Panic attacks
Support for racing thoughts, panic episodes and chest tightness.
Online Anxiety Counselling · Durham
Online Anxiety Counselling in Durham
Online anxiety counselling for Durham, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Durham, from the peninsula and the centre to the streets around the cathedral, 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 Durham
Anxiety Counselling for Durham, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Durham: from the peninsula and the centre to Gilesgate, Neville's Cross and Framwellgate
- Known for
- The cathedral, the castle and the river Wear
- Region
- Yorkshire & North East (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- Durham and Darlington Talking Therapies
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Durham
Why people in Durham reach out
Durham's great cathedral and ancient university give the city a calm, storied face, but behind it sit intense academic pressure and a county still living with the loss of its coal industry. The gap between the gleaming university and the hard-pressed former pit villages around it shapes much of what people carry.
Durham is one of the great sights of northern England, its Norman cathedral and castle standing together on a wooded peninsula almost encircled by a loop of the river Wear, together a World Heritage Site. The cathedral, a masterpiece of Romanesque building, has drawn pilgrims for nearly a thousand years and, more recently, film crews. Around it winds a compact medieval city of narrow vennels, the market place and the colleges of Durham University, one of England's oldest. The city is also the spiritual home of the Durham coalfield: each July the Miners' Gala still fills the streets with banners and brass bands, honouring the pit communities of the surrounding county. Beyond, the former mining villages of County Durham spread across the hills.
Beneath a calm, historic surface, struggle can be hard to voice; a confidential online hour asks nothing of appearances.
Durham is home to Durham University and to University Hospital of North Durham (County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust); its Norman cathedral and castle form a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the surrounding county still bears the legacy of its coal-mining past.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Durham
GilesgateNeville's CrossFramwellgate MoorBelmontCrossgateElvetSherburnBearparkUshaw MoorNewton Hall
Wherever you are in Durham, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Durham
These figures are local context from official sources, not a description of you, but they show the scale of what people in and around Durham are living with, and why local support matters.
22% of adults reported a high anxiety score in 2022/23, below the England average of 23.8%. Source: OHID Fingertips – Self-reported wellbeing: high anxiety score (2022/23).
Local data last reviewed June 2026. Each figure shows the year and links to the official source it was read on.
The anxiety counselling itself
Anxiety counselling here is practical and solution-focused: we work on the worry, panic, social anxiety and over-thinking that are actually affecting your day, and on simple ways to settle a nervous system stuck on high alert.
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 anxiety 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.
I'm based in Hove, far to the south, and work with people in and around Durham online, by secure video, rather than in person. You meet from home in the city or out in the county villages, with no journey to fit in. We'd keep a regular weekly time that works around study, work or family, the distance simply doesn't come into it by video.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
How online anxiety counselling in Durham can help
Social anxiety
Help with confidence, self-consciousness and fear of judgement.
Chronic worry
Support for overthinking, catastrophising and decision paralysis.
People-pleasing
Working with the need for control and approval.
Sleep and tension
Calming a nervous system stuck on high alert.
Responding differently
Tools for when anxiety starts to take hold.
Anxiety Counselling in Durham
Why people in Durham come for anxiety counselling
Durham's great cathedral and ancient university give the city a calm, storied face, but behind it sit intense academic pressure and a county still living with the loss of its coal industry. The gap between the gleaming university and the hard-pressed former pit villages can sharpen anxiety either side of it, racing thoughts, a tense chest, a dread that won't settle. I'm Bradley Riddell, a counsellor based in Hove, and I work with people across Durham by secure video rather than in person. Together we look at what keeps the worry running and build steadier ways to hold it, at a weekly time joined from Gilesgate, Framwellgate Moor or wherever you can speak privately.
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 callFinding support in Durham
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Durham, you can refer yourself directly to Durham and Darlington Talking Therapies for free NHS talking therapy, with no GP referral needed.
Private sessions with me usually mean you can start sooner and stay with the same counsellor throughout; I am glad to work alongside any NHS or GP support you already have.
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 111 and choose the mental health option. The Samaritans are free, day or night, on 116 123, or text SHOUT to 85258.
Durham questions
Online Anxiety Counselling in Durham: common questions
Can I get online anxiety counselling if I live in Durham?
Yes. I work with people right across Durham, from the peninsula and the centre outwards, and anywhere else in Yorkshire & North East, by secure video, no need to travel to Hove, and just as confidential as meeting in the room.
Can online counselling really help with panic attacks?
Yes. We work on what happens in your body when anxiety spikes and rehearse practical ways to settle it, which translates well to video sessions you do from a place you already feel safe.
What if my anxiety makes video calls themselves difficult?
That is common and completely workable. We can start with the camera off, keep early sessions short and build up at your pace; many anxious clients find home the easiest place to begin.
How long does anxiety counselling usually take?
It varies, but solution-focused work often makes a difference within a handful of sessions. We review together rather than committing you to an open-ended course.
I'm a student at Durham and the pressure is relentless, can this fit?
Yes. Because we meet online, sessions carry on through term, exams and trips home wherever you are. I work privately, separate from the university's own wellbeing service, so you can use both if you wish, without breaking the continuity of our work.
How soon can I start anxiety counselling online in Durham?
Usually within a week. After a free 15-minute consultation we book a first session by secure video. I'm based in Hove and work online across Durham, so being far to the south makes no difference; there's no waiting list and no trip into the city to arrange.
What are your fees, and how do they compare with NHS help in Durham?
Sessions are £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for two hours, after a free 15-minute consultation. NHS talking therapies in Durham are free but can involve a wait; privately and online, you can usually start sooner and keep one regular time.
Can we meet online in the evening rather than in person in Durham?
Yes. I work from Hove by secure video, not a room in Durham, so there's no trip into the city or in from the county villages. Evening slots are often possible, which suits anxiety that flares around study, work or family life.
I'm a student at Durham University, can you help?
Yes. Online sessions carry on through term, vacations and placements wherever you are, so moving between Durham and home doesn't interrupt things. I work privately, separate from the university and college welfare teams, which you can also draw on alongside this.
Are you based in Durham?
No. I work from Hove on the south coast and see Durham clients by secure video call. For people out in the former pit villages especially, meeting online removes a journey into the city and makes a weekly session much easier to keep up.
Online Anxiety Counselling in Durham, 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 Yorkshire & North East: Newcastle upon Tyne, Sunderland, Darlington. See all of Yorkshire & North East.
All counselling & therapy in Durham: Addiction · Substance Use · Drinking Problems · Depression · Relationship · Trauma · Counselling & Therapy · Psychotherapy.
Closer to the Sussex coast? The same anxiety counselling is available in person in Brighton & Hove, or see all in-person areas.