Drugs and substances
Confidential support for any kind of substance use.
Online Substance Use Counselling · Sunderland
Online Substance Use Counselling in Sunderland
Online substance use counselling for Sunderland, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Sunderland — from the city centre and the river to the streets around the river Wear — with the same BACP-registered, confidential support as an in-person session, and no journey.
BACP registered member25+ years of experienceLived experience
ConfidentialA safe, private space
Person-centredThe therapy fits you
In and around Sunderland
Substance Use Counselling for Sunderland, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Sunderland: from the city centre and the river to Roker, Hendon and Washington
- Known for
- The river Wear, Roker beach and the Stadium of Light
- 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 Sunderland
Why people in Sunderland reach out
Sunderland is a proud city shaped by shipbuilding, coal and now car manufacturing, with a strong identity and the lasting marks of industrial change. Insecure work, money worries and a deep local pride that prizes coping all shape what people here carry.
Where work follows shifts and the rhythm of the docks, online sessions bend around unsociable hours rather than asking you to fit your life around them.
Sunderland is home to the University of Sunderland and South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust (Sunderland Royal Hospital); it is also the site of Nissan's car manufacturing plant, one of the largest in Europe.
The local picture
The local picture in Sunderland
These figures are local context from official sources — not a description of you — but they show the scale of what people in and around Sunderland are living with, and why local support matters.
the rate of deaths from drug misuse was 8.1 per 100,000 in 2022 - 24, above the England average of 5.8 per 100,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Deaths from drug misuse (2022 - 24).
5.7 adults per 1,000 were in treatment at specialist drug-misuse services in 2020/21, above the England average of 4.5 per 1,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Adults in treatment at specialist drug misuse services (2020/21).
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 callWhat I help with
How online substance use counselling in Sunderland can help
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 Sunderland
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Sunderland, free local drug and alcohol support is available through Sunderland City Council's alcohol, drugs and substance misuse 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.
Sunderland questions
Online Substance Use Counselling in Sunderland: common questions
Can I get online substance use counselling if I live in Sunderland?
Yes. I work with people right across Sunderland, from the city centre and the river 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 Sunderland, 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: Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, Durham. See all of Yorkshire & North East.
Other online support from Sunderland: Addiction, Drinking, Anxiety, Depression, Relationship, Trauma.