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Online Addiction Counselling · Aberdeen
Online Addiction Counselling in Aberdeen
Online addiction counselling for Aberdeen, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Aberdeen, from the granite centre and the harbour to the streets around the granite architecture, 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 Aberdeen
Addiction Counselling for Aberdeen, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Aberdeen: from the granite centre and the harbour to Old Aberdeen, Torry and Bridge of Don
- Known for
- The granite architecture, the harbour and the North Sea
- Region
- Scotland (Scotland)
- 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 Aberdeen
Why people in Aberdeen reach out
Aberdeen, the granite city on the north-east coast, has lived through the booms and busts of the oil and energy industry, and that volatility brings real insecurity. Long rotas offshore, the strain on families left behind and the remoteness of the far north-east all shape what people here carry.
Aberdeen is built from granite that glitters in the sun and turns steel-grey in the rain, a city set between two rivers on the cold edge of the North Sea. For decades its fortunes have risen and fallen with the oil and gas industry, and that rhythm shapes everything: the workers flying out to the rigs on long rotas, the families counting the weeks until they are home, and the anxiety that ripples through the city whenever the energy price turns. Beyond the harbour and the corporate offices sit the old cobbled streets of Footdee, the student quarter of Old Aberdeen, and the tight-knit community of Torry across the water. It can be a hard place to feel settled when so much depends on forces far offshore.
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.
Aberdeen is the centre of the UK's North Sea oil and gas industry and home to the University of Aberdeen and Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, the main hospital for NHS Grampian.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Aberdeen
Old AberdeenTorryBridge of DonRosemountFerryhillMannofieldFootdeeDyceCultsKincorth
Wherever you are in Aberdeen, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Aberdeen
These figures are local context from official sources, not a description of you, but they show the scale of what people in and around Aberdeen are living with, and why local support matters.
the age-standardised drug-misuse death rate in Aberdeen City averaged 23.3 per 100,000 over 2020-2024, slightly above the Scotland average of 22.5 Source: National Records of Scotland, Drug-related deaths in Scotland 2024 (Table C4) (2020-2024).
Local data last reviewed June 2026. Each figure shows the year and links to the official source it was read on.
The addiction counselling itself
Addiction counselling here treats the pain beneath the habit, not just the symptom, alcohol, drugs, gambling, food or behavioural, so recovery is something you grow into rather than force.
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 addiction 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.
Aberdeen sits a long way north, and specialist counselling can be harder to reach here than in the central belt, with NHS Grampian talking therapies often carrying a wait. Offshore rotas make fixed weekly appointments difficult too. Secure video changes that: sessions can reach a flat in the city, a room at home, or wherever you have signal and privacy. I'm based in Hove in the south of England and work with clients across Scotland and the UK online.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
How online addiction counselling in Aberdeen can help
Drugs and substances
Compassionate, confidential help with substance use.
Gambling
Breaking the cycle of compulsive gambling, guilt and debt.
Food and behavioural
Support for food and process addictions.
Affected by a loved one
Help for those living alongside someone's addiction.
The pain underneath
We treat the cause, not just the symptom.
Addiction Counselling in Aberdeen
Why people in Aberdeen come for addiction counselling
Life in the granite city often runs to the rhythm of the rigs, long rotas offshore, intense weeks home, and the anxiety that ripples through Aberdeen every time the energy price turns. That pattern can feed an addiction: something to fill the long stretches away, or to come down when you are back. Whether it has grown around a substance, gambling or another compulsion, the isolation of the far north-east can make it feel there is nowhere to turn. Counselling works around your rota by secure video, offering a confidential hour wherever you have privacy and a signal, to face the cycle and begin to change it.
A free, unhurried first step
Not sure if it is right for you? A free fifteen-minute call is a no-obligation way to talk it through.
Book a free 15-minute callDrug, alcohol & addiction support in Aberdeen
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Aberdeen, 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 24 on 111 for urgent mental health support. Breathing Space is free on 0800 83 85 87, and the Samaritans are on 116 123.
Aberdeen questions
Online Addiction Counselling in Aberdeen: common questions
Can I get online addiction counselling if I live in Aberdeen?
Yes. I work with people right across Aberdeen, from the granite centre and the harbour outwards, and anywhere else in Scotland, by secure video, no need to travel to Hove, and just as confidential as meeting in the room.
Do I have to be abstinent before we start?
No. We begin wherever you are. The work is about understanding the need the behaviour has been meeting, not passing a test first.
Can you help with gambling or behavioural addictions, not just substances?
Yes. The same approach applies to gambling, food and other compulsive behaviours, because we work with the underlying pattern rather than only the substance.
Is it really confidential if I'm worried about people finding out?
Completely. Sessions are private, online means no waiting room, and everything is held under the BACP Ethical Framework.
Can addiction counselling work around my offshore rota?
Yes. Because we meet by secure video, we can arrange sessions for your onshore weeks and pick up again when you are back. There is no clinic to reach, so the shape of your work matters far less than having a private hour and a connection.
How soon can I start addiction counselling online in Aberdeen?
Usually within a week or so. We begin with a free 15-minute consultation, then book your first secure video session. Aberdeen sits a long way north, but online there is no distance to travel, so from Torry to Bridge of Don you can start quickly from home.
What are your fees, and how do they compare to NHS help in Aberdeen?
Sessions are £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for 120, after a free 15-minute consultation. NHS Grampian talking therapy is free but often carries a wait this far north; private work costs money yet begins sooner, with no queue.
Can online addiction sessions work around an offshore rota from Aberdeen?
Yes. Because sessions run by secure video, we can fit times to your onshore weeks and pick up when you are back, with evenings available too. There is no clinic in the city to reach, so your rota matters far less than a private hour and a connection.
Can counselling work around an offshore rota?
Yes. Because sessions are held by secure video, we can arrange times that fit your onshore weeks, and pick up again when you're back. There's no clinic to get to, so the pattern of your work matters far less than having a private hour and a connection.
Do you see people in Aberdeen face to face?
No. I work from Hove on the English south coast and see clients across Scotland entirely online. For anyone in Aberdeen that means secure video sessions, which spares the long distances many here would otherwise travel for specialist support.
Online Addiction Counselling in Aberdeen, 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 Scotland: Dundee, Perth. See all of Scotland.
All counselling & therapy in Aberdeen: Substance Use · Drinking Problems · Anxiety · Depression · Relationship · Trauma · Counselling & Therapy · Psychotherapy.
Closer to the Sussex coast? The same addiction counselling is available in person in Brighton & Hove, or see all in-person areas.