Anxiety and worry
When your mind will not settle and everything feels urgent.
Online Counselling and Therapy · Sunderland
Online Counselling and Therapy in Sunderland
Online counselling and therapy for Sunderland, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Sunderland, from the city centre and the river to the streets around the river Wear, 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 Sunderland
Counselling and Therapy for Sunderland, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Sunderland: from the city centre and the river to Roker, Hendon and Washington
- Known for
- The river Wear, Roker beach and the Stadium of Light
- Region
- Yorkshire & North East (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 Sunderland
What is going on for people in Sunderland?
Not every reason for coming has a name. Sometimes it is that the week has gone grey and stayed that way. You are on the line or in a warehouse or bringing up children in Hendon, doing everything you are supposed to, and the enjoyment has drained out of all of it. This is a city with a strong sense of itself and a habit of coping, and that combination means people wait a very long time before mentioning anything. Students at the University of Sunderland run into their own version of it, often the first in the family to go and unwilling to admit it is hard. Counselling does not require you to have worked out what is wrong first.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Sunderland
RokerSeaburnHendonWashingtonSouthwickFulwellMillfieldSilksworthRyhopeHoughton-le-Spring
Wherever you are in Sunderland, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Sunderland
Official figures for Sunderland, for context rather than as a description of you.
25.8% 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 17% of patients aged 18+ in 2024/25, above the England average of 14.3%. Source: OHID Fingertips – Depression: QOF prevalence (2024/25).
the rate of emergency hospital admissions for self-harm was 152.4 per 100,000 in 2023/24, above the England average of 117 per 100,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Emergency Hospital Admissions for Intentional Self-Harm (2023/24).
Reviewed June 2026.
What is counselling and therapy, in practice?
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 method travels; only the geography changes. counselling and therapy in detail explains it properly, how I work answers the practical questions, and professional standards and registration shows how the practice is held to account.
How does meeting by video work in practice?
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.
Because Bradley is in Hove, sessions with people in Sunderland happen online by secure video. That means no bus fare, no crossing the city and nobody seeing you go in anywhere, which for a first attempt at counselling removes most of the friction. An hour can be taken from your own front room in Ryhope or Millfield with the door shut. It opens with a free 15-minute conversation, and only if that feels useful does anything get booked.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
Which difficulties does counselling and therapy address?
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 Sunderland
Why people in Sunderland come for counselling and therapy
This is the general entry point, deliberately unlabelled. It is present-focused, usually weekly, usually a few months, and it works from what your actual week contains rather than from a diagnosis. Low mood is widespread here and mostly unremarked: recorded depression on Sunderland GP registers stood at 17% of patients aged 18+ in 2024/25, above the England average of 14.3%, and behind that sit a great many people who simply carry on. In sessions we untangle what is situational from what has become a habit of thought, and work on what can actually be changed. The NHS Talking Therapies finder lets anyone in England self-refer for free structured support without seeing a GP first, Sunderland Mind runs groups and information, and Wear Recovery covers drink and drugs. Using one of them alongside this is common and sensible.
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 Sunderland
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Sunderland, 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.
Sunderland questions
Online Counselling and Therapy in Sunderland: common questions
How do I explain why I am coming if I do not know?
You do not have to. Starting with nothing more than a sense that things are not right is completely normal, and finding words for it is a good part of what the first few sessions do. There is no form to complete and no test to pass.
What will it cost and do I have to commit to a block?
No block. Sessions are £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 minutes and £120 for 120 minutes, paid one at a time, after a free 15-minute consultation. You can stop when you want. If money is the obstacle, the free NHS route is a reasonable alternative.
Can I get free counselling without going to my doctor?
Yes. In England the NHS Talking Therapies finder accepts self-referrals directly, so you never need to raise it at the surgery. There is generally a wait, which is why some people put their name in and start privately in the meantime.
I have been low since the kids left and I feel daft saying so. Is it worth an hour?
It is one of the most common reasons people book and one of the least talked about. A role that has organised your days for twenty years does not end quietly. Counselling is a good fit for that kind of loss, and it usually does not take long.
Will you tell my employer or my GP anything?
Nothing goes to anyone. There is no report to your workplace and no letter to your GP unless you specifically ask for one. What you say stays in the session, which is often the thing people need to hear before they will book at all.
Is this an NHS or council service?
No, I'm an independent private counsellor, arranged directly with you. You're welcome to use local NHS talking therapies alongside or instead; I'm simply another option, available by secure video at a time that works around your week.
Is online counselling available in Sunderland, and how quickly could I begin?
Yes. From my Hove base I see people across Sunderland by secure video, whether you are near the university, Fulwell or Silksworth. After a free 15-minute call we can usually book a first session within a few days, with no trip into the city.
How much does counselling cost in Sunderland, and how does it compare with the NHS?
It is £80 for 60 minutes, with 90 and 120-minute sessions at £100 and £120. NHS Talking Therapies in Sunderland is free and open to self-referral, though waits vary. Private online work simply means we can start sooner at a time around your week.
Can I have counselling in the evening without travelling into central Sunderland?
Yes. Sessions are online, so you join from Seaburn, Hendon or wherever you can speak privately, with no journey into town. I hold some evening appointments for people who cannot get away by day, and we would keep the same regular weekly slot.
Online Counselling and Therapy in Sunderland, 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, Gateshead, Durham. See all of Yorkshire & North East.
Related work in Sunderland: anxiety counselling, depression counselling and psychotherapy.
There is more on this in my writing: where to start when you cannot name it and how change actually sticks.
Closer to the Sussex coast? The same counselling and therapy is available in person, in Hove, where the room is, or see every area I cover.