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Online Addiction Counselling · Dundee
Online Addiction Counselling in Dundee
Online addiction counselling for Dundee, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Dundee, from the waterfront and the centre to the streets around the V&A, 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 Dundee
Addiction Counselling for Dundee, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Dundee: from the waterfront and the centre to Lochee, Broughty Ferry and the Hilltown
- Known for
- The V&A, the Tay and the design quarter
- Region
- Scotland
- Local NHS / support route
- NHS inform's drugs and drug use pages
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Dundee
What brings people in Dundee to counselling?
Two Dundees sit half a mile apart. There is the waterfront one, the design quarter, Abertay University turning out games developers, and there is the one on the hill above it where the money never arrived. People move between them daily, and a habit thrives in that gap: the pretence that everything is fine at work in the morning, and the reality of Stobswell or Hilltown at night. Gaming and gambling blur here more than most places, because the same phone that pays for a night out also runs the in-game purchases and the odds. Around Lochee, Fintry and Menzieshill, families have watched addiction take hold across generations and still find it almost impossible to name out loud.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Dundee
LocheeBroughty FerryHilltownStobswellWest EndMenzieshillMaryfieldDouglasFintry
Wherever you are in Dundee, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Dundee
Official figures for Dundee, for context rather than as a description of you.
the age-standardised drug-misuse death rate in Dundee City averaged 35.6 per 100,000 over 2020-2024, far above the Scotland average of 22.5 Source: National Records of Scotland, Drug-related deaths in Scotland 2024 (Table C4) (2020-2024).
In Dundee City, 5.3% of adults reported a low life satisfaction score (4 or below out of 10) in the year ending March 2023, in line with the Scotland average of 6.1%. Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Personal well-being estimates by local authority (Year ending March 2023 (2022-23)).
Reviewed June 2026.
What actually happens in addiction counselling?
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 method travels; only the geography changes. the main addiction counselling page explains it properly, session lengths and fees answers the practical questions, and qualifications, registration and ethics shows how the practice is held to account.
How do online sessions actually work?
Sessions run over a secure, encrypted video link, held to the same BACP confidentiality as meeting in person. After a free fifteen-minute call, you join from any private space on a phone, tablet or laptop.
Bradley is in Hove and sees Dundee clients online by secure video; there is no consulting space in the city itself. That removes the two things that stop people starting here: being seen going in somewhere, and having to cross town at a fixed hour. Sessions can be held from a flat in Broughty Ferry or a student room in the West End, with headphones if the walls are thin. Start with the free 15-minute consultation.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
Which difficulties does addiction counselling address?
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 Dundee
Why people in Dundee come for addiction counselling
Addiction takes in gambling, gaming and compulsive spending as readily as it takes in substances, and in a city built partly on games design that distinction gets awkward. What matters is not the object but the function: what it interrupts, what it postpones, what it makes bearable. Dundee carries the sharpest end of this in Scotland. Drug-misuse deaths in Dundee City averaged 35.6 per 100,000 over 2020-2024, far above the Scotland average of 22.5, and alcohol-specific deaths averaged 28.2 against a Scotland figure of 21.9. Those are neighbourhood numbers as much as city ones, and they belong to people who were managing until they were not. In sessions we trace the pattern back to what it is regulating, then look at what else could do that job. We Are With You runs drug and alcohol support in Dundee, the Dundee Alcohol and Drug Partnership coordinates local services, and Breathing Space Scotland is free on 0800 83 85 87.
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 Dundee
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Dundee, your GP can refer you to local drug and alcohol services, and you can find support through NHS inform's drugs and drug use pages.
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, the Samaritans are on 116 123, and you can text SHOUT to 85258.
If you drink heavily or use drugs daily, do not stop suddenly on your own. Withdrawal can cause seizures and can be dangerous. Speak to your GP or a local drug and alcohol service first, and they can arrange a safe, medically supported withdrawal. Counselling works alongside that, not instead of it.
Dundee questions
Online Addiction Counselling in Dundee: common questions
I think it is gambling rather than drink. Is that the same kind of counselling?
It is handled in the same room and with much the same thinking. Behavioural addictions follow the pattern substances follow, with relief, escalation and secrecy in the same order. The debt and the shame around money need their own attention, and we make space for that separately.
What are your fees and how are they paid?
A 60-minute session is £80, 90 minutes is £100 and 120 minutes is £120, paid after each one. If money is part of what the habit has damaged, say so early and we will keep the arrangement simple. The opening 15-minute consultation carries no fee whatsoever.
What is available through the NHS or the council in Dundee?
We Are With You provides drug and alcohol support in the city and takes self-referrals, while the Dundee Alcohol and Drug Partnership sets out how local services fit together. Your GP can refer, the NHS 'find a service' directory lists treatment, and Breathing Space Scotland answers on 0800 83 85 87.
Can counselling run alongside a service I am already with?
Yes, and it often works better that way. Local drug and alcohol services handle the practical and medical side; this is the slower conversation about why the habit arrived and what it has been carrying. Nothing here interferes with a treatment plan someone else is managing.
Everyone I know in Dundee has lost somebody. Does that make it hopeless?
No, though it explains why the fear runs so deep here. Grief for people who died of the same thing you are doing is its own burden, and it deserves attention rather than being used as evidence about you. Those are two separate matters and are best kept separate.
Is addiction counselling by video really as effective?
For most people, yes. Once we begin, talking over secure video quickly feels natural, and you get the same steady, confidential hour. It also spares any journey across Dundee, and many people find it easier to be honest from their own front room.
How soon can I start addiction counselling online in Dundee?
Usually within a week. We begin with a free 15-minute consultation, then book your first secure video session. There is no local waiting list and nothing to travel to across the city, so from the West End to Broughty Ferry you can start quickly from home.
What are your fees, and how do they compare to NHS help in Dundee?
Sessions are £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for 120, after a free 15-minute consultation. NHS Tayside talking therapy is free but can involve a wait; private work costs money yet begins sooner, and the universities also offer student support.
Do you offer evening online addiction sessions for people in Dundee?
Yes. Everything runs by secure video, so we can meet outside working or study hours, from a flat in Stobswell or halls near the waterfront. There is no journey across Dundee and no waiting room, which many students and workers here find easier to manage.
Online Addiction Counselling in Dundee, 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: Perth, Aberdeen, Kirkcaldy. See all of Scotland.
Also available in Dundee: substance use counselling, counselling for drinking problems and trauma counselling.
If you would like to read more first, I have written about a cognitive-restructuring exercise for compulsive behaviour and the four-stage cycle of addiction.
For anyone near the coast, the same addiction counselling runs in person in Brighton. Every area covered is listed separately.