Anxiety and worry
When your mind will not settle and everything feels urgent.
Online Counselling and Therapy · Chester
Online Counselling and Therapy in Chester
Online counselling and therapy for Chester, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Chester, from the Rows and the walls to the streets around the river Dee, 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 Chester
Counselling and Therapy for Chester, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Chester: from the Rows and the walls to Hoole, Boughton and Blacon
- Known for
- The city walls, the Rows and the river Dee
- Region
- North West (England)
- Local NHS / support route
- NHS Talking Therapies (find via the NHS finder)
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Chester
Why people in Chester reach out
Chester's Roman walls and prosperous image draw visitors all year, but the polished surface can make personal struggle feel out of place, and the city holds real contrasts of wealth and hardship. The pressure to keep up appearances in a smart, sociable city can leave people slow to reach out.
Chester wears its two thousand years lightly. The Roman walls still ring the city, the black-and-white Rows stack their galleried shops above the streets, and the Eastgate Clock looks down on the crowds. The Dee slips past the Roodee racecourse, and the great red cathedral holds the centre. Beyond the walls, Hoole has its independent shops and cafes, Handbridge sits across the river, and Blacon and Upton have their own everyday life away from the visitors. The zoo draws families all year. It's a handsome, prosperous-looking city, and that polished surface can make personal difficulty feel oddly out of place, as though everyone else has it sorted.
Beneath a calm, historic surface, struggle can be hard to voice; a confidential online hour asks nothing of appearances.
Chester is home to the University of Chester, the Countess of Chester Hospital, and Chester Zoo, one of the UK's most visited attractions and a major local employer.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Chester
the city centre within the wallsHooleBoughtonBlaconHandbridgeNewtonUptonVicars Cross
Wherever you are in Chester, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Chester
These figures are local context from official sources, not a description of you, but they show the scale of what people in and around Chester are living with, and why local support matters.
25.4% of adults reported a high anxiety score in 2022/23, above the England average of 23.8%. Source: OHID Fingertips – Self-reported wellbeing: high anxiety score (2022/23).
recorded depression on GP registers stood at 16.9% of patients aged 18+ in 2024/25, above the England average of 14.3%. Source: OHID Fingertips – Depression: QOF prevalence (2024/25).
Local data last reviewed June 2026. Each figure shows the year and links to the official source it was read on.
The counselling and therapy itself
Counselling and therapy here is one steady starting point for whatever you are carrying, anxiety, low mood, addiction, relationships or the past, integrative and led by you, so we begin with what matters most and shape the work around you.
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 counselling and therapy 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 work online from Hove, seeing people across Chester by secure video or phone. Wherever you are, in Hoole, Boughton, Handbridge or Blacon, the session comes to you, with no parking in the centre to battle and no waiting room. For many, speaking from the quiet of home feels more natural. We'd agree a regular time that fits around work and family and keep it steady week to week.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
How online counselling and therapy in Chester can help
Low mood and depression
For the flatness, exhaustion and loss of interest that drain the colour from things.
Addiction and habits
Alcohol, drugs, gambling or behaviours that have stopped feeling like a choice.
Relationships
Conflict, distance and trust, as a couple or on your own.
Trauma and the past
When something you have been through still shapes your present.
Life feeling stuck
For the big transitions, losses and crossroads that leave you unsure which way to turn.
Counselling and Therapy in Chester
Why people in Chester come for counselling and therapy
The pressure to keep up appearances in a smart, sociable city like Chester can leave people slow to admit that they're struggling, yet the city holds real contrasts of wealth and hardship. Counselling is a space where appearances don't matter. I'm Bradley Riddell, based in Hove, offering talking therapy to people across Chester online, by video or phone. From Blacon, Newton or Vicars Cross, we'd meet at a regular time you choose, from the quiet of home. There's no travel, no waiting room, just an hour that's honestly and entirely yours.
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 Chester
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Chester, you can refer yourself directly to NHS talking therapies for anxiety and depression, with no GP referral needed. You can find support through the NHS Talking Therapies finder.
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.
Chester questions
Online Counselling and Therapy in Chester: common questions
Can I get online counselling and therapy if I live in Chester?
Yes. I work with people right across Chester, from the Rows and the walls outwards, and anywhere else in North West, by secure video, no need to travel to Hove, and just as confidential as meeting in the room.
I'm not sure exactly what's wrong, can I still come?
Absolutely. You do not need a label or a clear problem to begin. We start with whatever is weighing on you most and find the thread together; if something more specific would help, I will say so.
What's the difference between counselling and psychotherapy?
Counselling tends to focus on what is happening now and can be shorter; psychotherapy goes deeper into long-standing patterns and usually runs longer. We can start with counselling and go deeper if it helps.
How many sessions will I need?
There is no fixed number. Some people come for a handful of sessions, others for longer; we review together regularly rather than committing you to an open-ended course.
Everyone around me seems fine, why do I feel like this?
Because what people show rarely matches what they feel. In a polished city it's easy to assume everyone else is coping, but plenty aren't. How you feel is valid whatever the surface suggests, and it's exactly the sort of thing counselling can help you make sense of.
How quickly can I begin counselling in Chester?
Generally within a week or so. Being online from Hove means no local waiting list, so after a free fifteen-minute call I can usually offer a first session soon after. Wherever you are, from Blacon to Vicars Cross, we meet by secure video or phone.
What are your fees, and should I try the NHS in Chester first?
The standard sixty-minute session is £80, with ninety minutes at £100 and two hours at £120. NHS Talking Therapies is free but can involve a wait, so some people begin privately with me meanwhile. Your first fifteen-minute consultation costs nothing.
Do you offer evening counselling for people working in Chester?
Yes. Online sessions make evenings easier to keep, with no parking in the centre to battle, whether you are at the university or in the tourism trade around the Rows. We would agree one regular time and hold it week to week, so it becomes dependable.
Do you also work with people just over the border in Wales?
Yes. Chester sits right on the border, and because we meet online it makes no practical difference whether you're in the city, in Saltney or over into Flintshire. The connection is the same wherever you are, so nearness to the boundary is never an obstacle.
Online Counselling and Therapy in Chester, 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 North West: Warrington, Liverpool, Crewe. See all of North West.
All counselling & therapy in Chester: Addiction · Substance Use · Drinking Problems · Anxiety · Depression · Relationship · Trauma · Psychotherapy.
Closer to the Sussex coast? The same counselling and therapy is available in person in Brighton & Hove, or see all in-person areas.