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
Why people in Sunderland reach out
Sunderland is a proud city shaped by shipbuilding, coal and now car manufacturing, with a strong identity and the lasting marks of industrial change. Insecure work, money worries and a deep local pride that prizes coping all shape what people here carry.
Sunderland stands where the Wear reaches the North Sea, a city with the beaches of Roker and Seaburn on its doorstep and Roker pier reaching out to its lighthouse. Once one of the great shipbuilding rivers of the world, and a major coal port, the city now builds cars, the Nissan plant at Washington is among the largest in Europe, and remembers its craft heritage at the National Glass Centre. The Stadium of Light rises by the river on a former colliery site, home to a football club at the heart of local identity. Penshaw Monument, a Greek-temple folly, watches over Wearside from its hill, and Washington, with its old hall linked to George Washington's forebears, sits within the wider city.
Where work follows shifts and the rhythm of the docks, online sessions bend around unsociable hours rather than asking you to fit your life around them.
Sunderland is home to the University of Sunderland and South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust (Sunderland Royal Hospital); it is also the site of Nissan's car manufacturing plant, one of the largest in Europe.
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
These figures are local context from official sources, not a description of you, but they show the scale of what people in and around Sunderland are living with, and why local support matters.
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).
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'm based in Hove on the south coast and work with people in Sunderland online, by secure video, rather than in person. The distance never comes into it, you meet from home in Roker, Washington or wherever's private, without a journey across Wearside. We'd hold a regular weekly time that fits around shift work, family or study.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
How online counselling and therapy in Sunderland 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 Sunderland
Why people in Sunderland come for counselling and therapy
Sunderland has a strong sense of identity and a lot of pride, and that can make admitting you're struggling feel like a weakness rather than the ordinary thing it is. Shift work, uncertainty and the everyday grind weigh all the same, and low mood or anxiety can settle in while you keep going. Counselling and therapy give you a plain, confidential hour to set that down and be heard. Working online from Hove, I meet people across Sunderland, from Hendon to Silksworth, from wherever they feel private, at a time that fits around shift work, family or study.
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
Can I get online counselling and therapy if I live in Sunderland?
Yes. I work with people right across Sunderland, from the city centre and the river outwards, and anywhere else in Yorkshire & North East, 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.
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 GBP 80 for 60 minutes, with 90 and 120-minute sessions at GBP 100 and GBP 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.
Are you based in Sunderland?
No. I work from Hove and see Sunderland clients by secure video call. Being far to the south makes no difference online, sessions come to you at home rather than needing a trip into the city, which many find easier to keep up week to week.
I work shifts at the car plant, can this fit around that?
Yes. Everything is online, so we can find a time that works around rotas rather than office hours, and shifting a video session when a shift changes is straightforward. We'd aim for a steady weekly slot and move it whenever we need to.
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.
All counselling & therapy in Sunderland: 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.