Online Substance Use Counselling · Birmingham

Online Substance Use Counselling in Birmingham

Online substance use counselling for Birmingham, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Birmingham — from the city centre and the Jewellery Quarter to the streets around the Bullring — with the same BACP-registered, confidential support as an in-person session, and no journey.

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

In and around Birmingham

Substance Use Counselling for Birmingham, at a glance

Areas covered online
All of Birmingham: from the city centre and the Jewellery Quarter to Edgbaston, Moseley, Erdington and Handsworth
Known for
The Bullring, the canals and the Library of Birmingham
Region
Midlands (England)
Local NHS / support route
Local council drug & alcohol service (see below)
Format
Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.

Life in Birmingham

Why people in Birmingham reach out

Birmingham is the UK's second city and one of its youngest and most diverse, and life here moves fast across very different communities. The pressures of a big city, money worries, crowded housing and the isolation that can come even in a crowd, all take a toll, and reaching out is not always easy.

With the academic year setting a relentless pace, online sessions flex around terms, deadlines and shift work rather than fighting them.

Birmingham is home to the University of Birmingham and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, one of the largest single-site hospitals in the UK, and HSBC UK has its national headquarters in the city centre.

The local picture

The local picture in Birmingham

These figures are local context from official sources — not a description of you — but they show the scale of what people in and around Birmingham are living with, and why local support matters.

Local data last reviewed June 2026. Each figure shows the year and links to the official source it was read on.

The substance use counselling itself

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 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 substance use counselling page and on how I work.

How online sessions 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 call

What I help with

How online substance use counselling in Birmingham can help

Drugs and substances

Confidential support for any kind of substance use.

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.

Drug, alcohol & addiction support in Birmingham

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 “Birmingham”).

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.

Birmingham questions

Online Substance Use Counselling in Birmingham: common questions

Can I get online substance use counselling if I live in Birmingham?

Yes. I work with people right across Birmingham, from the city centre and the Jewellery 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.

Can I get support while I'm still using?

Yes. This is non-judgemental, one-to-one work that meets you where you are, and it can run alongside any medical or detox support you have.

How is this different from a group or 12-step programme?

It is individual and shaped entirely around you. Some people use it instead of groups, others alongside them.

Will you tell my GP or employer?

No. What you share is confidential within the BACP framework; nothing goes to anyone else without your consent.

Online Substance Use Counselling in Birmingham, 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 Midlands: Solihull, Coventry, Wolverhampton. See all of Midlands.

Other online support from Birmingham: Addiction, Drinking, Anxiety, Depression, Relationship, Trauma.