Online Anxiety Counselling · Exeter

Online Anxiety Counselling in Exeter

Online anxiety counselling for Exeter, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Exeter, from the cathedral quarter and the quay to the streets around the university, with the same BACP-registered, confidential support as an in-person session, and no journey.

Online across the UKSecure videoFree 15-min consultation
BACP registered member25+ years of experienceLived experience
Bradley Riddell, BACP-registered counsellor offering online anxiety counselling for Exeter, introducing his approach
ConfidentialA safe, private space
Person-centredThe therapy fits you

In and around Exeter

Anxiety Counselling for Exeter, at a glance

Areas covered online
All of Exeter: from the cathedral quarter and the quay to St Thomas, Heavitree and Pinhoe
Known for
The cathedral, the quay and the university
Region
South West (England)
Local NHS / support route
TALKWORKS, Devon's NHS Talking Therapies service
Format
Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.

Life in Exeter

What brings people in Exeter to counselling?

Exeter carries itself as a county capital, and there is a settled, well-kept feel to the place that leaves little room for admitting you are struggling. The University of Exeter keeps expanding, Met Office staff and the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital anchor a steady professional class, and housing costs push people outwards towards St Thomas and Pinhoe. The recorded anxiety figure is among the lower ones in the country: 19.8% of adults reported a high anxiety score in 2022/23, below the England average of 23.8%. None of which will mean anything to you at four in the morning. For anyone who arrived without family nearby, being the one busy place for miles can be a distinctly lonely sort of busy.

the University of Exeterthe Royal Devon and Exeter Hospitalthe Met Officethe cathedral and heritage sector

Areas covered

Neighbourhoods in and around Exeter

St ThomasHeavitreePinhoeSt LeonardsExwickWhiptonAlphingtonWonfordTopsham

Wherever you are in Exeter, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.

The local picture

The local picture in Exeter

Official figures for Exeter, for context rather than as a description of you.

Reviewed June 2026.

What is anxiety counselling, in practice?

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.

Because the work itself is the same wherever you live, the detail sits in one place rather than all of them: the main anxiety counselling page sets out the methods, session lengths and fees covers the practicalities, and qualifications, registration and ethics covers accountability.

What happens in an online session?

Sessions run over a secure, encrypted video link, held to the same BACP confidentiality as meeting in person. After a free fifteen-minute call, you join from any private space on a phone, tablet or laptop.

Sessions happen by secure video, with Bradley working from Hove, so no part of this involves driving in from the villages or hunting for somewhere to park. With anxiety that strips out a whole layer of dread before the hour has even begun. You work from your own room, at a time built around lectures, shift patterns or the school run. If you move out of the city, or out of the county, the sessions simply continue.

Book a free 15-minute call

What I help with

Which difficulties does anxiety counselling address?

Panic attacks

Support for racing thoughts, panic episodes and chest tightness.

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 Exeter

Why people in Exeter come for anxiety counselling

Anxiety usually gets brought here once it has taken something concrete: a road no longer driven, a presentation handed to a colleague, a stomach that reacts before you have consciously worried about anything at all. The work is practical, solution-focused and built around what can be tested. We take one episode and lay it out in order, then work on each part in turn, from the trigger to the physical surge to the thought that arrives to explain it and the retreat that quietly confirms the fear. Calming the body comes first, because nobody thinks their way out of an alarm that is still ringing. Then the belief underneath is checked against reality in small steps agreed beforehand. TALKWORKS, Devon's NHS Talking Therapies service, accepts self-referrals in England without a GP letter, and Devon Mind offers further support locally. Using one, or both, is entirely your call.

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 call

Finding support in Exeter

My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Exeter, you can refer yourself directly to TALKWORKS, Devon's NHS Talking Therapies service 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.

Exeter questions

Online Anxiety Counselling in Exeter: common questions

Anxiety in Exeter measures 19.8%, one of the lower figures nationally. Why do I feel like the only one?

Because a low figure makes something quieter, not rarer. That reading is from 2022/23 against an England average of 23.8%, and it records how a sample answered a survey. In a place where people are private about difficulty, an average like that can leave you feeling conspicuous when you are nothing of the kind.

How do I refer myself to TALKWORKS?

You approach it directly. TALKWORKS, Devon's NHS Talking Therapies service, takes self-referrals in England, so no GP letter is needed to get started. It will ask how things have been and offer what fits. Waits vary, and beginning private sessions while one comes through is perfectly acceptable.

What do sessions cost, and am I free to stop whenever I like?

Sixty minutes is £80, ninety is £100 and two hours is £120, paid as you go, with nothing bought in advance. The hour is usually enough for anxiety work. The free 15-minute consultation comes first so you can ask whatever you like and then decide against it if you want to.

I study at the University of Exeter and my anxiety spikes before every deadline. Can this fit round term?

It can. Sessions are arranged around teaching and assessment rather than the other way round, and they carry on through the holidays if you go home. Deadline anxiety responds well to concrete work: what you do the night before, what you avoid, and how fast you can bring the physical panic down.

The drive in from outside the city has become the worst part of my week. Can we work on that?

Yes, and it is a good example of the kind of anxiety worth taking apart in sequence. We would look at where on the journey it starts, what your body does, and which routes you have quietly begun avoiding. Then we plan graded drives, short ones first, and review each properly afterwards.

I work at the Met Office or the hospital on irregular hours. Can anxiety counselling fit?

Yes. Sessions are held online by secure video, so they can be arranged around shifts and long days without a set commute. We meet from wherever suits you. The counselling room is in Hove, so Exeter is served online.

How soon can anxiety counselling start online in Exeter?

Anxiety counselling for Exeter is offered online across the city, from St Thomas to Heavitree, so rural Devon distances never delay support. After a free 15-minute consultation, secure video sessions can usually begin within about a week. The counselling room is in Hove, and Exeter is served online.

What do you charge, and how does the NHS compare for anxiety in Exeter?

TALKWORKS, Devon's NHS Talking Therapies service, is free by self-referral, though anxiety support may carry a wait. Privately with me, sessions are £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for 120, after a free 15-minute call. Both routes can run together if helpful.

Is online or in person better for anxiety, and can Exeter clients have evenings?

For anxiety, most Exeter clients choose online, avoiding journeys in from the surrounding farms and moor. We meet by secure video from home, with some evening slots for those working at the Met Office or the hospital. In-person appointments suit only those able to reach Hove.

Online Anxiety Counselling in Exeter, 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 South West: Plymouth, Torquay, Taunton. See all of South West.

Also available in Exeter: depression counselling, trauma counselling and counselling and therapy.

There is more on this in my writing: the miracle question and settling a spike of urgency.

Within reach of Sussex? anxiety counselling is offered in the room in Hove, where the room is as well as online; see the full list of areas.