Online Addiction Counselling

Confidential counselling for alcohol, drugs, gambling and other habits that have stopped feeling like a choice.

Accredited therapists Fully confidential Evening & weekend times

Everything is confidentialWhat you say in a session stays in the session.

Secure video, Ireland-wideFrom wherever you feel comfortable, on any device.

No GP referral neededBook online in a couple of minutes.

Evening and weekend timesSessions that fit around work and family.

Maybe you have told yourself that this weekend will be different, and the weekend keeps arriving. Maybe you are the one counting someone else’s drinks, or checking a bank balance you already know the answer to. Something has stopped feeling like a habit and started feeling like a problem.

You do not need a word for it yet. Plenty of people arrive able to say only that things have got away from them, or that they are worried about someone close to them and cannot keep pretending otherwise.

Sessions here happen by secure video, so you can talk from wherever you feel private: a spare room, a parked car, a friend’s kitchen. People all over Ireland use the service, including towns and rural areas where the nearest counsellor is an hour’s drive and a long wait away. Nobody sees you sitting in a waiting room.

What types of addiction can I get online counselling for?

Most people who get in touch are worried about drink or drugs. Some are worried about something they never expected to be worried about, like the hours disappearing into a phone or a betting app.

Online counselling can help with:

Alcohol, whether that is daily drinking, heavy weekends or drinking that has quietly crept up
Cannabis, cocaine and other drug use, including substance misuse that started socially
Dependence on prescription or over-the-counter medication, such as sleeping tablets or painkillers
Gambling, including online betting and gaming
Compulsive gaming, social media and internet use
Other behavioural patterns you keep returning to despite the cost, where counselling is a suitable form of support

Addiction rarely travels on its own. A lot of the work turns out to be about what sits underneath and alongside it: anxiety, low mood, old trauma, stress at work, shame, anger, grief, or a relationship that has gone quiet. The HSE-supported drugs.ie service sets out the wider range of drug and alcohol supports available in Ireland if you want to see what else is out there.

You do not need a crisis or a formal diagnosis first. Worried is enough of a reason.

Is online addiction counselling right for me?

People usually get in touch when something has started to repeat. Have a look at whether any of this sounds familiar:

You drink, use or bet more than you meant to, most times
You have tried to stop or cut down and it has not held
You hide how much, or delete the messages and the history
Cravings take up more of the day than you would admit out loud
Money, sleep, health, work or a relationship has taken a hit

Counselling suits people who want to stop, people who are not sure yet and want to think it through honestly, and people who have already done treatment and want ongoing support so that recovery does not have to be held together alone.

It is not right for everything, and it would be unfair to pretend otherwise. If you are physically dependent on alcohol or on benzodiazepines, stopping suddenly can be dangerous and needs medical supervision, so speak to your GP or an HSE addiction service first. The same goes if you are medically unwell, if the situation at home is not safe, or if what you need is residential treatment or a detox programme. Talking therapy can sit alongside those things. It cannot stand in for them.

The first appointment is partly about working this out together: what is going on, what you want, what the risks are, and whether online counselling, in-person support or a specialist service is the safest place to start. If it is not us, you will be told that plainly.

Not sure if this is the right fit?

A first session is just a conversation.

Book a session Find a therapist →

How does online addiction counselling work?

Booking takes about two minutes on the website. You pick a therapist or ask to be matched, choose a time, and a confirmation arrives by email with a private, encrypted video link. There is nothing to install and no account to set up. Evening and weekend appointments are available. If video is genuinely not workable for you, raise it when you book rather than assuming a phone session is possible, as that is something to agree with your therapist.

Stage	What happens	Typical timing
Booking	Choose a time online, get a secure video link by email	A couple of minutes
First session	You talk about what is happening now, the history of the drinking, drug use or behaviour, how you are sleeping and eating, any risks, who knows, what you have tried before, and what you actually want	50 minutes
Sessions after that	Triggers, cravings, the thoughts and habits that run ahead of the decision, coping strategies, relapse prevention, motivation, and slowly rebuilding ordinary life	50 minutes each
Frequency	Weekly is common at the start; fortnightly often works later on	Agreed with you
Overall length	Some people come for a few months, some for longer, some come back at a harder stretch	No fixed course

Nothing about the first session is an interrogation. You will not be asked to justify yourself, and you can say it all out loud without anyone flinching.

A few practical things help:

Join on time, in a place where you will not be interrupted
Come to the session sober and not under the influence, so the hour is usable
Bring anything you agreed to notice or jot down since last time
Headphones if other people are in the house

Is online counselling as effective as face-to-face addiction therapy?

Honestly: for a lot of people, yes, and for some people, no. Research to date generally finds talking therapy delivered by video comparable to the same therapy in a room for many common difficulties, though results vary between studies and a great deal depends on how much you engage with it. No counsellor, online or otherwise, can promise you an outcome.

Online tends to work well when	Something else may be needed when
Travel, childcare or shift work would otherwise stop you attending	You need medically supervised withdrawal or detox
You live somewhere with few local services	You need psychiatric care or residential treatment
Privacy matters and you would rather not be seen going in a door	You have no private space at all to speak from
You travel for work and want sessions to keep running	You know you connect better sitting in a room with someone

The work itself draws on person-centred therapy, which means the relationship with your therapist does most of the lifting, and on CBT, which is the practical side: spotting the thought that shows up before the drink, and testing whether it is true. Your therapist may also use motivational styles of conversation, useful when part of you wants to stop and part of you really does not.

Will my online addiction counselling be confidential?

What you say stays between you and your therapist. Notes are kept to a minimum, stored securely, and handled in line with Irish and EU data protection law; the Data Protection Commission explains your rights over that information.

Sessions run on an encrypted video platform, and the link is sent only to you. It would be dishonest to call any internet connection completely risk-free, so a few sensible habits matter on your end too:

Join from a quiet room, or the car if that is the private option
Use headphones
Avoid shared or work devices where you can
Do not record the session

There are limits, and they are explained before therapy starts rather than sprung on you: if there is a serious and immediate risk to your life or someone else’s, a child protection concern, or a legal requirement, your therapist may have to pass information on. Where possible, that is a conversation with you, not about you.

Can my partner or family take part in counselling?

Addiction is rarely contained to one person. Partners get exhausted. Parents lie awake. Children learn to read a mood from the sound of a key in the door.

Family members can book counselling in their own right, and couples sessions are available if the two of you want to work on things together. Whether anyone joins part of your own counselling is agreed with you first, never arranged behind your back. If you are an adult, your relatives are not given information about your sessions simply because they ask.

Work with partners and family members often covers:

Saying the hard thing without it turning into the same row
Trust, and how slowly it actually rebuilds
Enabling, and the difference between helping and absorbing the consequences
Boundaries that can be kept rather than ones that collapse by Friday
Looking after yourself while someone you love is struggling

You can support someone’s recovery. You cannot do it for them, and a lot of the relief comes from finally putting that down.

Frequently asked questions

How much does online addiction counselling cost in Ireland?

Private counselling in Ireland is generally paid for out of pocket, and fees vary by therapist. The fee for each appointment is shown before you confirm a booking, so there are no surprises. Some health insurance policies contribute towards counselling, so it is worth checking your cover, and HSE addiction services are free to use if cost is the barrier. Citizens Information outlines what is publicly available.

What technology and private space do I need for an online session?

Less than people expect. A laptop or phone with a camera, a reasonable internet connection, and somewhere you will not be overheard for 50 minutes.

Any recent laptop, tablet or smartphone
Headphones, which help more than anything else for privacy
A door that closes, or a parked car if home is busy
No software to download; the emailed link opens in your browser

What qualifications should an addiction counsellor in Ireland have?

Look for accreditation with a recognised professional body, such as the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy or Addiction Counsellors of Ireland, which means supervised practice, ongoing training and a complaints process. Statutory registration for counsellors and psychotherapists is being brought in through CORU, though the register was not yet open to applicants at the time of writing. Therapists here are accredited, and you are welcome to ask any therapist about their training.

Can I get urgent addiction support online in Ireland?

This service works by appointment and is not an emergency or crisis service. For urgent help, the HSE Drug and Alcohol Helpline is freephone 1800 459 459, and Samaritans can be reached free on 116 123 at any hour. If someone is in immediate danger, call 112 or 999.

How can I take the first step towards getting help?

Asking is the part people dread and the part that tends to make things smaller. You do not need a plan, a date you will stop, or a tidy account of how it got here. Turning up and saying it out loud is enough to begin with.

Book an initial online appointment whenever you feel ready, or send a confidential enquiry if you would rather ask a question first. Here is what follows:

Enquiries are usually answered within one working day
The first session is used to talk through your situation, risk and goals, and to check that online counselling is the right fit
Fees and appointment times are confirmed before anything is booked
Your secure video link arrives by email; you join from wherever you feel private

If you are in immediate danger, do not wait for an appointment. Call 112 or 999, or go to your nearest emergency department. For free, confidential information and local services, contact the HSE Drug and Alcohol Helpline on 1800 459 459 or visit drugs.ie. Alcoholics Anonymous Ireland and Problem Gambling Ireland also run free supports, including online meetings.