Counselling
We offer free, confidential one-to-one counselling for adults in Fife who are affected by mental health challenges and problematic alcohol or substance use.
Who is it for?
Anyone worried about their own drinking or drug use, or how it's affecting their mental health.
Anyone affected by someone else's. You can come in your own right, whatever your connection to them.
Not sure this is right for you? Our Community Navigators can talk it through with you first.
What counselling looks like
Sessions last 45 minutes and are usually around 12 in total, though that can be longer depending on what you need.
Your first session is a chance to talk about what's brought you here and what you're hoping for. You'll agree together how the sessions will work: how often, what's confidential, what happens if you can't make one.
Our counsellors are qualified and registered with BACP or COSCA.
Alongside one-to-one counselling
Single session therapy, if you'd rather come once. You'll work out together what would help and what you want to do next. You can always come back.
EMDR, a specialist therapy for people affected by trauma.
Getting started
Fill in our short form or give us a call, and we'll be in touch. Your first appointment is usually within 21 days.
Why counselling can help
We know drinking or drug use rarely happens on its own. It's often tied up with anxiety, low mood, trauma, or relationships under strain, so our counselling looks at the whole picture, not just the substance. We have counsellors based across Fife, so you can meet close to home.
Counselling gives you a confidential space to look at what's going on underneath. For some people that means working through trauma or difficult experiences. For others it's about coping differently, or just understanding themselves better.
You don't need to sort one out before the other. Working on anxiety, low mood or trauma doesn't have to wait until your drinking or drug use has changed.
And you don't need to have all the answers before you get in touch.
Support first, counselling when ready
If you want support now but aren't sure counselling is the right thing, Side by Side might suit you better.
It runs over 13 weeks. Five weeks one-to-one with the same worker, sorting out whatever's making things hard. Then group sessions with other people in the same position. Then a review of where you've got to.
If the group isn't right for you, you can carry on one-to-one instead.
At the end you decide what happens next: counselling, something else, or stopping there.
