Drugs and substances
Confidential support for any kind of substance use.
Online Substance Use Counselling · Dundee
Online Substance Use Counselling in Dundee
Online substance use 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
Substance Use 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?
Drug use in Dundee is not a hidden subculture; it is woven through ordinary households and has been for a long time. Someone's brother, someone's mother, a neighbour two doors up. That familiarity cuts both ways. It means fewer people pretend not to understand, and it also means the harm has been normalised to the point where a serious pattern can go months without comment. Students around the West End and Maryfield use differently from men in their fifties in Douglas or Lochee, but the same weather and the same shortage of alternatives sit behind both. The waterfront regeneration has not reached everyone equally.
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 is substance use counselling, in practice?
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.
Because the work itself is the same wherever you live, the detail sits in one place rather than all of them: substance use counselling in detail sets out the methods, how I work, sessions and fees covers the practicalities, and my BACP registration covers accountability.
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.
Sessions are online by secure video, because Bradley works from Hove and holds no room in Dundee. You do not have to be stable, abstinent or even sure you want to change before getting in touch. Appointments can be weekly, fortnightly or spaced out, and can be taken from anywhere private, including a car. The free 15-minute consultation is a chance to ask how confidentiality works before you say anything at all.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What does substance use counselling help with?
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.
Substance Use Counselling in Dundee
Why people in Dundee come for substance use counselling
Dundee has lived with the worst of Scotland's drug crisis and knows what judgement sounds like, so this work does not start there. Drug-misuse deaths in Dundee City averaged 35.6 per 100,000 in the years 2020-2024, far above the Scotland average of 22.5. A figure that size can make an individual feel already sorted into a category, which is precisely the feeling that keeps people from asking for anything. What happens in session is much smaller and more useful: the actual sequence of a day, what the drug does at each point, where it stopped being a choice, what you are frightened would happen without it. Nothing is prescribed and nothing medical is advised. We Are With You in Dundee handles treatment and harm reduction, the NHS 'find a service' directory shows the options, and your GP remains the person for anything to do with your body.
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 Substance Use Counselling in Dundee: common questions
I am using every day. Am I too far along for counselling to help?
You are not. Talking work and medical treatment do different jobs and can run at the same time. If daily use means withdrawal is a risk, that side belongs with a doctor or a specialist service, and I will say so plainly rather than working around it.
What does a session cost if I am not working?
The fees are fixed at £80 / 60 min, £100 / 90 min and £120 / 120 min, so it is worth knowing that free local support exists too. Nothing is prepaid and you can space sessions out. Start with the free 15-minute consultation before deciding whether it is affordable.
How do I get NHS drug treatment in Dundee?
Through your GP or directly to We Are With You, which takes self-referrals for drug and alcohol support in the city. The Dundee Alcohol and Drug Partnership explains the local picture, and the NHS 'find a service' directory lists treatment. There is no self-referral scheme of that kind anywhere in Scotland.
Does online work when I am not always in a fit state?
It can, and it removes the wasted journey when a day goes badly. If you turn up affected we will talk about what is realistic rather than pretending otherwise, and sometimes we will rearrange. Turning up at all is generally more useful than turning up perfect.
Will you tell my family or my worker what I say?
Not without your agreement. Family members, employers and other services get nothing from me unless you ask for that and we plan it together. The exceptions concern serious and immediate risk to life, and they are explained at the start of the first session.
I am a student in Dundee, can I keep this separate from my university?
Yes. Alongside any support your university offers, these are private sessions by secure video from your flat or halls. Many students prefer keeping counselling entirely separate from campus, and video makes that straightforward wherever you are living in the city.
I am a student in Dundee, how soon can I start substance use counselling online?
Usually within days of a free 15-minute consultation. Alongside your university's support, you can arrange private video sessions from your flat or halls. There is no referral to wait on and nothing to travel to, so you can begin quickly and keep it separate from campus.
How much does substance use counselling cost next to NHS services in Dundee?
Fees are £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for 120, after a free 15-minute consultation. NHS Tayside support is free but often carries a wait; private sessions carry a fee and can start promptly, with a free consultation to begin.
How are online substance use sessions delivered for Dundee clients?
By secure, confidential video from anywhere private, a room at home in Lochee or a quiet flat by the Tay. Evening slots are available around work or study, and there is no local service to be seen entering, which many people in Dundee prefer.
Online Substance Use 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.
If substance use counselling is not quite what you are looking for, addiction counselling, counselling for drinking problems and anxiety counselling may fit better in Dundee.
If you would like to read more first, I have written about three ways to handle a craving and calming a craving as it rises.
If you can reach the south coast, this work is also done face to face in Hove, where the room is — all in-person areas are listed here.