Online Substance Use Counselling · Leeds

Online Substance Use Counselling in Leeds

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

Substance Use Counselling for Leeds, at a glance

Areas covered online
All of Leeds: from the centre and the waterfront to Headingley, Chapeltown, Armley and Roundhay
Known for
The arcades, the waterfront and the universities
Region
Yorkshire & North East (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 Leeds

Why people in Leeds reach out

Leeds is the financial and cultural capital of West Yorkshire, a fast-growing city of finance, law and two big universities. The pace of professional life, rising costs and the gap between its prosperous and its struggling neighbourhoods all take a toll, and the busy centre can hide a great deal of private strain.

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

Leeds is home to the University of Leeds and Leeds Beckett University and to Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs St James's University Hospital and Leeds General Infirmary; it is also one of the UK's largest financial and legal centres outside London.

The local picture

The local picture in Leeds

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

My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Leeds, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Leeds City Council's Forward Leeds drug and alcohol service.

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.

Leeds questions

Online Substance Use Counselling in Leeds: common questions

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

Yes. I work with people right across Leeds, from the centre and the waterfront outwards, and anywhere else in Yorkshire & North East, 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 Leeds, 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: Bradford, Wakefield, Sheffield. See all of Yorkshire & North East.

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