A warm welcome to your new website
We’ve made improvements to help you find what you need more easily. If anything doesn’t work as expected, please let us know using the feedback button below.
Counselling services
If you're experiencing personal or emotional difficulties you may wish to consider counselling as a means of supporting yourself and your mental wellbeing.
What is counselling?
During a counselling session, an independent and trained professional will listen to your concerns in confidence and ask you questions designed to help you to find ways to progress, overcome or deal with your situation. Counsellors will deal with a wide range of issues, from low self-esteem to eating disorders.
The length of sessions and number that you require will depend on your needs, and your counsellor will usually discuss this with you at the beginning of your programme.
In East Lothian we also have a healthy reading scheme that operates in our local libraries. The list of recognised self-help books may provide additional support to complement a programme of treatment.
Assessment, eligibility and charging for services
GP Referrals
You can request access to counselling services in East Lothian directly through your GP.
Adult Social Work Services
If you are 16 or over, you can also apply for counselling through Adult Social Care following an assessment which will be carried out by one of our community care workers.
We use assessments to make sure our recommendations are appropriate, will address your needs and meet our eligibility criteria.
To find out more about this, and our charging policy, please read our assessment of need section
Access Private Counselling Services
The following website lists privately registered Counsellors and Therapists in and around East Lothian.
You can use the filter tool to refine your search and help find someone who may be able to support your personal needs.