Alcohol
For when drinking has stopped feeling like a choice.
Online Addiction Counselling · Leicester
Online addiction counselling for Leicester, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Leicester — from the centre and the Cultural Quarter to the streets around the market — with the same BACP-registered, confidential support as an in-person session, and no journey.
In and around Leicester
Life in Leicester
Leicester is one of the most diverse cities in the country, a place of many communities living closely together. The pressures of city life, money, housing and the work of holding family and tradition alongside modern life, can build quietly, and privacy can matter all the more in close-knit communities.
With the academic year setting a relentless pace, online sessions flex around terms, deadlines and shift work rather than fighting them.
Leicester is home to the University of Leicester and De Montfort University, and Leicester Royal Infirmary is one of the busiest emergency departments in the country.
The local picture
These figures are local context from official sources — not a description of you — but they show the scale of what people in and around Leicester are living with, and why local support matters.
the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions (narrow definition) was 520.7 per 100,000 in 2023/24, above the England average of 504.1 per 100,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Admission episodes for alcohol-related conditions (narrow) (2023/24).
the rate of deaths from drug misuse was 6.5 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).
Local data last reviewed June 2026. Each figure shows the year and links to the official source it was read on.
Addiction counselling here treats the pain beneath the habit, not just the symptom — alcohol, drugs, gambling, food or behavioural — so recovery is something you grow into rather than force.
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 addiction counselling page and on how I 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.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
For when drinking has stopped feeling like a choice.
Compassionate, confidential help with substance use.
Breaking the cycle of compulsive gambling, guilt and debt.
Support for food and process addictions.
Help for those living alongside someone's addiction.
We treat the cause, not just the symptom.
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Leicester, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Leicester City 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:
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.
Leicester questions
Yes. I work with people right across Leicester, from the centre and the Cultural Quarter outwards, and anywhere else in Midlands, by secure video — no need to travel to Hove, and just as confidential as meeting in the room.
No. We begin wherever you are. The work is about understanding the need the behaviour has been meeting, not passing a test first.
Yes. The same approach applies to gambling, food and other compulsive behaviours, because we work with the underlying pattern rather than only the substance.
Completely. Sessions are private, online means no waiting room, and everything is held under the BACP Ethical Framework.
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: Nottingham, Coventry, Derby. See all of Midlands.
Other online support from Leicester: Substance Use, Drinking, Anxiety, Depression, Relationship, Trauma.