Persistent low mood
Support for ongoing sadness and emotional heaviness.
Online Depression Counselling · Belfast
Online Depression Counselling in Belfast
Online depression counselling for Belfast, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Belfast, from the city centre and the Cathedral Quarter to the streets around the City Hall, 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 Belfast
Depression Counselling for Belfast, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Belfast: from the city centre and the Cathedral Quarter to the Falls, the Shankill, east Belfast and the south of the city
- Known for
- The City Hall, the Titanic Quarter and the shipyard cranes
- Region
- Northern Ireland
- Local NHS / support route
- NHS psychological therapies (Northern Ireland)
- Format
- Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.
Life in Belfast
What brings people in Belfast to counselling?
There are two Belfasts in the same conversation about low mood. One is the confident city of the Cathedral Quarter arts scene, the new jobs and the students; the other is the part of the city where deprivation has been entrenched for generations and where a bad year rarely arrives alone. Depression turns up in both. It looks like a graduate in Malone who cannot start anything, and like a man in his fifties in east Belfast who has not felt right since the work went. The city is sociable and quick-witted, which makes flatness feel like a personal failure, and people become very skilled at appearing fine on the surface.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Belfast
Cathedral QuarterTitanic QuarterFallsShankilleast BelfastBotanicStranmillisOrmeauBallyhackamoreAndersonstownMaloneSydenham
Wherever you are in Belfast, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Belfast
Official figures for Belfast, for context rather than as a description of you.
In the Belfast council area, 12.2% of adults reported a low happiness score (4 or below out of 10) in the year ending March 2023, well above the Northern Ireland average of 8.2%. Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Personal well-being estimates by local authority (Year ending March 2023 (2022-23)).
In the Belfast council area, 8.6% of adults reported a low life satisfaction score (4 or below out of 10) in the year ending March 2023, well above the Northern Ireland average of 5.2%. Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Personal well-being estimates by local authority (Year ending March 2023 (2022-23)).
Reviewed June 2026.
What does depression counselling involve?
Depression counselling here is steady and structured: we focus on the low mood, lost motivation and disconnection affecting you now, and on rebuilding the energy, routine and self-worth that hold a day together.
The method travels; only the geography changes. everything on depression counselling explains it properly, how I work answers the practical questions, and professional standards and registration shows how the practice is held to account.
How do online sessions actually work?
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.
The work is online, by video, at the same hour each week, and the consistency is deliberate. Bradley is in Hove, so nothing here requires travel across the city, and on the weeks when even a bus feels beyond you the appointment still happens. Take it from a bedroom, a kitchen or a parked car, whichever gives you a door and forty uninterrupted minutes. Sessions can be moved when they need to be, though keeping the slot usually helps more than protecting it.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What can depression counselling in Belfast help with?
Lost motivation
Help with drive, focus and finishing tasks.
Isolation
Support for withdrawal and feeling numb.
Energy and routine
Rebuilding the rhythms that hold a day together.
Self-worth
Gently challenging a harsh inner voice.
Reconnection
Finding your way back to the parts of life that feel distant.
Depression Counselling in Belfast
Why people in Belfast come for depression counselling
Depression is a shrinking illness. It closes down the walk, the phone, the meal and eventually the day, and the person living it usually thinks they have simply become lazy. Sessions are steady, structured and paced to what you can manage. We start with an honest account of an ordinary week, then rebuild it in pieces small enough to be possible on a bad day. Motivation follows movement rather than preceding it, and knowing that changes what you expect of yourself. We also look at what is underneath, which in this city can include grief that was never given room, work that vanished, or a childhood shaped by things nobody discussed. Drink often gets involved in the evenings; NISRA registered 77 alcohol-specific deaths in the Belfast council area in 2023, 22.6% of the 341 recorded across Northern Ireland, and ASCERT exists locally for that side of things. Your GP can refer you for talking therapies through Health and Social Care, and AWARE NI runs support groups.
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 Belfast
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Belfast, your GP can refer you to talking therapies and counselling through Health and Social Care. You can find support through Lifeline, Northern Ireland's crisis helpline, free on 0808 808 8000.
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 Lifeline free on 0808 808 8000. Lifeline is free on 0808 808 8000, the Samaritans are on 116 123, and you can text SHOUT to 85258.
Belfast questions
Online Depression Counselling in Belfast: common questions
Everyone here seems to be doing fine. Why does that matter?
Because comparison keeps people silent. A city that prizes humour and getting on with things makes low mood feel embarrassing, so it goes unsaid for months. The first useful thing counselling does is give it a plain name and take the shame out of the conversation.
What does depression counselling cost per session?
Sessions are £80 for an hour, £100 for 90 minutes and £120 for two hours, and you choose the length that suits. Nothing is paid for the first 15-minute call. Payment is session by session, so there is no commitment to a block you may not want.
What is the local route if I would rather use the health service?
Speak to your GP, who can refer you for talking therapies through Health and Social Care. Lifeline is free on 0808 808 8000 and answers around the clock. AWARE NI runs depression support groups in Northern Ireland that you can join without any referral at all.
Does online counselling work when you can barely get out of bed?
It removes the biggest obstacle, which is usually the journey rather than the talking. There is no bus into town and no waiting area. On heavy weeks people have taken the session sitting on the floor with the camera off for part of it, and that is fine.
I drink most evenings. Should I mention that here?
Yes, and it will not be treated as a confession. Low mood and alcohol commonly travel together, and it helps to look at them honestly rather than separately. If dedicated support would serve you better, ASCERT works across Northern Ireland and can be approached directly.
I find it hard to leave the house when I'm low. Does online counselling help?
That is exactly when online counselling can matter most. When depression makes going out feel like too much, a session from your own front room removes that hurdle. Bradley Riddell works online across Northern Ireland from Hove, so you can begin without leaving home.
How quickly can I begin online depression counselling in Belfast?
Often within days of getting in touch. A free 15-minute consultation comes first, then regular online sessions by secure video, wherever you are in Belfast. When depression makes leaving the house hard, talking from your own front room, without crossing the city, can make starting feel more manageable.
What are your fees for depression counselling versus NHS options in Belfast?
NHS support in Belfast costs nothing but can involve waiting lists. Bradley's private fees are £80 for 60 minutes, 100 for 90 minutes and 120 for 120, following a free 15-minute consultation. Many people use both, starting privately online while an NHS place comes through.
Can depression counselling be done fully online for Belfast clients?
Yes. Every session is online by secure video, so nothing about your care depends on travelling into the city. Bradley works UK-wide from Hove, never in person in Belfast, which suits low, flat days when even the Glider feels like too much.
Online Depression Counselling in Belfast, 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 Northern Ireland: Lisburn, Newtownabbey, Bangor. See all of Northern Ireland.
People who come for depression counselling in Belfast often also look at anxiety counselling, counselling and therapy and psychotherapy.
Some further reading, if that helps before getting in touch: small repeated steps and a solution-focused exercise.
For anyone near the coast, the same depression counselling runs in person in Hove, where the room is. Every area covered is listed separately.