Drugs and substances
Confidential support for any kind of substance use.
Online Substance Use Counselling · Edinburgh
Online Substance Use Counselling in Edinburgh
Online substance use counselling for Edinburgh, by secure video, wherever you are. The hardest part is often just starting. Online substance use counselling keeps that first step small for people in Edinburgh: a private hour from your own space, with no journey and nobody to bump into.
BACP registered member25+ years of experienceLived experience
ConfidentialA safe, private space
Person-centredThe therapy fits you
Substance Use Counselling for Edinburgh, without the journey
From the heart of Edinburgh, near the castle, Arthur's Seat and the Royal Mile, out to its edges, from the Old Town and New Town to Leith, Morningside and Portobello, online sessions make it possible to get the right support without rearranging your whole day around a single appointment.
Although my practice sits on the Sussex coast in Hove, distance is no obstacle. People in Edinburgh work with me online and receive exactly the same specialist, confidential support as anyone who walks through the door.
I also work online with people elsewhere in Scotland, including Glasgow, Dunfermline, Falkirk.
If you would still prefer to meet in person and can travel to the Sussex coast, you are welcome to, but for most clients in Edinburgh online substance use counselling is the natural and effective choice.
Life in Edinburgh
Why people in Edinburgh reach out
Edinburgh balances a historic capital with a high-pressure professional, financial and festival life, and behind the elegant facades sit some of the highest living costs in Scotland. The intensity of work, study and the city's seasonal crowds can make it hard to find space for yourself.
London's scale and speed can be exhilarating and exhausting at once, and time and privacy are always in short supply. An hour that comes to you, rather than one you have to cross the capital for, is often what makes therapy possible.
What I help with
How online substance use counselling 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.
Why online works in Edinburgh
Why people in Edinburgh choose online counselling
Privacy in a crowded city
In a place as busy as Edinburgh, a confidential hour from your own space means no chance of being seen coming or going.
Gentle when leaving home is hard
If anxiety, low mood or avoidance make leaving the house feel like too much right now, starting online from Edinburgh can be the gentlest possible way in.
Less time lost from work
An online hour rarely costs you a half-day, which is what makes regular sessions realistic for busy lives in Edinburgh.
Support that travels
If you move, travel for work or split your time between places, online counselling carries on uninterrupted wherever you happen to be.
How online sessions work
However we meet, the approach stays consistent. My approach is integrative and humanistic, starting from a simple premise: you are the expert on yourself. With support you can find yourself again, without the anaesthetic, working at a pace that always protects your sense of safety.
The setup is light: somewhere quiet, a phone, tablet or laptop, and a workable connection. We open with a free fifteen-minute call, and after that each session is a secure link you click when the time comes.
Read more about online counselling, about substance use counselling, or about my methods, sessions and fees.
Start the conversationFinding support in Edinburgh
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally, and it can be worth knowing what else is there. 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, stay with the same counsellor throughout, and work at greater depth and pace; the two can run side by side, and I'm glad to work alongside any NHS or GP support you already have.
If you need urgent help now
This practice is not a crisis service. If you or someone else 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.
Edinburgh questions
Online Substance Use Counselling in Edinburgh: common questions
Do you offer online substance use counselling for people in Edinburgh?
Yes. I work with clients in Edinburgh and right across the UK by secure video. You don't need to live near Brighton or Hove; online substance use counselling brings the same care to wherever you are.
What do I need to start online sessions in Edinburgh?
Very little: a private space where you won't be interrupted, a laptop, tablet or phone, and a reasonable internet connection. After a free fifteen-minute call, I send a secure link you click at our agreed time.
Is online substance use counselling as effective as meeting in person?
For most people, yes. Online therapy can be just as effective as meeting face to face, and many find it easier to open up from home. Everything is held with the same strict confidentiality as in-person work.
Can I use the NHS in Edinburgh as well as seeing you?
Yes, and many people do both. You can access support from your local NHS talking therapies or counselling service alongside our work; private counselling simply means you can usually start sooner and stay with the same counsellor throughout. I'm happy to work alongside any NHS support you're receiving.
Online Substance Use Counselling in Edinburgh, whenever you are ready
A free fifteen-minute consultation is the easiest place to start. No commitment, just a chance for both of us to see if this feels right for you in Edinburgh.
Online Substance Use Counselling in nearby places
Prefer to meet face to face? See counselling across Brighton, Hove & Sussex, or read more about how online counselling works and about substance use counselling in depth.