Drugs and substances
Confidential support for any kind of substance use.
Online Substance Use Counselling · Sheffield
Online Substance Use Counselling in Sheffield
Online substance use counselling for Sheffield, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Sheffield, from the centre and Kelham Island to the streets around the Peak District edge, 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 Sheffield
Substance Use Counselling for Sheffield, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Sheffield: from the centre and Kelham Island to Hillsborough, Crookes, Sharrow and Gleadless
- Known for
- The Peak District edge, the steel heritage and the two universities
- Region
- Yorkshire & North East (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- Sheffield City Council's drugs and alcohol support
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Sheffield
Why do people in Sheffield reach out?
Sheffield's drug use rarely fits the picture people carry in their heads. The rate of deaths from drug misuse was 7.8 per 100,000 in 2022 - 24 against an England average of 5.8, and 5.5 adults per 1,000 were in treatment at specialist drug-misuse services in 2020/21 compared with 4.5 nationally. Behind those rates are lives that share very little: ketamine and MDMA in a student house near Broomhill, cocaine folded into a Friday around Kelham Island, cannabis every night in Gleadless because sleep will not come otherwise, prescribed medication in Ecclesall that quietly stopped being medicine some while back.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Sheffield
Kelham IslandHillsboroughCrookesSharrowGleadlessEcclesallNether EdgeBroomhillWalkleyHeeleyWoodseats
Wherever you are in Sheffield, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Sheffield
Official figures for Sheffield, for context rather than as a description of you.
5.5 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).
the rate of deaths from drug misuse was 7.8 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.
Because the work itself is the same wherever you live, the detail sits in one place rather than all of them: the main substance use counselling page sets out the methods, the practical side covers the practicalities, and qualifications, registration and ethics 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.
This is video work, nothing else, and Bradley holds no room in the city. Nobody sees you walking anywhere, and there is no hill to climb or bus to catch between you and an appointment. You do not have to be abstinent, planning to be, or even sure you want to be. No testing, no attendance record and no conditions on booking. The free 15-minute conversation is there so you can decide without committing to anything.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What can substance use counselling in Sheffield 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 Sheffield
Why people in Sheffield come for substance use counselling
The people who benefit most are often the ones who would fail a readiness test. They are unsure, they have said they would stop before, and they suspect a counsellor will be disappointed in them within ten minutes. None of that is how this goes. We start by taking the substance seriously as something that works, at least in the short run, or you would have dropped it long ago. It might manufacture confidence, or end a day that refuses to end, or keep something older at arm's length. From there we look at cost, risk and what a different arrangement would actually require of you. Sheffield City Council's drugs and alcohol support and Likewise Sheffield provide free structured treatment for adults. Anything involving dosage, reduction or withdrawal belongs with a prescriber or your GP, and I keep clear of it.
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 Sheffield
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Sheffield, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Sheffield City Council's drugs and alcohol 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.
Sheffield questions
Online Substance Use Counselling in Sheffield: common questions
Do I have to be ready to quit before booking?
No. Readiness is something the work often produces rather than something you supply in advance. Arriving unsure is normal and gives us more to look at than a resolution made to keep somebody else happy, which tends not to survive the second difficult week.
Is any of this shared with a drug service or my university?
None of it. There is no shared record with Likewise Sheffield, a university welfare team, an employer or your GP. Confidentiality is limited only by serious risk to life or to a child, and I would talk that through with you rather than act behind your back.
I use most weekends and I am fine in the week - is there a problem?
Possibly not, but the useful signs sit outside the weekend. Longer recovery days, spending you avoid totalling, choosing plans by who will have some, low mood arriving reliably on a Tuesday. When the week starts serving the weekend, it is worth a look.
What is the cost and can I stop whenever I like?
Each session is £80 / 60 min, with £100 / 90 min and £120 / 120 min available, paid one at a time. Nothing is booked as a block and you can stop at any point without explanation. The first 15-minute consultation carries no fee.
Can counselling sit alongside a script or a keyworker?
It can, and that combination often works better than either alone. Medication, testing and structure stay with the treatment service. What I add is the part they have no time for: the history, the meaning, and why the urge comes back at the particular moments it does.
I'm a student at one of the universities - can this fit around my course?
Yes. Working online means term times, placements and trips home don't interrupt things - we carry on by video wherever you are. I'm a private counsellor, separate from the university's own wellbeing service, which you're also welcome to use alongside this.
How soon could I begin substance use counselling from Sheffield?
Usually fairly soon. Working online means I am not tied to Sheffield clinic hours, so we can find a slot that fits around the AMRC and advanced manufacturing sector. It starts with a free 15-minute consultation about your substance use, then a regular weekly session once we agree things suit you.
Is private substance use counselling in Sheffield worth it over the NHS route?
Privately I charge £80 an hour, £100 for 90 minutes and £120 for two hours, with a free 15-minute call first. Sheffield also has NHS routes, through your GP or Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, at no cost; those can involve a wait, so private sessions suit anyone wanting to begin substance use work now.
Can substance use counselling fit around work in Sheffield, and is it online?
Sessions with me are online only for Sheffield, as I am based in Hove. People working near the AMRC and advanced manufacturing sector often prefer this, fitting substance use counselling around the day without travel across the city. I offer daytime and some early-evening appointments, and we would keep the same weekly slot wherever possible.
Online Substance Use Counselling in Sheffield, 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 Yorkshire & North East: Rotherham, Barnsley, Leeds. See all of Yorkshire & North East.
People who come for substance use counselling in Sheffield 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 three ways to handle a craving and calming a craving as it rises.
Closer to the Sussex coast? The same substance use counselling is available in person, in Brighton, or see every area I cover.