Online Counselling for Drinking Problems · Durham

Online Counselling for Drinking Problems in Durham

Online counselling for drinking problems for Durham, by secure video, wherever you are. Waiting lists and a shortage of local specialists shouldn't stand between you and help. Online counselling for drinking problems gives Durham a direct route to an experienced, BACP-registered counsellor, by secure video.

Online across the UKSecure videoFree 15-min consultation
BACP registered member25+ years of experienceLived experience
Bradley Riddell, counsellor in Brighton & Hove, introducing his approach to therapy
ConfidentialA safe, private space
Person-centredThe therapy fits you
Online counselling for drinking problems by secure video for clients in Durham

Counselling for Drinking Problems for Durham, without the journey

From the heart of Durham, near the cathedral, the castle and the river Wear, out to its edges, from the peninsula and the centre to Gilesgate, Neville's Cross and Framwellgate, online sessions make it possible to get the right support without rearranging your whole day around a single appointment.

Hove is where my room is, but the support is not tied to Sussex. Over a secure link I work with people in Durham and far beyond, with the same depth and confidentiality as meeting face to face.

I also work online with people elsewhere in Yorkshire & North East, including Newcastle upon Tyne, Sunderland, Darlington.

If you would still prefer to meet in person and can travel to the Sussex coast, you are welcome to, but for most clients in Durham online counselling for drinking problems is the natural and effective choice.

Life in Durham

Why people in Durham reach out

Durham's great cathedral and ancient university give the city a calm, storied face, but behind it sit intense academic pressure and a county still living with the loss of its coal industry. The gap between the gleaming university and the hard-pressed former pit villages around it shapes much of what people carry.

Beneath the calm, postcard surface of a historic city, struggle can be hard to voice. Online counselling offers a private route to support that asks nothing of appearances.

What I help with

How online counselling for drinking problems can help

Daily or binge drinking

Support whatever your pattern looks like.

The cause, not the habit

Looking beneath the drinking to what drives it.

Anxiety and low mood

Working with what the alcohol has been managing.

Privacy at home

Sensitive support without anyone needing to know.

Signposting

Links to medical, detox and peer support where useful.

Without the anaesthetic

Reconnecting with the person beneath the drinking.

Why online works in Durham

Why people in Durham choose online counselling

Around terms and deadlines

Sessions flex around the academic calendar and shift work, so support holds steady through the busiest weeks.

Easier to keep to

A weekly session you can take from home is far simpler to protect than one that needs travel. That consistency is exactly where lasting change comes from.

The same confidentiality

Sessions run on a secure, encrypted video link, and everything is held to the same strict BACP confidentiality as work done in person.

The comfort of your own space

Many people find it easier to open up from their own sofa than in an unfamiliar room. From Durham, that comfort is part of the work, not a compromise.

A calm space for online counselling for drinking problems in Durham

How online sessions work

Here's what actually happens once we begin. In our sessions we take an integrative approach, viewing your difficulties from an existential and humanistic perspective. Because you are the one who knows yourself best, my role is to walk alongside you as you build genuine alternatives to drinking.

All it takes at your end is a private spot where you can talk freely, a device with a camera, and a steady signal. We begin with a free fifteen-minute call, then I send a link you join at our agreed time each week.

Read more about online counselling, about counselling for drinking problems, or about my methods, sessions and fees.

Start the conversation

Finding support in Durham

My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally, and it can be worth knowing what else is there. In Durham, you can refer yourself directly to NHS talking therapies for anxiety and depression, with no GP referral needed. You can find support through the NHS Talking Therapies finder.

Private sessions with me usually mean you can start sooner, stay with the same counsellor throughout, and work at greater depth and pace; the two can run side by side, and I'm glad to work alongside any NHS or GP support you already have.

If you need urgent help now

This practice is not a crisis service. If you or someone else 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.

Durham questions

Online Counselling for Drinking Problems in Durham: common questions

Can I have online counselling for drinking problems if I live in Durham?

Absolutely. Durham is well within reach, because we meet by secure video rather than in person. You'll get exactly the same specialist support as someone sitting in my Hove room.

What do I need to start online sessions in Durham?

Very little: a private space where you won't be interrupted, a laptop, tablet or phone, and a reasonable internet connection. After a free fifteen-minute call, I send a secure link you click at our agreed time.

Does online therapy really work?

Online and in-person therapy are similarly effective for most people, and clients usually settle quickly once the screen fades into the background and the conversation takes over.

Is online counselling private and confidential?

Yes. Sessions run on a secure, encrypted video link, and everything we discuss is held to the same strict BACP confidentiality as work done in person. All you need at your end is a private space.

Online Counselling for Drinking Problems in Durham, whenever you are ready

Take the first step with a free fifteen-minute call. Whether you're in Durham or further afield, it's a relaxed, no-pressure way to find out whether we click.