Need Help With A Story?
Are you a journalist in need of commentary for a piece, or information about our clinic?
Press Contact
Castle Craig is frequently contacted by journalists, researchers, TV and radio producers and we are often in the media. If you have a press enquiry please get in touch with our Communications Department by on info@castlehealth.eu and we will see what we can do to help you as quickly as possible.
Stigma is a barrier to recovery because the shame associated with stigma prevents people from reaching out for help. We want to play a role in spreading the word about recovery.
We are here to provide you with all the necessary resources and answers to your queries. Whether you need to interview one of our experts, request a press release or simply find out more about what we do, we are happy to help.
Media Spokesperson
If you need a spokesperson (director, psychiatrist, doctor, therapist) for a media story about alcohol, drugs, gambling, gaming, cryptocurrency addiction, therapy, or mental health, then we can help. Our communications team will consider your request, ask for more information and then forward it to the relevant person.
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We are able to comment on a variety of topics such as:
- Alcohol addiction
- Drug addiction
- Rehab treatment
- Gambling addiction
- Gaming addiction
- Opioid addiction
- Prescription drug addiction
- Porn addiction
- Sex addiction
- Social media addiction
- Eating disorders
- ADHD
- Psychosis
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Trauma
- PTSD
Therapies such as The 12 Steps, CBT, EMDR, Trauma Therapy, Grief Therapy, Equine Therapy, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Interviews With Patients
In some cases, we are able to arrange interviews with current or former patients. Patient confidentiality is our primary concern when collaborating with the media and any filming, photography or interviews need to be agreed upon with the clinical team beforehand. We cannot always guarantee that you will be able to show the identity of the subject, this is up to the individual.
All requests need to be passed between various staff members and we request that you describe, in writing, in as much detail as possible what you would like from Castle Craig.
- Overview of the story being written
- Where the story will be published
Media Photos & Videos
All images and video footage, including drone shots of the Castle Craig grounds, are available on request. Please contact us directly to let us know what you are looking for.
Castle Craig Media Appearances
| Publication | Details |
| The Sunday Post – Marion Scott – 22/09/2025 | Influencer backing helps to fuel a 94% surge in nicotine pouches use – with teenagers targeted. Scotland is in the grips of a craze for nicotine pouches fuelled by TikTok influencers marketing them as performance enhancers and targeting gamers and sports fans, experts warn. Continue Reading. |
| The Sunday Post – Marion Scott – 28/09/2025 | TRANSFORM SCOTLAND – Drugs: Strategy of harm reduction is all wrong and causes more deaths than it prevents, say experts. The drugs deaths scandal in Scotland will never end as long as we continue prioritising harm reduction over rehabilitation, experts warn. Continue Reading. |
| STV News – Laura Alderman – 18/08/2025 | ‘Cocaine is easier to get than pizza, it’s socially acceptable’ – One user tells STV News he’s spent more than £1m on cocaine and alcohol over the past 30 years. Continue Reading. |
| Drink and Drug News – DDNWeb – 14/02/2025 | Castle Craig: it’s time to leave addiction behind. Castle Craig is an HIS registered hospital for people suffering from addiction to alcohol and drugs, alongside other complex conditions, like gambling and gaming addiction, depression, anxiety, ADHD, trauma, relationship issues, eating disorders, and more. Continue Reading. |
| Daily Record – Hannah Rodger – 05/01/2025 | ‘Taking cocaine is completely normalised now’, recovering addict warns – Screen addiction among children can pave the way for them to become hooked on gambling, alcohol and drugs a Scottish expert has warned. Continue Reading. |
| GetPodcast.com – You’re Wrong About ADHD – Katie Breathwick and Sam Pittis – 11/11/2024. | Why are ADHDers more likely to struggle with addiction? This week Sam and Katie speak to Dr Peter McCann, a consultant psychiatrist specialising in addictions, to explore the link between ADHD and addictive behaviours. Dr McCann explains why ADHDers are more at risk, the difference between impulsivity and addiction and what treatments are available. Continue Reading. |
| The Times – Lily Russell-Jones – 14/07/2024 | Inside the £4,000-a-week Clinic Treating Crypto Addiction. Lily Russell-Jones sits in on a therapy session at the rehab centre where digital currency trading addicts swap their stories. Continue Reading. |
| The Sun – Sam Blanchard – 12/06/2024 | New Frontier: Surge in Compulsive Crypto Traders Addicted to ‘Get-Rick-Quick’ Schemes, NHS Warns. Experts say cryptocurrency trading can take over people’s lives. Continue Reading. |
| STV News – 11/08/2023 | Crypto addiction: The reality behind the social media currency phenomenon. An exclusive look inside Castle Craig – the first treatment centre in the UK for crypto addiction. Continue Reading. |
| The Financial Times – Claer Barrett – 20/06/2023 | When Trading Crypto Becomes Addiction. Should Crypto Trading Be Regulated by the Gambling Commission? Continue Reading. |
| The Financial Times – Scott Chipolina and Oliver Barnes – 02/06/2023 | There Needs To Be a Health Warning’: How Crypto Trading Can Lead to Addiction. Debate over whether sector should come under scope of financial services or be treated like gambling. Continue Reading. |
| Business Lancashire – James Dooley – 24/03/2023 | Best Rehab Clinics in Lancashire. When it comes to addiction treatment, finding the right rehab clinic can make all the difference in a successful recovery. Continue Reading. |
| The Scottish Sun – Harry Williamson – 07/03/2023 | High As a ‘Sprite’ Scots Teens Getting High on Deadly Drug Cocktails Linked to ‘Dirty Sprite’ TikTok Trend. TEENS across Scotland are getting high on a dangerous cocktail of drugs sold over the counter at pharmacies and linked to a TikTok craze. Continue Reading. |
| The Sunday Post – Mark Howarth – 29/01/2023 | Cannabis now linked to more NHS psychiatric admissions than opioids. Cannabis is now the drug most likely to trigger mental illness in Scots, statistics show. Continue Reading. |
| The Financial Times – Jemima Kelly – 11/10/2022 | Is There Really Such a Thing as Crypto Addiction? I’ve long thought that buying crypto is less like an investment, which is how it is usually touted, and more akin to gambling. There’s the get-rich-quick promises, the gamified trading platforms and the sheer unpredictability of the markets. Continue Reading. |
| The Herald – Dominic McCann – 30/06/2022 | Inside Castle Craig – the rehab centre helping cryptocurrency addicts. ‘I spent tens of thousands of hours analysing crypto for six years,’ Steven, a recovering cryptocurrency addict, tells Metro.co.uk. ‘I lost my grasp of reality. Continue Reading. |
| The Sunday Post – Mark Howarth and Janet Boyle – 30/01/2022 | “We do need to worry about young people”: Doctors reveal surge in psychosis linked to cannabis. The number of Scots suffering mental illness linked to cannabis has surged since use of the drug was effectively decriminalised. Continue Reading. |
| Business Insider – Jenna Gymesi – 27/01/2022 | Crypto Addiction Warning Signs According to Therapist. Continue Reading. |
| Metro – Lizzie Thomson – 06/01/2022 | Inside Castle Craig – the rehab centre helping cryptocurrency addicts. ‘I spent tens of thousands of hours analysing crypto for six years,’ Steven, a recovering cryptocurrency addict, tells Metro.co.uk. ‘I lost my grasp of reality. Continue Reading. |
| Metro – 06/01/2022 | Video: Tour of Castle Craig, A Rehab Centre for Crypto Addicts. The hospital is designed to bring comfort and recovery to people suffering from alcohol, drug, and gambling addictions. Continue Watching. |
| BBC ALBA – 15/12/2021 | Dileas – Working Horses. Episode 3. Continue Watching. |
| The Sun – Adrian Zorzut – 13/12/2021 | Tanks a Million: I Lost My Life Savings On Crypto and Even Took Out £30,000 Loan to Buy More… I’d Be a Millionaire If I’d Just Kept It. A TRADER has allegedly lost their entire life savings and took out £30,000 in loans to buy more crypto after the currency market plummeted. Continue Reading. |
| The Sun – Mark Hodge – 05/10/2021 | Crypto Castle: Inside the ‘world’s first Bitcoin Rehab Clinic’ Where Traders Who Have Lost Millions Battle Cryptocurrency Addiction. A REHAB clinic in Scotland claims to be the first in the world to treat cryptocurrency addiction. Continue Reading. |
| Edinburgh Evening News – 04/08/2021 | Scotland’s drug deaths: SNP ‘are not using rehab beds on NHS Lothian’s doorstep’. Continue Reading. |
| BBC News – 30/07/2021 | Drug Deaths in Scotland Reach New record Level. More than 1,300 people died of drug misuse in Scotland last year, with the country seeing a record number of deaths for the seventh year in a row. Continue Reading. |
| BBC News – Steven Brocklehurst – 30/07/2021 | Six Ways to Tackle Scotland’s Drugs Crisis. Scotland’s latest drug death figures are to be published on Friday – with the country expected to still have the highest rate in Europe. Continue Reading. |
| The Guardian – Sirin Kale – 19/06/2021 | ‘I Put My Life Savings In Crypto’: How a Generation of Amateurs Got Hooked on High-Risk Trading. Online trading apps are drawing in novice investors willing to risk everything on volatile stocks. Do they really know what they’re doing? Continue Reading. |
| BBC News – Giancarlo Rinaldi – 18/01/2021 | Covid in Scotland: Nurse Who ‘Nearly Died’ Gets Back to Work. In March last year Guy Heath caught Covid and ended up in intensive care for several weeks. Continue Reading. |
| STV News – 17/12/2020 | Sturgeon admits drug deaths rate ‘completely unacceptable’. Scottish Government accused of cutting rehab and treatment services ‘to the bone’. Continue Reading. |
| The Herald – Helen McArdle – 26/02/2020 | Case Study: ‘I Drank to Oblivion. In The End, I Used to Pray to God I wouldn’t Wake Up’. BY the time William Allan arrived at Castle Craig in 2006, his addiction to alcohol was so bad he admits he used to cry himself to sleep wishing to die. Continue Reading. |
| The Herald – Helen McArdle – 26/02/2020 | NHS referrals to drug rehab at record low despite Scotland’s spiralling overdose crisis. THE number of NHS patients referred to residential rehab to undergo treatment for drug or alcohol addiction in Scotland is at an all-time low. Continue Reading. |
| BBC News – Lucy Adams – 04/02/2020 | The Shelter Giving Wine to Alcoholics. A Canadian scheme that tries to stabilise alcoholics by giving them measured amounts of wine is to be tested in Scotland. Continue Reading. |
| The Daily Record – Mark McGivern – 02/09/2019 | Scottish Drugs Rehab Centre Treats Hundreds of Addicts a Year, but Most of Them are Dutch. The founder of Castle Craig Hospital in Peeblesshire has questioned why Scottish patients are not being sent there for treatment. Continue Reading. |
| Daily Record – 26/08/2019 | Former drug addict opens up on how rehab allowed her to be a proper mum again. Natalie Logan MacLean now works hard to help other addicts find the path to redemption. Continue Reading. |
| The Sunday Post – Marion Scott, Craig McDonald, Russell Blackstock – 02/07/2019 | Revealed: Six years on and £1m later – ministers admit flagship drugs database launched to save lives of Scotland’s addicts has been delayed again. A flagship NHS database meant to collect vital, life-saving details of Scotland’s drug addicts is still mired in delay after eight years and £1 million, we can reveal. Continue Reading. |
| Belfast Telegraph – 21/03/2019 | Dutch addicts getting ‘better access’ to Scottish drug rehab centre, FM told. Conservative interim leader Jackson Carlaw said the Castle Craig centre in Peebleshire was no longer receiving patients referred by the Scottish NHS. Continue Reading. |
| The Bolton News – PA News Agency – 21/03/2019 | Dutch Addicts Getting Better Access to Scottish Drug Rehab Centre FM Told. Continue Reading. |
| The Sun – Emma Gritt – 10/01/2019 | SLAVE TO THE RHYTHM: What is porn addiction, how to stop it and is counselling available? PORN addiction is a serious condition that ruins lives, destroys relationships and cause physical injury. Continue Reading. |
| BBC News – 28/09/2018 | Living in a cold, dark climate linked to heavy drinking. People who live in cold climates with less sunlight could be more likely to drink heavily, according to a study. Continue Reading. |
| Happiful – Becky Banham – 28/09/2018 | New Study Reveals Link Between Heavy Drinking and Cold, Dark Climates. People living in colder climates with less sunlight are more likely to drink heavily, according to new research. Continue Reading. |
| The Guardian – Daniel Lavelle – 19/09/2018 | How To Curb Your Drinking on Cold Winter Nights. A study has linked lower temperatures and less sunshine with increased boozing. Can it help us combat binge drinking? Continue Reading. |
| Daily Record – Norman Silvester – 16/12/2018 | Super-Strength Cocaine Sparks New Scottish Drugs Epidemic With Addicts Hooked on High Purity Powder. Pensioners, doctors and nurses among the soaring number of people now seeking help as 75 per cent pure cocaine floods the streets. Continue Reading. |
| The Independent – Peter Stubley – 19/09/2018 | People living in colder regions drink more alcohol, study finds. Scientists call for tighter restrictions on alcohol adverts and prices during winter months. Continue Reading. |
| NBC News – Alyssa Newcomb – 01/06/2018 | Scottish Hospital is Ready to Treat Cryptocurrency Addicts. “I’ve met too many people who have sacrificed their mental and physical well-being for this pursuit,” said one crypto investor. Continue Reading. |
| Marketwatch – Aaron Hankin – 02/06/2018 | Hospital Open Rehab Program for Cryptocurrency ‘Addicts’. Crypto trading ‘can be exciting but also addictive’, hospital says. Continue Reading. |
| Insider.co.uk – Philip Gates – 28/05/2018 | Renowned Scots Rehab Clinic to Offer Treatment to ‘Cryptocurrency Addicts’. In a first for Scotland, world renowned Castle Craig Hospital in Peeblesshire is creating a course of residential treatment to deal with the underlying issues of people hooked on trading cryptocurrencies. Continue Reading |
| Investing.com – 29/05/2018 | Scottish Castle Craig Rehab to provide Treatment to Crypto Trading Addicts. Are you facing problems with a crypto trading addiction? Then there’s good news for you! In Scotland, there is a treatment center that is focused on healing addiction related to cryptocurrency trading. The new center is based in Castle Craig Hospital in Peeblesshire. Continue Reading. |
| Daily Mail – Press Association with Joe Pinkstone – 29/05/2018 | Bitcoin Addict Treatment Centre Opens in the Scottish Borders to Help People Hooked on Trading Cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin addict treatment centre opens in the Scottish Borders to help people hooked on trading cryptocurrencies. Continue Reading. |
| The Independent – Caitlin Morrison – 29/05/2018 | UK Hospital Launches Rehab Programme for Bitcoin Addiction. Experts at Scottish rehab centre say crypto trading holds appeal for problem gamblers. Continue Reading. |
| Future Scot – Kevin O’Sullivan – 29/05/2018 | Scottish Rehab Clinic Offering Treatment for Cryptocurrency Addiction. Castle Craig, one of Europe’s leading addiction rehab clinics, are highlighting cryptocurrency addiction as an area of concern and offering treatment for addicts. Continue Reading. |
| The Scotsman – 29/05/2018 | Borders Centre to Treat Cryptocurrency Addiction. Continue Reading. |
| Phys.org – 29/05/2018 | Cryptocurrency Addicts Seek Treatment at Scottish Clinic. A Scottish addiction clinic has begun treating people who are hooked on trading cryptocurrencies. Continue Reading. |
| The Sun – Andrew Koubaridis – 29/05/2018 | Crypto Warning: Bitcoin Fuels New Wave of Addicts as Doctora Warn Cryptocurrency is a Form of Gambling That Can Spiral Out of Control. DOCTORS have warned the recent explosion in Bitcoin trading is fuelling a new breed of gambling addicts. Continue Reading. |
| The Times – 28/05/2018 | Drug Life: Country Pads and Horse Therapy for £10k a Month but a Gruelling Treatment Schedule… Is Rehab Like a Spa or a Prison? At first glance, Castle Craig looks every bit the luxurious country house hotel. Continue Reading. |
| The Sun – Hannah Rodger – 08/04/2018 | Stephen’s story: I was taking dozens of painkillers every day… then GP gave me more. DAD-OF-THREE Steven McGowan begged his GP for help after plunging into addiction and taking dozens of painkillers every day. Continue Reading. |
| The Sun – Kathryn Knight – 23/03/2018 | Drug Life: Country Pads and Horse Therapy for £10k a Month but a Gruelling Treatment Schedule… Is Rehab Like a Spa or a Prison? At first glance Castle Craig looks every bit the luxurious country house hotel. Continue Reading. |
| The Telegraph – 16/03/2018 | NHS ‘Creating Drug Addicts’ As Figures Show Surge in Prescriptions For Powerful Opioid Painkillers. The number of prescriptions for powerful painkillers in England has nearly doubled in 10 years it has been reported. Continue Reading. |
| Huffington Post – Kathryn Snowdon – 16/03/2018 | Opioid Crisis Feared As Use of Codeine, Tramadol and Others Skyrocket. The number of powerful painkillers, also known as opioids, being prescribed in England has skyrocketed in the last ten years, according to a new investigation by the BBC. Continue Reading. |
| BBC News – David Rhodes – 15/03/2018 | NHS Accused of Fuelling Rise in Opioid Addction. Doctors warn the NHS is fuelling an addiction crisis because of an increase in the prescribing of powerful painkillers. Continue Reading. |
| Motherboard (Vice) – 25/02/2018 | Addicted to Bitcoin: The Cryptocurrency Rehab Center. Continue Watching. |
| The Sun – Sam Durkin – 28/01/2018 | DRUG DANGERS Record numbers of teenagers need hospital treatment for effects of cocaine abuse. Shocking figures obtained show admissions due to the party drug are 15 times higher than 10 years ago. Continue Reading. |
| The Scotsman – 24/11/2017 | People Need to Admit They Have An Alcohol Problem. Continue Reading. |
| The Herald – Helen McArdle – 03/10/2017 | Prescription Drugs Gabapentin and Pregabalin Cited in Nearly a Quarter of Scots Overdoses. A PRESCRIPTION painkiller which is now set to be restricted as a Class C drug was linked to more than 150 drug deaths in Scotland last year. Continue Reading. |
| The Scottish Sun – 28/08/2017 | Gambling with Lives: Expert Blasts Bookies’ Betting Machines As It Emerges Scots Have Spent 31.1bn on them in eight years. Tony Marini believes that Fixed Odds Betting Terminals lead gamblers to temptation they simply can’t resist. Continue Reading. |
| Huffington Post – Rupert Wolfe Murray – 04/06/2017 | UKESAD: A Festival About Addiction. UKESAD is a vast get-together of those who work in addiction treatment: therapists, counsellors, managers of rehab clinics, medics and camp-followers like me. They do an important job – saving people from addiction and maybe even an early death – but are unknown to the media and the public. Continue Reading. |
| Huffington Post – Rupery Wolfe Murray – 29/05/2015 | The Curse of Methadone. I’m thinking of writing a novel, a dystopia, in which the population are kept in check by the free availability of mind-numbing drugs like heroin, as well as cannabis which creates in people the feeling of creativity while removing the energy to actually do anything. Continue Reading. |
| The Telegraph – Cherrill Hicks – 16/02/2015 | Oxygen Therapy: The Treatment Behind Serviceman’s Amazing Recovery. Brain injured veteran Ben Parkinson can now walk up to two miles a day after starting the controversial hyperbaric oxygen treatment. Cherrill Hicks talks to Prof Philip James, author of a new book on the subject. Continue Reading. |
| BBC News – 26/01/2015 | Injured Soldier Ben Parkinson Starts Oxygen Therapy. A soldier who suffered devastating injuries in Afghanistan has started oxygen treatment to help his speech and memory. Continue Reading. |
| Deutsche Welle – Jeff Semple – 28/03/2014 | Gambling – Kicking the Habit. Castle Craig hospital in Scotland is the UK’s largest addiction treatment facility. In 25 years, the hospital has treated more than 10 thousand patients addicted to drugs and alcohol. But a different type of addiction now has hospital staff concerned. Jeff Semple has been finding out more for Inside Europe. Continue Reading. |
| The Daily Record – Clare Johnston – 16/06/2013 | Award-Winning Businesswoman Reveals How Family and Friends Helped Her Conquer Years of Alcohol Abuse. LOUISE Carstairs beat the booze to develop a successful home accessory company. Louise’s drinking peaked in her late 30s when she would wait until 4pm each day to down a quarter bottle of vodka. Continue Reading. |
| Daily Record – Paul O’Hare – 25/08/2012 | Unethical and Dangerous.. Mathedone Users Risk Brain Damage and Heart Problems. ADDICTION expert blasts GPs for hiding the side effects of the heroin substitute. Continue Reading. |
| Daily Record – Samantha Booth – 24/06/2012 | Horse Sense. A NEW kind of equine therapy designed to help patients battle against drink and drug addiction has been introduced at Castle Craig Hospital. Continue Reading. |
| BBC News – 02/02/2012 | Castle Craig Private Hospital Receives Positive Report. A private hospital in the Borders which treats people with drug and alcohol problems has received a positive report from inspectors. Continue Reading. |
| BBC Reporting Scotland – 10/09/2011 | “Minimum Alcohol Pricing”. Continue Watching. |
| BBC – 15/06/2011 | “The Scheme Debate”: Addiction and the Benefits of Rehab. Continue Watching. |
| Romania Insider – Corina Saceanu – 05/09/2010 | UK Clinic Castle Craig Hospital Wants to Open Rehab Facility in Romania Next Year. British rehab clinic Castle Craig Hospital, the largest hospital for the treatment of addictions in the UK is currently looking for a Romanian health care operator partners to open a rehab clinic in Romania, Rupert Wolfe Murray, the company’s representative for Romania told Romania-Insider.com. Continue Reading. |
| The Herald – 25/08/2008 | Spending Time With Horses: Is This the Perfect Therapy? When Steven Lowe was admitted to a rehabilitation centre aged 26 for severe alcohol addiction, it was his last opportunity to conquer the problem before he drank himself to death. After 10 years of addiction, he says he expected rehab to throw him some tough challenges but he never thought that interacting with horses would be the key to turning his life around. Continue Reading. |
| The Guardian – Thomas Quinn – 02/12/2007 | Residential Rehab Places Taken by Dutch Addicts. Residential drug rehabilitation places at one of Scotland’s leading addiction hospitals are being taken by Dutch heroin users because authorities in Scotland will not pay to use them, preferring to put addicts on methadone instead. Continue Reading. |
| The Guardian – Robert Booth – 07/11/2005 | Child Drinkers Could Face Rehab Clinics. So many Scottish children are addicted to drink and drugs that medical experts are calling for special drying-out clinics for youngsters. Continue Reading. |
| The Scotsman – 01/06/2005 | Helping Hand to Beat the Demon Drink. The woman sitting at the polished dining table in an oak-panelled room is playing nervously with her rings, twisting them round and round her fingers. Continue Reading. |