Drugs and substances
Confidential support for any kind of substance use.
Online Substance Use Counselling · York
Online Substance Use Counselling in York
Online substance use counselling for York, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across York, from within the walls and the centre to the streets around the Minster, 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 York
Substance Use Counselling for York, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of York: from within the walls and the centre to Clifton, Acomb and Heworth
- Known for
- The Minster, the city walls and the Shambles
- Region
- Yorkshire & North East (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- City of York Council's alcohol and drugs support
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in York
What is going on for people in York?
The drug picture in York contains an uncomfortable gap. The rate of deaths from drug misuse was 8.2 per 100,000 in 2022 - 24 against an England average of 5.8, yet only 3.6 adults per 1,000 were in treatment at specialist drug-misuse services in 2020/21 compared with 4.5 nationally. More harm, fewer people in the system. Some of that is a city where use hides easily: cocaine after a late hospitality shift, ketamine in student houses around Heslington, cannabis every night in Huntington to sleep, and tablets in Bishopthorpe that were prescribed once for a short course and quietly never stopped being taken.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around York
CliftonAcombHeworthBishopthorpeFulfordFishergateHolgateDringhousesHuntingtonHeslington
Wherever you are in York, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in York
Official figures for York, for context rather than as a description of you.
3.6 adults per 1,000 were in treatment at specialist drug-misuse services in 2020/21, below 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 8.2 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).
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.
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, how sessions run and what they cost for fees and session lengths, and my credentials and registration if you want to check who you would be working with.
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.
This is online work by video only, with no room anywhere in York because Bradley works from Hove. In a small city that removes the real obstacle, which is being recognised on the way in somewhere. There is no testing, no attendance record and no requirement that you have stopped or plan to. You can talk from Fishergate, Heworth or a car parked anywhere quiet. The free 15-minute conversation lets you size it up first.
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 York
Why people in York come for substance use counselling
Being undecided is not a reason to stay away; it is the ordinary condition of nearly everyone who gets in touch. What we do first is take the substance seriously as something that works, because nobody persists with something that does nothing. It may supply confidence for a shift, or an ending to a day that will not end, or a gap between you and something older that has never been described out loud. Once that is on the table, cost and risk can be looked at without the conversation collapsing into shame. Some people move towards stopping; others reduce risk or change the circumstances around use, and both count as progress. City of York Council's alcohol and drugs support and York Drug and Alcohol Service provide free structured treatment. Anything involving dose, reduction or withdrawal is for your GP or prescriber rather than for me.
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 York
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In York, free local drug and alcohol support is available through City of York Council's alcohol and drugs 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.
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.
York questions
Online Substance Use Counselling in York: common questions
Will you insist I stop straight away?
No. Insisting produces agreement that lasts about a fortnight. What I want to understand is what the substance is for, and whether that need can be met any other way. Decisions you arrive at yourself, in your own time, are the ones that hold up.
Could this reach my university or my employer in York?
It could not. No record is shared with the University of York, an employer, a treatment service or your GP. The only limits on confidentiality concern serious risk to life or to a child, which is the standard every BACP counsellor works within.
Is it worth coming if my use is only occasional?
Often yes, and it usually makes for shorter work. Occasional use is easier to examine while it is still occasional, before it has become load-bearing. Coming early is not premature; it is the point at which the fewest things have been built around it.
What does it cost, and could I use the free service instead?
The fee is £80 / 60 min, £100 / 90 min or £120 / 120 min, paid individually with no package. York Drug and Alcohol Service costs nothing and takes self-referrals, and if the free 15-minute consultation suggests that suits you better I will say so.
Can I have counselling while I am already in treatment?
Yes. The treatment service handles medication, health and structure; these sessions handle the history and the meaning, and why the urge returns at particular moments. The two do not overlap, and nothing passes between them unless you choose to pass it.
I'm a student in York - can this fit around my course?
Yes. Working online means term times, placements and trips home don't interrupt things - we carry on by video wherever you are. I'm a private counsellor, separate from the university's own wellbeing service, which you're also welcome to use alongside this.
How soon could I begin substance use counselling from York?
Usually fairly soon. Working online means I am not tied to York clinic hours, so we can find a slot that fits around the university and heritage sector. It starts with a free 15-minute consultation about your substance use, then a regular weekly session once we agree things suit you.
Is private substance use counselling in York worth it over the NHS route?
Privately I charge £80 an hour, £100 for 90 minutes and £120 for two hours, with a free 15-minute call first. York also has NHS routes, through your GP or York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals, at no cost; those can involve a wait, so private sessions suit anyone wanting to begin substance use work now.
Can substance use counselling fit around work in York, and is it online?
Sessions with me are online only for York, as I am based in Hove. People working near the university and heritage sector often prefer this, fitting substance use counselling around the day without travel across the city. I offer daytime and some early-evening appointments, and we would keep the same weekly slot wherever possible.
Online Substance Use Counselling in York, 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, Hull, Harrogate. See all of Yorkshire & North East.
People who come for substance use counselling in York often also look at addiction counselling, counselling for drinking problems and anxiety counselling.
If you would like to read more first, I have written about three ways to handle a craving and calming a craving as it rises.
For anyone near the coast, the same substance use counselling runs in person in Brighton. Every area covered is listed separately.