Online Substance Use Counselling · Cardiff

Online Substance Use Counselling in Cardiff

Online substance use counselling for Cardiff, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Cardiff — from the bay and the centre to the streets around the castle — 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 Cardiff

Substance Use Counselling for Cardiff, at a glance

Areas covered online
All of Cardiff: from the bay and the centre to Cathays, Roath, Canton and Grangetown
Known for
The castle, the bay and the Principality Stadium
Region
Wales (Wales)
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 Cardiff

Why people in Cardiff reach out

Cardiff, the Welsh capital, blends a revived waterfront and a big student population with neighbourhoods that carry real hardship. The pace of capital-city life, rising costs and the contrast between the gleaming bay and harder-pressed areas all shape the pressures people here carry.

Capital-city life is exhilarating and exhausting at once, with time and privacy always short; an hour that comes to you is often what makes therapy possible.

Cardiff is home to Cardiff University and the University Hospital of Wales (the Heath) in Cathays/Heath, and hosts the Senedd and Welsh Government at Cardiff Bay alongside the Principality Stadium in the city centre.

The local picture

The local picture in Cardiff

These figures are local context from official sources — not a description of you — but they show the scale of what people in and around Cardiff 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 Cardiff 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 Cardiff

My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Cardiff, your GP can refer you to local NHS-funded drug and alcohol services, and you can find your nearest one via the NHS “find a service” directory.

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 press 2 for urgent mental health support. The CALL Helpline for Wales is free on 0800 132 737, and the Samaritans are on 116 123.

Cardiff questions

Online Substance Use Counselling in Cardiff: common questions

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

Yes. I work with people right across Cardiff, from the bay and the centre outwards, and anywhere else in Wales, 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 Cardiff, 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 Wales: Newport, Barry, Pontypridd. See all of Wales.

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