Persistent low mood
Support for ongoing sadness and emotional heaviness.
Online Depression Counselling · York
Online Depression Counselling in York
Online depression counselling for York, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across York, from within the walls and the centre to the streets around the Minster, 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 York
Depression Counselling for York, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of York: from within the walls and the centre to Clifton, Acomb and Heworth
- Known for
- The Minster, the city walls and the Shambles
- 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 York
Why people in York reach out
York's walls, Minster and tourist crowds give it a postcard calm, but behind it sit a high cost of living, a large student population and the pressure of a city always on show. Struggle can feel out of place here, and that can make it harder to reach out.
York is enclosed by its medieval walls, the great Minster rising over a knot of narrow streets that includes the timber-framed Shambles. The rivers Ouse and Foss thread through the centre, and flood it when they rise, past Clifford's Tower and the Jorvik quarter that recalls the city's Viking past. This was a great railway city, celebrated now at the National Railway Museum, and a great chocolate one too, home to Rowntree's and Terry's. Two universities, the larger at Heslington on the eastern edge, bring a big student population, while the racecourse on the Knavesmire and the year-round crowds of visitors keep the city busy. Beyond the walls, Clifton, Acomb and Heworth settle into quieter, everyday neighbourhoods.
Beneath a calm, historic surface, struggle can be hard to voice; a confidential online hour asks nothing of appearances.
York is home to the University of York and York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (York Hospital); the city has a long confectionery history through Rowntree's, now part of Nestlé, which still operates a factory there.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around York
CliftonAcombHeworthBishopthorpeFulfordFishergateHolgateDringhousesHuntingtonHeslington
Wherever you are in York, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in York
These figures are local context from official sources, not a description of you, but they show the scale of what people in and around York are living with, and why local support matters.
recorded depression on GP registers stood at 13.2% of patients aged 18+ in 2024/25, below 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 depression counselling itself
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 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 depression counselling 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 and work with people in York online, by secure video, rather than in person. In a city where the centre is always thronged with visitors, meeting from home has its own appeal, no walk through the crowds, no parking within the walls. You join from wherever's quiet and we keep a regular weekly time around your week.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
How online depression counselling in York can help
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 York
Why people in York come for depression counselling
In a city that always looks its best for the visitors, low mood can feel like something you have to hide. Depression in York might show as flatness a beautiful place can't lift, exhaustion, or a loss of interest in things you used to enjoy, made lonelier by the high cost of living. I'm Bradley Riddell, a Hove-based counsellor working with people across York by secure video. There's no need to put a brave face on in our sessions; we make room to understand the heaviness and find small steps back towards yourself. You join from home at a steady weekly time that fits your week.
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 York
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In York, 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.
York questions
Online Depression Counselling in York: common questions
Can I get online depression counselling if I live in York?
Yes. I work with people right across York, from within the walls and the centre 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.
What if I don't have the motivation to attend?
Low motivation is part of depression, not a sign you are unsuited to therapy. Working online removes the journey, which is often the hardest part on a flat day.
Will I have to talk about my whole past?
Only as much as helps. We focus on what is weighing on you now and on small, doable steps, rather than analysing everything that has ever happened.
Can counselling help alongside antidepressants?
Yes. Many people do both; talking therapy and medication work on different things, and I am glad to work alongside your GP.
It feels wrong to struggle somewhere this lovely, is that daft?
Not at all, and it's more common than you'd think. A pretty city doesn't protect anyone from low mood, and the sense that it should can add guilt on top. Counselling gives the heaviness somewhere to go, without judgement, from your own space.
How quickly could I begin depression counselling online in York?
Often within a week of a free 15-minute call. When you're low, navigating the busy centre to an appointment can feel too much, so meeting by secure video from home removes it. I work from Hove across York and we'd settle a steady weekly time.
Is private depression counselling worth it when York has NHS options?
NHS talking therapies in York are free and worth using; the trade-off is often a wait and less flexibility. I charge £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for two hours, after a free consultation, and can usually start sooner with a consistent slot.
Would online counselling suit depression, or is in person better in York?
Online works well for many. On low days, avoiding the thronged centre makes attending far easier. I'm in Hove, not York, and can offer evening times, so a session fits around work without adding to an already heavy day.
Do you have a room in York?
No. I work from Hove on the south coast and see York clients by secure video call. For a compact, busy tourist city, that saves navigating the centre and parking, sessions come to you at home in Acomb, Clifton or wherever feels private.
I'm a student at one of the universities, can you help?
Yes. Online sessions continue through term, placements and holidays wherever you are, so a move between York and home doesn't break things off. I work privately, separate from the universities' own counselling services, which you can also use.
Online Depression Counselling in York, 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: Leeds, Hull, Harrogate. See all of Yorkshire & North East.
All counselling & therapy in York: Addiction · Substance Use · Drinking Problems · Anxiety · Relationship · Trauma · Counselling & Therapy · Psychotherapy.
Closer to the Sussex coast? The same depression counselling is available in person in Brighton & Hove, or see all in-person areas.