Anxiety and worry
When your mind will not settle and everything feels urgent.
Online Counselling and Therapy · Stockport
Online Counselling and Therapy in Stockport
Online counselling and therapy for Stockport, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Stockport, from the centre and the old town to the streets around the viaduct, 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 Stockport
Counselling and Therapy for Stockport, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Stockport: from the centre and the old town to Heaton Moor, Reddish, Bramhall and Cheadle
- Known for
- The viaduct, the hat works and the river Mersey
- 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 Stockport
Why people in Stockport reach out
Stockport blends comfortable suburbs with tougher inner areas on Manchester's southern edge, and the commute into the city shapes many lives. Long days, high housing costs and the contrast between affluent and struggling neighbourhoods all add to the pressures people carry.
Stockport is a town of levels, the great railway viaduct striding over the Mersey while the old market and the Underbanks climb the hill above. Once a centre for hatting, it now blends comfortable, leafy suburbs with a busy centre that's seen real renewal around the market and Redrock. Heaton Moor and Bramhall have their villagey feel, Reddish and Edgeley their own; County play at Edgeley Park, and the trains and buses pull many people north into Manchester each day. There's a particular Stockport mix of the settled and the striving, and behind the well-kept fronts of the leafier streets, difficulty can be just as present and just as quietly borne.
When the week runs on the early train and the late return, an hour you take from home removes the very journey that stops many people starting.
Stockport sits on Manchester's southern edge; its main hospital is Stepping Hill Hospital, run by Stockport NHS Foundation Trust.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Stockport
the town centre and old townHeaton MoorReddishBramhallCheadleCheadle HulmeMarpleEdgeleyHazel Grove
Wherever you are in Stockport, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Stockport
These figures are local context from official sources, not a description of you, but they show the scale of what people in and around Stockport are living with, and why local support matters.
28.5% 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 18% 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 Stockport by secure video or phone. Whether you're in Heaton Moor, Cheadle, Bramhall or nearer the centre, the session comes to you, with no commute and no waiting room. For people whose days already revolve around the trip into Manchester, not having to travel for support often comes as a relief. We'd agree a regular time that works around your week and keep to it.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
How online counselling and therapy in Stockport 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 Stockport
Why people in Stockport come for counselling and therapy
Behind the well-kept fronts of Stockport's leafier streets, difficulty can be just as present and just as quietly borne. A settled, striving life doesn't make anyone immune to anxiety or low mood. I'm Bradley Riddell, based in Hove, offering talking therapy to people across Stockport online, by video or phone. From Reddish, Edgeley, Marple or the old town, we'd meet at a regular time you choose, from your own front room. For people whose days already revolve around the trip into the city, not having to travel for support often comes as a real relief.
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 Stockport
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Stockport, 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.
Stockport questions
Online Counselling and Therapy in Stockport: common questions
Can I get online counselling and therapy if I live in Stockport?
Yes. I work with people right across Stockport, from the centre and the old town 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.
I feel I 'should' be coping, is it silly to seek help?
Not at all. Feeling that you ought to manage on your own is one of the most common reasons people put off reaching out, and it's rarely a sign that things are fine. Talking to someone outside your daily life can make a real difference, whatever your circumstances look like.
How quickly can I begin counselling in Stockport?
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 Marple to Edgeley, we meet by secure video or phone.
What are your fees, and should I try the NHS in Stockport 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.
I commute into Manchester, can evening sessions fit around that?
Yes. Online work means an early slot before the train, a lunch break or an evening once you are back in Stockport, without the extra journey a clinic would add. We would settle on a regular time that fits your commute and keep it consistent, so it becomes a steady point in the week.
I commute into Manchester, can sessions fit around that?
Yes. Working online means we can use an early slot before the train, a lunch break or an evening once you're home, without the extra journey a clinic would add. We'd find a time that fits your commute and keep it consistent, so it becomes a steady point in the week.
Online Counselling and Therapy in Stockport, 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: Manchester, Oldham. See all of North West.
All counselling & therapy in Stockport: 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.