werrington laid out in the post-war expansion, and the warehouses and distribution parks that the East Coast Main Line and the A1 feed. Trains reach London King's Cross in under an hour, so the city draws commuters and new arrivals from many countries, come for work and more affordable homes. Along the Nene and out at Ferry Meadows there is room to breathe, but the churn of a fast-growing city can leave people short of the friendships and family close by that hold us steady, and it is easy to feel unrooted while the working week fills every hour.
Beneath a calm, historic surface, struggle can be hard to voice; a confidential online hour asks nothing of appearances.
Peterborough is a unitary authority served by Peterborough City Hospital (North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust); NHS mental health services are provided by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Peterborough
BrettonOrtonWerringtonStangroundDogsthorpePastonMillfieldHamptonWaltonFletton
Wherever you are in Peterborough, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Peterborough
These figures are local context from official sources, not a description of you, but they show the scale of what people in and around Peterborough are living with, and why local support matters.
the rate of deaths from drug misuse was 6.7 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).
7.5 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).
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.
I am based in Hove and work with people across Peterborough and the surrounding Fens online, by video call or phone, not from a room in the city. That suits lives built around shift patterns at the distribution parks or an early train to London, because there is nothing to travel to. From Bretton or Orton to a place out towards the villages, a private space and a steady connection are all we need to begin.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
How online substance use counselling in Peterborough 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 Peterborough
Why people in Peterborough come for substance use counselling
For many in Peterborough, life runs to the clock of the warehouses and the distribution parks along the A1, and substances can become the way to get through unsociable shifts or to switch off afterwards. Over time, that can quietly take more than it gives. I work online from Hove, so there is no clinic across the city to reach after a long day. From the townships of Bretton, Orton and Werrington to a place out towards the villages, we can look at your substance use honestly, from the privacy of your own home, and work at a pace and time that fit your rota.
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 Peterborough
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Peterborough, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Peterborough City Council's drug and alcohol misuse 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.
Peterborough questions
Online Substance Use Counselling in Peterborough: common questions
Can I get online substance use counselling if I live in Peterborough?
Yes. I work with people right across Peterborough, from the cathedral and the centre outwards, and anywhere else in East of England, 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.
Would I have to visit somewhere in Peterborough?
No. I work entirely online from Hove, by secure video or phone. That means no travel across the city after a shift; you take part from home or another private space, at a time that fits around your rota and family.
Is online substance use counselling available in Peterborough, and when can I begin?
Yes. I see people across Peterborough and the surrounding Fens online, with no local waiting list, so most start within days. After a free 15-minute consultation we arrange a first session, working around shift work at the logistics parks or the East Coast Main Line commute.
How much is substance use counselling privately compared with the NHS in Peterborough?
My sessions are £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for 120, and the first 15-minute consultation is free. NHS substance support in Peterborough costs nothing but may take time to access, while private online work with me can start promptly and flexibly.
Would substance use counselling be online or local, and are evenings possible in Peterborough?
It is online only, by secure video or phone from Hove, not from a clinic in the city. Because it is not tied to clinic hours, we can meet in the evening or early around a train, and you take part from home in Werrington, Stanground or beyond.
A lot of my life runs to shift work. Can sessions fit around that?
Yes. Because everything is online from Hove, we are not tied to clinic opening hours or a commute across the city. We can find a time that works around rotas at the distribution parks or an early London train, and you join from home whenever suits you best.
Online Substance Use Counselling in Peterborough, 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 East of England: Cambridge, Kettering, Lincoln. See all of East of England.
All counselling & therapy in Peterborough: 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.