Online Substance Use Counselling · Oxford

Online Substance Use Counselling in Oxford

Online substance use counselling for Oxford, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Oxford — from the city centre and Jericho to the streets around the dreaming spires — 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 Oxford

Substance Use Counselling for Oxford, at a glance

Areas covered online
All of Oxford: from the city centre and Jericho to Cowley, Headington and Summertown
Known for
The dreaming spires, the Cherwell and the colleges
Region
London & South 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 Oxford

Why people in Oxford reach out

Oxford carries an intensity all of its own. The academic calendar runs at a relentless pitch, and the expectation to perform, whether you are a student, an academic or working in one of the research and hospital institutions, can leave little space to admit you are struggling. Behind the postcard architecture, perfectionism and burnout are common companions.

Beneath a calm, historic surface, struggle can be hard to voice; a confidential online hour asks nothing of appearances.

Oxford is dominated by the University of Oxford and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (John Radcliffe Hospital), and the BMW Mini plant at Cowley is a major local employer.

The local picture

The local picture in Oxford

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

My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Oxford, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Oxfordshire County Council's alcohol and drug 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:

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.

Oxford questions

Online Substance Use Counselling in Oxford: common questions

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

Yes. I work with people right across Oxford, from the city centre and Jericho outwards, and anywhere else in London & South 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 Oxford, 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 London & South East: Reading, Aylesbury, High Wycombe, London. See all of London & South East.

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