Drugs and substances
Confidential support for any kind of substance use.
Online Substance Use Counselling · Stockport
Online Substance Use Counselling in Stockport
Online substance use counselling for Stockport, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Stockport, from the centre and the old town to the streets around the viaduct, 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 Stockport
Substance Use Counselling for Stockport, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Stockport: from the centre and the old town to Heaton Moor, Reddish, Bramhall and Cheadle
- Known for
- The viaduct, the hat works and the river Mersey
- Region
- North West (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 Stockport
Why people in Stockport reach out
Stockport blends comfortable suburbs with tougher inner areas on Manchester's southern edge, and the commute into the city shapes many lives. Long days, high housing costs and the contrast between affluent and struggling neighbourhoods all add to the pressures people carry.
Stockport is a town of levels, the great railway viaduct striding over the Mersey while the old market and the Underbanks climb the hill above. Once a centre for hatting, it now blends comfortable, leafy suburbs with a busy centre that's seen real renewal around the market and Redrock. Heaton Moor and Bramhall have their villagey feel, Reddish and Edgeley their own; County play at Edgeley Park, and the trains and buses pull many people north into Manchester each day. There's a particular Stockport mix of the settled and the striving, and behind the well-kept fronts of the leafier streets, difficulty can be just as present and just as quietly borne.
When the week runs on the early train and the late return, an hour you take from home removes the very journey that stops many people starting.
Stockport sits on Manchester's southern edge; its main hospital is Stepping Hill Hospital, run by Stockport NHS Foundation Trust.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Stockport
the town centre and old townHeaton MoorReddishBramhallCheadleCheadle HulmeMarpleEdgeleyHazel Grove
Wherever you are in Stockport, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Stockport
These figures are local context from official sources, not a description of you, but they show the scale of what people in and around Stockport are living with, and why local support matters.
the rate of deaths from drug misuse was 7.2 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).
5.1 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 work online from Hove, seeing people across Stockport by secure video or phone. Whether you're in Heaton Moor, Cheadle, Bramhall or nearer the centre, the session comes to you, with no commute and no waiting room. For people whose days already revolve around the trip into Manchester, not having to travel for support often comes as a relief. We'd agree a regular time that works around your week and keep to it.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
How online substance use counselling in Stockport 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 Stockport
Why people in Stockport come for substance use counselling
The long days and the pull between Stockport's affluent and harder-pressed neighbourhoods can leave people stretched, and substances can become a way to switch off from all of it. I'm Bradley Riddell, a Hove-based counsellor working with people across Stockport online. We look honestly at what you're using, what it does for you and what it costs, without judgement and without forcing a diagnosis. Sessions are by secure video or phone from Cheadle, Marple, Edgeley or wherever you feel comfortable, so support fits into a packed week rather than becoming one more thing to fight for.
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 Stockport
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. You can find your nearest free NHS-funded drug and alcohol service via the NHS “find a service” directory (search “Stockport”).
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.
Stockport questions
Online Substance Use Counselling in Stockport: common questions
Can I get online substance use counselling if I live in Stockport?
Yes. I work with people right across Stockport, from the centre and the old town outwards, and anywhere else in North West, 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.
Is online counselling as effective as sitting in the room?
For most people working on substance use, yes. Research supports online talking therapy, and many find it easier to be open from their own space. What matters most is the relationship and the honesty, and both work well by secure video for people across Stockport.
How quickly can substance use counselling begin online in Stockport?
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 Reddish, Cheadle Hulme or Hazel Grove, there is nothing to travel to first.
Is substance use counselling free on the NHS in Stockport, or do you charge?
Stockport has free NHS drug and alcohol services, which can carry a wait. I am independent, with clear fees: a free 15-minute consultation, then GBP 80 for an hour, GBP 100 for 90 minutes and GBP 120 for two hours.
Can we meet online in the evening rather than a Stockport clinic?
Yes. I have no Stockport premises; I work from Hove online. For people whose days already revolve around the trip into Manchester, evening and lunchtime sessions with no added travel often come as a real relief, and they are usually easy to arrange.
I commute into Manchester, can sessions fit around that?
Yes. Working online means we can use an early slot before the train, a lunch break or an evening once you're home, without the extra journey a clinic would add. We'd find a time that fits your commute and keep it consistent, so it becomes a steady point in the week.
Online Substance Use Counselling in Stockport, 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, Oldham. See all of North West.
All counselling & therapy in Stockport: 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.