Communication and conflict
Breaking the cycle of the same argument.
Online Relationship Counselling · Edinburgh
Online Relationship Counselling in Edinburgh
Online relationship counselling for Edinburgh, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Edinburgh, from the Old Town and New Town to the streets around the castle, 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 Edinburgh
Relationship Counselling for Edinburgh, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Edinburgh: from the Old Town and New Town to Leith, Morningside and Portobello
- Known for
- The castle, Arthur's Seat and the Royal Mile
- Region
- Scotland
- Local NHS / support route
- NHS psychological therapies (Scotland)
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Edinburgh
What brings people in Edinburgh to counselling?
Edinburgh runs on long hours and high rent. Couples in Leith and Newington describe two demanding careers, a flat that costs more than it ought to, and a diary that rarely holds both of them at the same time. In the financial services sector the autumn is relentless, and in August the whole city fills up for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe until home stops being restful at all. The elegance of the place can make it harder to admit something is wrong, because on paper you are doing extremely well. Behind a front door in Stockbridge two people can be perfectly successful, perfectly polite, and no longer really in a relationship with each other.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Edinburgh
Old TownNew TownLeithMorningsidePortobelloStockbridgeBruntsfieldMarchmontCorstorphineNewington
Wherever you are in Edinburgh, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Edinburgh
Official figures for Edinburgh, for context rather than as a description of you.
In the City of Edinburgh, 9.3% of adults reported a low happiness score (4 or below out of 10) in the year ending March 2023, in line with the Scotland average of 9.1%. Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Personal well-being estimates by local authority (Year ending March 2023 (2022-23)).
In the City of Edinburgh, 30.1% of adults reported a high anxiety score (6 or above out of 10) in the year ending March 2023, compared with a Scotland average of 24.1%, a difference the survey's margin of error does not confirm. Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Personal well-being estimates by local authority (Year ending March 2023 (2022-23)).
In the City of Edinburgh, 4.0% of adults reported a low life satisfaction score (4 or below out of 10) in the year ending March 2023, compared with a Scotland average of 6.1%, a difference the survey's margin of error does not confirm. Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Personal well-being estimates by local authority (Year ending March 2023 (2022-23)).
Reviewed June 2026.
What would we do together in relationship counselling?
Relationship counselling here, for couples or individuals, slows down the pattern you are caught in and builds healthier ways of hearing and being heard.
What actually happens in the room is the same everywhere, so it is written up once: see relationship counselling in detail for the methods, how I work for fees and session lengths, and my credentials and registration if you want to check who you would be working with.
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.
There is no room in Edinburgh; Bradley is in Hove, and sessions run online. For a couple with two demanding jobs that is often the only version of this which actually happens. No crossing town at six, no hunting for a slot that survives a meeting overrunning. You can take it from home, or from two separate places when one of you is away for work. Discretion counts here too, and online removes any waiting area where you might meet somebody you know.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What does relationship counselling help with?
Trust and repair
Rebuilding safety after betrayal or addiction.
Distance
Finding your way back to closeness.
Long-distance couples
Sessions you can join from different places.
Anxiety and reassurance
Working with people-pleasing and the need for control.
Individual work
You do not need to come as a couple to change the dynamic.
Relationship Counselling in Edinburgh
Why people in Edinburgh come for relationship counselling
The commonest thing described is not conflict but disappearance. Two people who love each other, reduced to logistics, handovers and a shared calendar. Then there is the strain of a partner's low mood or drinking, which in a professional household is often hidden well past the point where it is manageable. We do the ordinary, difficult work: how you speak to each other when tired, what happens to a request that arrives sounding like criticism, how you find a way back after a bad week rather than simply moving on from it. Trust and repair get proper time, and so does the question of whether the two of you still want the same thing. An individual is welcome without their partner. For the health service route, your GP can refer you to NHS psychological therapies, NHS inform holds trusted self-help, and Breathing Space answers 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 callFinding support in Edinburgh
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Edinburgh, your GP can refer you to NHS psychological therapies, and you can find trusted self-help through NHS inform. You can find support through NHS inform; for confidential listening support, Breathing Space is free on 0800 83 85 87.
Private sessions with me usually mean you can start sooner and stay with the same counsellor throughout; I am glad to work alongside any NHS or GP support you already have.
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.
Edinburgh questions
Online Relationship Counselling in Edinburgh: common questions
Our jobs are unpredictable. Can appointments move week to week?
A fixed weekly slot works best, but it is not sacred. If one of you travels regularly, we can agree the following week's time at the end of each session. That is far more workable than cancelling, and it keeps the thread of the work going through a heavy quarter.
How is a couples session priced in Edinburgh?
By the session rather than by the head: £80 for an hour, £100 for ninety minutes, £120 for two hours, whether one or both of you attend. Ninety minutes is a common choice for couples. A free 15-minute consultation comes first, so you can both hear how it would run.
Is there an NHS option for relationship difficulties here?
Your GP is the route in Scotland and can refer you into NHS psychological therapies. NHS inform has self-help worth reading while you wait for that appointment, and Breathing Space is free on 0800 83 85 87 in the evenings. Nothing stops you doing this alongside private sessions.
August is chaos in this city. Should we wait until the Fringe is over?
Not necessarily. If the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is when your flat fills with people and your patience finally runs out, that is useful material rather than a reason to postpone. Sessions can be arranged earlier in the day through August if the evenings become impossible.
We are considering separating. Is relationship counselling still appropriate?
It is. A good deal of this work is not about staying together at any cost, but about being honest, in the same conversation, about what each of you actually wants. If you do separate, doing it with less damage matters enormously, particularly where there are children.
Can my partner and I both join from home in Edinburgh?
Yes. Couples sessions run by secure video, so you can both sit together in your own front room, or join from separate screens if one of you is working away. There's no trip across Edinburgh to coordinate, which makes a shared appointment far easier to keep.
How soon could we start relationship counselling in Edinburgh?
Usually within a week or two. After a free 15-minute consultation to check we are a good fit, we book your first online session at a time that suits you both. Everything runs by secure video across Edinburgh, so there is no waiting list and no room in the city to reach.
What does couples counselling cost compared with NHS options in Edinburgh?
Sessions are £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for two hours, with a free 15-minute consultation first. NHS Lothian rarely offers dedicated couples work and waits can be long, so many Edinburgh couples choose private online sessions to be seen sooner and set their own pace.
We often work late in the financial district, can sessions fit around that?
Yes. Evening slots are available, and because everything is by secure video you can join from your flat in the New Town or Marchmont after work. If one of you is travelling, you can even connect from two different places, which suits busy Edinburgh professionals well.
Online Relationship Counselling in Edinburgh, 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: Glasgow, Dunfermline, Falkirk. See all of Scotland.
Related work in Edinburgh: counselling and therapy, trauma counselling and addiction counselling.
You may also find it useful to read about the Imago dialogue for couples.
If you can reach the south coast, this work is also done face to face in Brighton — all in-person areas are listed here.