Drugs and substances
Confidential support for any kind of substance use.
Online Substance Use Counselling · Stoke-on-Trent
Online Substance Use Counselling in Stoke-on-Trent
Online substance use counselling for Stoke-on-Trent, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Stoke-on-Trent, from across the six towns, Hanley and Stoke to the streets around the bottle kilns, 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 Stoke-on-Trent
Substance Use Counselling for Stoke-on-Trent, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Stoke-on-Trent: across the six towns, from Hanley and Stoke to Burslem, Tunstall, Longton and Fenton
- Known for
- The bottle kilns, the Potteries and the canals
- Region
- Midlands (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- NHS drug & alcohol service finder (see below)
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Stoke-on-Trent
Why do people in Stoke-on-Trent reach out?
Drug use here does not sit where the stereotype puts it. It is somebody on agency vans taking something to stay awake through a run of nights, a student near Staffordshire University whose weekend has stretched into midweek, a man in Fenton on prescribed tablets that stopped being about pain a good while back. Work that comes and goes, money that runs out before the month does, and long hours all push people towards whatever makes the week passable. The local habit of getting on with it quietly does the rest. By the time the words get said out loud, the use has usually been part of the routine for years.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Stoke-on-Trent
HanleyBurslemTunstallLongtonFentonStokeMeirBentileeTrenthamBucknall
Wherever you are in Stoke-on-Trent, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Stoke-on-Trent
Official figures for Stoke-on-Trent, for context rather than as a description of you.
7.1 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).
the rate of deaths from drug misuse was 6.9 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 would we do together in substance use counselling?
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.
What actually happens in the room is the same everywhere, so it is written up once: see the substance use counselling page for the methods, the practical side for fees and session lengths, and how to check my registration if you want to check who you would be working with.
What do I need for 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.
There is no room in Stoke-on-Trent, since Bradley works from Hove, so the sessions run online. For drug work the advantage is obvious: nothing to sign at a desk, no building associated with drugs to be seen going into, no shared area to sit in. You can talk from a bedroom, from a van, or from a vehicle parked up on a break. None of it needs explaining to an agency or an employer, and the hour is yours to describe however you like.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What does substance use counselling 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 Stoke-on-Trent
Why people in Stoke-on-Trent come for substance use counselling
Drug-focused counselling starts from where you actually are rather than where you think you should be. Coming while you are still using is fine, and nothing here is conditional on stopping. That matters, because the fear of being lectured keeps people out of every kind of room. What happens instead is that we look at the job the drug is doing - the boredom it fills, the pain it dulls, the sleep it buys - and at what that job costs somewhere else. Cannabis, cocaine, ketamine, opioids, benzodiazepines and prescribed tablets all belong in the conversation. The local need is well documented: 7.1 adults per 1,000 were in specialist drug-misuse treatment in 2020/21, well above the England average of 4.5 per 1,000, and deaths from drug misuse reached 6.9 per 100,000 across 2022 to 2024. CDAS and the NHS find a service directory handle anything prescribed.
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 Stoke-on-Trent
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 “Stoke-on-Trent”).
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.
Stoke-on-Trent questions
Online Substance Use Counselling in Stoke-on-Trent: common questions
Will you tell me to stop?
No. You will not be instructed what to do with your use, and stopping is not a condition of being seen. What you get is somebody who takes the whole picture seriously, including why it started. Decisions about amounts stay with you, and where medication is involved they belong with a doctor.
What exactly am I paying for?
A private hour a week with a BACP-registered counsellor, at £80 for 60 minutes. Ninety minutes is £100 and two hours is £120 where the longer format suits better. The 15-minute conversation at the beginning costs nothing. You are not buying a programme, a workbook or a fixed course of anything.
How would I get to CDAS from where I am now?
The NHS find a service directory lists local drug and alcohol services, and CDAS is the community drug and alcohol service covering this city. Your GP can point you towards it. It is free at the point of use and it is the right place for anything prescribed or medically supervised.
Can I keep this completely separate from my GP?
Yes. Private counselling is not part of your NHS record and nothing gets passed on without your agreement. If you later want your GP involved, for prescribed medication for instance, that can be arranged. It is your call, and it does not happen automatically in the background.
Most people I know use something. Does that mean mine is normal?
Common and harmless are not the same word. Where everybody around you does it, the only measure left is what it is doing to you specifically: your sleep, your money, your temper, the things you have quietly stopped bothering with. That is the measure the sessions would work from.
Will my counselling be private from people I know?
Yes. Sessions are confidential, and because they are online you choose where you join from, so there is no local clinic to be seen at. Everything discussed stays between you and your counsellor. For many people in the Potteries that discretion makes reaching out easier.
How quickly can I begin substance use counselling in Stoke-on-Trent?
Usually within a week. Substance use counselling for Stoke is delivered online from Hove, so you avoid a local queue. A free 15-minute consultation comes first, giving you a feel for how sessions work, then your first appointment is booked when it suits.
What does substance use counselling cost against NHS drug services in Stoke-on-Trent?
Fees are £80 an hour, £100 for 90 minutes and £120 for two hours, with a free 15-minute consultation first. Stoke's NHS drug services are free but often stretched, whereas private sessions offer earlier appointments and continuity with the same counsellor throughout.
Is substance use counselling online, and how does it work in Stoke-on-Trent?
Yes. The consulting room is in Hove and Stoke is served by video, so sessions happen from wherever you feel private, whether in one of the six towns or somewhere quieter nearby. You need only a reliable connection, and evening slots can often be arranged.
Online Substance Use Counselling in Stoke-on-Trent, 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 Midlands: Derby, Telford, Tamworth. See all of Midlands.
If substance use counselling is not quite what you are looking for, addiction counselling, counselling for drinking problems and anxiety counselling may fit better in Stoke-on-Trent.
Some further reading, if that helps before getting in touch: three ways to handle a craving and calming a craving as it rises.
Within reach of Sussex? substance use counselling is offered in the room in Hove, where the room is as well as online; see the full list of areas.