Drugs and substances
Confidential support for any kind of substance use.
Online Substance Use Counselling · Southampton
Online Substance Use Counselling in Southampton
Online substance use counselling for Southampton, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Southampton, from the city centre and Ocean Village to the streets around the waterfront, 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 Southampton
Substance Use Counselling for Southampton, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Southampton: from the city centre and Ocean Village to Portswood, Shirley and Bitterne
- Known for
- The waterfront, the docks and the Common
- 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 Southampton
Why people in Southampton reach out
Southampton is a busy port and university city, and its rhythms can be unforgiving: shift work around the docks and the hospitals, a large student population far from home, and the churn of a place where people are always arriving and leaving. That constant motion can make it surprisingly hard to feel settled or to ask for help.
Southampton lives by the water, from the cruise terminals and container berths of the docks to the marinas of Ocean Village, and its working days run to the clock of shifts at the port, the hospitals and Southampton General. The University of Southampton and Solent University bring waves of students into Portswood, Highfield and the streets around Bevois Valley, many of them a long way from home for the first time. It is a city of constant arrival and departure, and that churn can make it surprisingly hard to feel settled. Between antisocial hours, money worries and the effort of putting down roots in a place always in motion, it is easy to keep going until something quietly gives.
Where work follows shifts and the rhythm of the docks, online sessions bend around unsociable hours rather than asking you to fit your life around them.
Southampton is a major port city (Port of Southampton cruise and container terminals), home to the University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (Southampton General Hospital).
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Southampton
PortswoodShirleyBitterneWoolstonSt DenysBevois ValleyHighfieldMillbrookFreemantle
Wherever you are in Southampton, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Southampton
These figures are local context from official sources, not a description of you, but they show the scale of what people in and around Southampton are living with, and why local support matters.
the rate of deaths from drug misuse was 5.2 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).
5.3 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.
Southampton's rhythms of shift work and study rarely fit neat office hours, which is where online sessions help: you can meet from home before or after a shift, with nothing to travel to across the city. The practice room is in Hove, a train along the coast if you would prefer to meet in person on the Sussex side, but for people in Southampton the sessions are held securely online, arranged around the docks, the hospital or the university term.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
How online substance use counselling in Southampton 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 Southampton
Why people in Southampton come for substance use counselling
For students a long way from home for the first time, or workers running to the clock of the docks and the hospitals, substances can quietly become the thing that fills the gap or gets you through the night shift. Being surrounded by other people does not always ease that, and it is worth talking through before it settles into a routine. Sessions are held securely online with a male counsellor based in Hove, taken privately from your room or home with nothing to walk into on campus or in town. You lead, and everything stays confidential.
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 Southampton
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Southampton, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Southampton City Council's drug 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.
Southampton questions
Online Substance Use Counselling in Southampton: common questions
Can I get online substance use counselling if I live in Southampton?
Yes. I work with people right across Southampton, from the city centre and Ocean Village 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.
I'm a student here and feel homesick and out of place. Could that be feeding it?
Very possibly. Feeling adrift even while surrounded by other students is common in Southampton, and substances can become a way to numb that. Online sessions let you talk it through privately from your room, looking at both the habit and the loneliness underneath it.
Can I get online substance use counselling quickly in Southampton?
Generally yes. We start with a free 15-minute consultation, then set a regular time, often within a week. There is no referral to wait for and no clinic to reach across the city, so you can join securely from Portswood, Shirley, Bitterne or Ocean Village.
Is substance use counselling free on the NHS in Southampton?
There are free routes: your GP can refer you, Southampton's drug and alcohol service takes self-referrals, and FRANK gives confidential national advice. Students can use university welfare too. This counselling is private, at £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for 120, with a free consultation.
Being far from home as a student here, is online easier?
For many it is. In a city of constant arrival and departure, an online session reaches you wherever you are, so there is no working out an unfamiliar city to find help. Sessions flex around the term and antisocial hours. In-person is possible in Hove, a short train along the coast.
I work shifts around the docks and my hours change week to week. Can that work?
Yes. Since there is no appointment to travel to, we can set sessions to suit a rotating pattern and adjust when your shifts move. Many people working the port and warehouse economy find online counselling far easier to keep up than fixed in-person slots.
I'm a student here and feel homesick and out of place. Is that worth talking about?
It absolutely is, and it is one of the most common things students in Southampton raise. Being surrounded by people your own age does not always ease that feeling. Online sessions let you talk it through privately from your room, with nothing to walk into on campus.
Online Substance Use Counselling in Southampton, 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: Portsmouth, Basingstoke. See all of London & South East.
All counselling & therapy in Southampton: 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.