Drugs and substances
Confidential support for any kind of substance use.
Online Substance Use Counselling · Livingston
Online Substance Use Counselling in Livingston
Online substance use counselling for Livingston, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Livingston, from the centre and the Mall to the streets around the country parks, 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 Livingston
Substance Use Counselling for Livingston, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Livingston: from the centre and the Mall to Craigshill, Ladywell and Deans
- Known for
- The shopping centre, the country parks and the Pentlands beyond
- 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 Livingston
Why people in Livingston reach out
Livingston is a West Lothian new town built for people moving out of Glasgow and Edinburgh, and its new-town origins still shape it: many arrived from elsewhere, and the layout is spread out and car-shaped. Building a rooted life while commuting into the cities can leave people stretched and short of close networks.
Livingston is West Lothian's largest town, a new town built from the 1960s to take families moving out of Glasgow and Edinburgh. Its shape still reflects that planning: distinct districts like Craigshill, Ladywell and Deans linked by dual carriageways and roundabouts, with the huge shopping centre at Almondvale forming a kind of heart. The Almond river and pockets of country park thread between the housing, and the Pentland Hills rise to the south. Many who live here arrived from somewhere else and commute into Edinburgh, and while the town is practical and well served, its spread-out, car-shaped layout can make it harder to feel rooted or to build the close networks that hold people up when life gets hard.
In a fast-grown town where many people arrived for work or housing without family close by, online counselling offers a steady, confidential connection while you put down roots.
Livingston, West Lothian's main town and a planned new town, is served by St John's Hospital (NHS Lothian).
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Livingston
CraigshillLadywellDeansKnightsridgeDedridgeMuriestonEliburnAlmondvale
Wherever you are in Livingston, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Livingston
These figures are local context from official sources, not a description of you, but they show the scale of what people in and around Livingston are living with, and why local support matters.
the age-standardised drug-misuse death rate in West Lothian averaged 16.3 per 100,000 over 2020-2024, below 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 substance use counselling itself
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.
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 substance use 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.
Livingston has good transport and NHS Lothian services, but talking therapy waits can be long, and the town's spread-out layout means even local appointments involve a drive. Secure video sessions reach any home across Livingston's districts without one. I work from Hove on the English south coast, seeing clients across Scotland and the wider UK online, so distance and layout matter far less.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
How online substance use counselling in Livingston 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.
Substance Use Counselling in Livingston
Why people in Livingston come for substance use counselling
In a spread-out new town where many arrived from elsewhere and days are shaped by the commute into Edinburgh, substances can quietly fill the gaps, something to wind down with, or to soften the sense of being unrooted. Cannabis, cocaine, stimulants or prescription pills can slip into that pattern before you have noticed. This work is non-judgemental and label-free. By secure video from your own home across any of Livingston's districts, we look honestly at what the substance does for you and what it costs, and find a realistic way to change your relationship with 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 Livingston
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Livingston, 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.
Livingston questions
Online Substance Use Counselling in Livingston: common questions
Can I get online substance use counselling if I live in Livingston?
Yes. I work with people right across Livingston, from the centre and the Mall outwards, and anywhere else in Scotland, by secure video, no need to travel to Hove, and just as confidential as meeting in the room.
Can I get support while I'm still using?
Yes. This is non-judgemental, one-to-one work that meets you where you are, and it can run alongside any medical or detox support you have.
How is this different from a group or 12-step programme?
It is individual and shaped entirely around you. Some people use it instead of groups, others alongside them.
Will you tell my GP or employer?
No. What you share is confidential within the BACP framework; nothing goes to anyone else without your consent.
I do not feel very rooted here, does that come into it?
It often does. When a place feels hard to settle into, a substance can quietly fill the gap. We look at that honestly, without judgement, from your own home by secure video, and work out what would help you feel steadier as well as change the habit.
Can I begin substance use counselling online in Livingston quickly?
Yes. After a free 15-minute consultation we can usually book your first video session within days. There is no referral to wait on and no drive across the town's districts, so wherever you are in Livingston you can make an early start from home.
How much does substance use counselling cost next to NHS services in Livingston?
Fees are £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for 120, after a free 15-minute consultation. NHS Lothian support is free but often carries a wait; private sessions carry a fee and can begin promptly, with a free consultation first.
How are online substance use sessions delivered for Livingston clients?
By secure, confidential video from home, in Ladywell, Dedridge or Knightsridge. Evening slots suit those commuting into Edinburgh, and the town's spread-out, car-shaped layout stops mattering, because sessions reach you without any local journey at all.
Is it hard to get to counselling if I don't drive in Livingston?
It can be, given how spread out the town is. That's part of why online work suits people here: secure video sessions come to you at home, so there's no need to reach a service by car or bus wherever in Livingston you live.
Where are you based?
I'm based in Hove on the south coast of England and work with clients across Scotland and the UK by video. I don't have premises in Livingston, so our sessions would be online rather than in person locally.
Online Substance Use Counselling in Livingston, 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: Edinburgh, Falkirk. See all of Scotland.
All counselling & therapy in Livingston: Addiction · Drinking Problems · Anxiety · Depression · Relationship · Trauma · Counselling & Therapy · Psychotherapy.
Closer to the Sussex coast? The same substance use counselling is available in person in Brighton & Hove, or see all in-person areas.