Drugs and substances
Confidential support for any kind of substance use.
Online Substance Use Counselling · Wakefield
Online Substance Use Counselling in Wakefield
Online substance use counselling for Wakefield, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Wakefield, from the cathedral and the centre to the streets around the Hepworth gallery, 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 Wakefield
Substance Use Counselling for Wakefield, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Wakefield: from the cathedral and the centre to Sandal, Horbury and Lupset
- Known for
- The cathedral, the Hepworth gallery and the old coalfield
- Region
- Yorkshire & North East (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 Wakefield
Why do people in Wakefield reach out?
The drug figures for Wakefield are worse than the district's reputation suggests. The rate of deaths from drug misuse was 10.6 per 100,000 in 2022 - 24 against an England average of 5.8, and 7.2 adults per 1,000 were in treatment at specialist drug-misuse services in 2020/21 compared with 4.5 nationally. The lives inside those numbers vary enormously. Cocaine at weekends by people holding down solid jobs in Kettlethorpe, cannabis every evening in Stanley to get any rest before an early start, painkillers in Wrenthorpe that were prescribed for a back and stayed on long long after the back itself had settled down again.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Wakefield
SandalHorburyLupsetAgbriggKettlethorpeOutwoodStanleyOssettNormantonWrenthorpe
Wherever you are in Wakefield, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Wakefield
Official figures for Wakefield, for context rather than as a description of you.
7.2 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 10.6 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 actually happens 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.
The method travels; only the geography changes. substance use counselling in detail explains it properly, the practical side answers the practical questions, and professional standards and registration shows how the practice is held to account.
How do online sessions actually work?
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.
Everything is done by video and Bradley holds no room in the district. That takes away the part people find most exposing, which is walking into somewhere identifiable in a town where they are known. There is no testing, no register and no requirement to have stopped or to be intending to. Sessions can be booked from Agbrigg, Ossett or anywhere else with a closed door. The free first 15 minutes let you weigh it up.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What can substance use counselling in Wakefield 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 Wakefield
Why people in Wakefield come for substance use counselling
You are not expected to arrive certain about anything. The great majority of people who get in touch want to stop and want to carry on at the same time, and treating that as a disqualification is precisely what delays things for years. We start with what the substance is genuinely doing for you, because until that is understood, stopping is only subtraction and rarely holds. It may be sleep, or nerve, or distance from pain, or something to do with the hours left over when work does not fill them. From there we can weigh risk, money and what would need to be in place for anything to move. The NHS 'find a service' directory locates free treatment nearby, and Turning Point Inspiring Recovery works with people who are still using. Prescribing, reduction and withdrawal belong entirely to your GP or prescriber.
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 Wakefield
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 “Wakefield”).
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.
Wakefield questions
Online Substance Use Counselling in Wakefield: common questions
Do I have to have stopped before you will take me on?
No. You can be using today and still get real value from a session tomorrow. The expectation that people sort themselves out before asking for help is the reason so many wait years. I would only ask that you are not intoxicated during the hour itself.
Would anything be reported to a service or to the police?
Nothing is reported. I keep no shared record with Turning Point Inspiring Recovery, with a GP surgery or with any statutory body. The limits on confidentiality are the usual BACP ones about serious risk to life or to a child, and I would discuss them with you.
It is only at weekends and I never miss work - is that a problem?
It may not be, but the signals sit outside the weekend itself. Recovery days getting longer, money you have stopped totalling, a mood that reliably drops midweek, plans chosen for availability. When the week starts serving the weekend, it deserves examining.
What is the fee and can I stop after one session?
It is £80 / 60 min, £100 / 90 min or £120 / 120 min, paid one session at a time, and you can stop whenever you want without giving a reason. The 15-minute consultation beforehand is free and often clarifies whether this is the right thing at all.
Can counselling run alongside a keyworker at the local service?
Yes, and the pairing tends to work well. Your keyworker handles structure, medication and practical support; these sessions take on the history, the meaning and the reason the urge arrives when it does. Neither side needs the other's notes unless you share them.
Is this something separate from the NHS?
Yes. I'm an independent private counsellor, arranged directly with you, not part of any local NHS or council service. You're welcome to use NHS talking therapies alongside or instead - I'm simply another option, available by video at a time that suits your week.
Can I start substance use counselling in Wakefield soon?
Yes. I'm Bradley Riddell, a counsellor based in Hove, and I see people across Wakefield online rather than from a room in the city. We begin with a free 15-minute consultation, then set a regular weekly slot for substance use support, usually starting within a week or two once you feel ready.
Do you offer in-person or evening substance use counselling in Wakefield?
For Wakefield it is online rather than in person, since my room is in Hove on the south coast. Many find secure video suits substance use work well, joining from home in Sandal or Horbury without a commute. I hold some daytime and early-evening slots, so we can usually find a regular time that fits.
Online Substance Use Counselling in Wakefield, 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: Leeds, Barnsley, Huddersfield. See all of Yorkshire & North East.
People who come for substance use counselling in Wakefield often also look at addiction counselling, counselling for drinking problems and anxiety counselling.
You may also find it useful to read about once an addict, always an addict? and three ways to handle a craving.
If you can reach the south coast, this work is also done face to face in Hove, where the room is — all in-person areas are listed here.