Drugs and substances
Confidential support for any kind of substance use.
Online Substance Use Counselling · Wigan
Online Substance Use Counselling in Wigan
Online substance use counselling for Wigan, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Wigan, from the town centre and the pier to the streets around the rugby league heritage, 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 Wigan
Substance Use Counselling for Wigan, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Wigan: from the town centre and the pier to Ince, Pemberton and Hindley
- Known for
- Wigan Pier, the rugby league heritage and the flashes
- Region
- North West (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 Wigan
Why people in Wigan get in touch
Drug use in Wigan is not the picture people carry of the town, and that is exactly the point. Cocaine at weekends that has quietly become midweek. Cannabis in Ashton-in-Makerfield that started as a way to sleep after a long shift. Painkillers from an old injury that have long outlasted the injury itself. The rate of deaths from drug misuse here was 6 per 100,000 in 2022 - 24, above the England average of 5.8 per 100,000, and every one of those was somebody local. Most use never gets anywhere near a service, because being seen going in is a cost people are not prepared to pay.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Wigan
the town centreIncePembertonHindleyStandishAspullOrrellAshton-in-Makerfield
Wherever you are in Wigan, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Wigan
Official figures for Wigan, for context rather than as a description of you.
5.9 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 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.
The approach does not change with the postcode, so rather than repeat it on every page you can read it in full, the methods and what each session covers, on the full substance use counselling page, alongside how I work and qualifications, registration and ethics.
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.
Bradley works from Hove and there is no room in Wigan, so the sessions are online. For drug use in a town this closely knit, that removes the biggest single obstacle, which is visibility. No building, no reception, no local record with your name attached. It also means you can say exactly what you take without editing it. An hour, a signal and a door you can shut is the whole requirement.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
Which difficulties does substance use counselling address?
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 Wigan
Why people in Wigan come for substance use counselling
This is drug-focused counselling and it starts wherever you actually are. Being asked to stop first would exclude nearly everyone who needs it, so nobody here does that. In Wigan, 5.9 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, which shows the local services are working, and still leaves a great many people managing on their own. The hour looks at what the substance handles for you, what the next day costs and what the pattern is protecting. Nobody will tell you how to cut down or come off, since that is medical ground. Wigan Council drug and alcohol services and the NHS 'find a service' directory are where that belongs, and Bradley will help you weigh it up.
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 Wigan
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 “Wigan”).
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.
Wigan questions
Online Substance Use Counselling in Wigan: common questions
Do I need to be clean before I get in touch?
No, and that expectation stops a lot of people from ever asking. You can be using the same week you start. What is useful is honesty about the amounts and the timing, because that is the material the work is made of, not a tidy story.
What happens if I contact Wigan Council drug and alcohol services?
You would be offered an assessment and whatever fits: prescribing, structured treatment or group support. The NHS 'find a service' directory confirms what covers the borough. It is health care and confidential, not connected to police or benefits. Counselling can carry on throughout without any conflict.
How much are the sessions?
Sixty minutes at £80, ninety at £100, two hours at £120, with a free 15-minute consultation before you decide anything. Payment is per session and never in advance. That means a bad month financially does not end the arrangement; the session simply moves.
Half the people I use with are lads I have known since school. How do I change anything?
Carefully, and not by pretending the friendships do not matter. Long friendships built around using are hard to leave and worth taking seriously in the work. Often the first changes are about specific occasions rather than whole people, and what becomes possible after that is easier to see from a distance.
Will you judge what I take?
No. The substance is the least interesting part of it. What matters is what it does for you, what it costs by the weekend, and what it has quietly replaced. You will not be lectured about any of it, and nothing you say will be met with a face.
Do you only work with people who want to stop for good?
No. Some people want to stop, others want to cut down or just understand what's going on first. Wherever you are with it, we start there. In Wigan as anywhere, the work is guided by what you want, not by a fixed goal I set for you.
How quickly can I begin substance use counselling in Wigan?
Quickly. After a free 15-minute consultation to check we suit each other, we would usually hold your first session within a week. It runs online from my Hove base, so whether you are in Ince, Hindley or Ashton-in-Makerfield, there is nothing to travel to.
Is substance use counselling cheaper on the NHS in Wigan than privately?
Wigan's NHS drug and alcohol services are free, though they can carry a wait. My fees are fixed and clear: a free 15-minute consultation, then £80 for an hour, £100 for 90 minutes and £120 for two hours.
Can we do evening online sessions rather than travelling across Wigan?
Yes. I only work online, so there is no Wigan office to reach; my room is in Hove. Evening or lunchtime sessions are straightforward, which many people in the town's shift and manual jobs find fits their working week far better.
Online Substance Use Counselling in Wigan, 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: Bolton, Manchester, Warrington. See all of North West.
Also available in Wigan: addiction counselling, counselling for drinking problems and anxiety counselling.
If you would like to read more first, I have written about calming a craving as it rises and once an addict, always an addict?.
Closer to the Sussex coast? The same substance use counselling is available in person, in Hove, where the room is, or see every area I cover.