Panic attacks
Support for racing thoughts, panic episodes and chest tightness.
Online Anxiety Counselling · Reading
Online anxiety counselling for Reading, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Reading, from the centre and the university quarter to the streets around the Thames, with the same BACP-registered, confidential support as an in-person session, and no journey.

In and around Reading
Life in Reading
Reading sits at the heart of the Thames Valley tech corridor, and with that comes a particular kind of pressure: demanding jobs, a long daily commute into London or along the M4, and a cost of living that keeps the foot on the accelerator. It is easy here for the days to blur together and for stress to harden quietly into something heavier.
Reading runs on the Thames Valley's technology and business economy, with campuses and offices around Green Park and the town centre and a steady tide of people heading for the University of Reading or the Royal Berkshire Hospital. The Elizabeth line and the main line into Paddington make it a place people commute from as much as live in, and the Oracle, the Kennet and the riverside at Caversham fill up whenever there is a moment to breathe. Between demanding project deadlines, a packed daily journey and the cost of a Berkshire postcode, the weeks can slide by on autopilot. When the pace never really eases, a confidential space to slow down and take stock can matter a great deal.
With the academic year setting a relentless pace, online sessions flex around terms, deadlines and shift work rather than fighting them.
Reading is a Thames Valley tech and commercial hub - Microsoft's UK headquarters is at Thames Valley Park - and home to the University of Reading and the Royal Berkshire Hospital.
Areas covered
Wherever you are in Reading, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
These figures are local context from official sources, not a description of you, but they show the scale of what people in and around Reading are living with, and why local support matters.
22.4% 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.
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.
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.
Reading is built for the commute, with fast trains into Paddington and the motorway running west, so most people here already spend enough of their week in transit. Working online removes one more journey: you join securely from home or the office, with nothing to travel to. The practice room is in Hove, reachable by train down to the Sussex coast if you would prefer an in-person session, but for Reading the sessions are held online.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
Support for racing thoughts, panic episodes and chest tightness.
Help with confidence, self-consciousness and fear of judgement.
Support for overthinking, catastrophising and decision paralysis.
Working with the need for control and approval.
Calming a nervous system stuck on high alert.
Tools for when anxiety starts to take hold.
Anxiety Counselling in Reading
Reading runs on the Thames Valley's tech and business economy, and with it comes a particular pressure: demanding project deadlines, a long daily commute into Paddington or along the M4, and a cost of living that keeps the foot on the accelerator. When the pace never really eases, ordinary stress can harden into something sharper, a constant readiness that follows you home and disturbs your sleep. Anxiety here often looks like a mind that will not switch off. Counselling gives you a confidential space to slow that down and understand it, held online so it fits around the commute rather than adding one more journey to a full week.
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 callMy online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Reading, you can refer yourself directly to NHS Berkshire 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:
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.
Reading questions
Yes. I work with people right across Reading, from the centre and the university quarter outwards, and anywhere else in London & South East, by secure video, no need to travel to Hove, and just as confidential as meeting in the room.
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.
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.
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.
Yes. We can look at how relentless deadlines and the always-on culture of the tech corridor feed your anxiety, and find ways to create space around them. Sessions are online and can be arranged for the early evening once you are back from the office.
Usually within a week. Bradley works online with people across Reading, from Caversham and Tilehurst to Earley, so a demanding Thames Valley job or the M4 commute need not get in the way. A free fifteen-minute consultation comes first, then a first session within days.
Private sessions are £80 for sixty minutes, £100 for ninety and £120 for two hours, following a free fifteen-minute consultation. You can self-refer at no cost to NHS Talking Therapies Berkshire, though waits vary, so some Reading clients start privately to be seen quickly.
For busy commuters, online removes the trip into town or down the M4 after work. Bradley keeps some evening slots for Reading's long tech-corridor days, and the Hove practice room is reachable by train if you would rather sit down together in person.
That is very common in Reading. With no room to travel to, sessions can be booked for the early evening once you are back from the office, or on days you work from home. We simply find a regular slot that survives the rhythm of the commute.
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 London & South East: Slough, Oxford, Basingstoke, London. See all of London & South East.
All counselling & therapy in Reading: 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.