Online Relationship Counselling · Cambridge

Online Relationship Counselling in Cambridge

Online relationship counselling for Cambridge, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Cambridge, from the colleges and the centre to the streets around the Backs, with the same BACP-registered, confidential support as an in-person session, and no journey.

Online across the UKSecure videoFree 15-min consultation
BACP registered member25+ years of experienceLived experience
Bradley Riddell, BACP-registered counsellor offering online relationship counselling for Cambridge, introducing his approach
ConfidentialA safe, private space
Person-centredThe therapy fits you

In and around Cambridge

Relationship Counselling for Cambridge, at a glance

Areas covered online
All of Cambridge: from the colleges and the centre to Mill Road, Cherry Hinton and Chesterton
Known for
The colleges, the Backs and the river Cam
Region
East of England (England)
Local NHS / support route
NHS Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Talking Therapies
Format
Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.

Life in Cambridge

What is going on for people in Cambridge?

Two careers, one city, and rent that assumes both of you keep earning. That is the shape of a great many partnerships in Cambridge. One person is on a fixed-term research contract at the University of Cambridge, the other is at a company in Silicon Fen or on shifts at Addenbrooke's Hospital, and the calendar is negotiated rather than shared. Housing costs push couples into flats around Mill Road, Romsey or Chesterton that are smaller than the life they are trying to live in them. Then a post-doc ends, or a visa clock starts ticking, or one of you is offered something abroad. Relationships here are rarely short of love. They are short of unclaimed time.

the University of CambridgeAddenbrooke's Hospital and the Cambridge Biomedical Campusthe science and technology sector of Silicon FenAnglia Ruskin University

Areas covered

Neighbourhoods in and around Cambridge

Mill RoadCherry HintonChestertonTrumpingtonNewnhamRomseyArburyPetersfieldKings HedgesColeridge

Wherever you are in Cambridge, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.

The local picture

The local picture in Cambridge

Official figures for Cambridge, for context rather than as a description of you.

Reviewed June 2026.

What does relationship counselling involve?

Relationship counselling here, for couples or individuals, slows down the pattern you are caught in and builds healthier ways of hearing and being heard.

Rather than say the same thing on every page, the substance lives on the full relationship counselling page, with how I work, sessions and fees for the practical questions and how to check my registration for registration and ethics.

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.

Sessions run online by secure video, which is what makes them workable in a city of split schedules. Bradley is in Hove and there is no consulting space anywhere in Cambridgeshire, so nothing depends on both of you being in one place at six o'clock. Partners regularly join from two locations, one from a flat in Newnham, one from a lab or an office. If your partner never attends, the work still holds; individual relationship counselling is a legitimate way to do it.

Book a free 15-minute call

What I help with

What sort of things do people bring?

Communication and conflict

Breaking the cycle of the same argument.

Trust and repair

Rebuilding safety after betrayal or addiction.

Distance

Finding your way back to closeness.

Long-distance couples

Sessions you can join from different places.

Anxiety and reassurance

Working with people-pleasing and the need for control.

Individual work

You do not need to come as a couple to change the dynamic.

Relationship Counselling in Cambridge

Why people in Cambridge come for relationship counselling

What arrives first is usually specific: we cannot stop arguing, we have not touched each other in a year, I found something on his phone, she wants to move and I do not. Underneath sits the thing couples find hardest to say plainly, which is what they need and what they fear. Sessions slow the exchange down until both of you can hear it. Where one partner is low, the whole relationship reorganises around that low mood, often without anyone naming it. Recorded depression on GP registers in Cambridge stood at 12.5% of patients aged 18+ in 2024/25, below the England average of 14.3%, which is unsurprising in a young, high-achieving population and says little about who is quietly struggling. Free NHS support is available through the Talking Therapies service for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, and CPSL Mind runs local 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 call

Finding support in Cambridge

My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Cambridge, you can refer yourself directly to NHS Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Talking Therapies for free NHS talking therapy, with no GP referral needed.

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.

Cambridge questions

Online Relationship Counselling in Cambridge: common questions

My partner works at Addenbrooke's on rotating shifts. Can couples counselling survive that?

It can, because the sessions move with you rather than sitting at a fixed clinic hour. Slots can be booked around a rota several weeks ahead, and where one week is impossible the other partner can attend alone. Consistency matters more than perfect attendance from both of you.

We are both academics and worry about being recognised. How private is this?

Entirely private. There is no waiting area in Cambridge where a colleague might see you, because everything happens by video from wherever you choose. Bradley works to the BACP Ethical Framework, which sets clear confidentiality obligations, and nothing about your attendance is shared with a university or an employer.

What are the fees for two people, and how long are sessions?

One fee covers the session regardless of who attends: £80 / 60 min, £100 / 90 min, £120 / 120 min. Ninety minutes tends to work best for couples, since an hour can end with one person still waiting to speak. A 15-minute consultation, free of charge, comes before that.

Is there an NHS route for relationship problems in Cambridge?

There is NHS support, though it is aimed at individuals rather than couples. The Talking Therapies service covering Cambridgeshire and Peterborough takes self-referrals for anxiety and depression at no cost. Many people use it for their own symptoms while doing the relationship work separately and privately.

One of us may have to leave the city for the next post. Is counselling pointless if we might separate?

Not at all. A good deal of this work is about deciding honestly rather than drifting, and that includes the possibility of parting. Couples who face a likely move often use sessions to say what they actually want, instead of letting a job offer make the decision for them.

Can relationship counselling work if only one of us wants to come?

Yes. Plenty of people begin on their own, wanting to understand their part in how things feel at home. Working online from Hove, you can start solo and your partner can join later if you both wish, at a time that fits around your schedules.

How soon can we begin relationship counselling in Cambridge?

Usually within a week or two. I work online across Cambridge, from Mill Road to Chesterton and Trumpington, by secure video, so there is no waiting list to join. We start with a free fifteen-minute call to check the fit, then book your first full session at a time that suits you both.

What does couples counselling cost, and is it on the NHS in Cambridge?

NHS talking therapies in Cambridgeshire are free but tend to focus on individual support, often with a wait. I work privately, so sessions start sooner. My fees are £80 for sixty minutes, £100 for ninety and £120 for two hours, with couples often choosing the longer slot.

We work different shifts at Addenbrooke's. Can you fit relationship sessions around that?

Yes. Because everything is online from Hove, we are not tied to clinic hours or a Cambridge commute. Couples can even join from two locations if one of you is away, and I keep some evening slots free for lab shifts, teaching terms and busy weeks.

Online Relationship Counselling in Cambridge, 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 East of England: Peterborough, Norwich. See all of East of England.

If relationship counselling is not quite what you are looking for, counselling and therapy, trauma counselling and addiction counselling may fit better in Cambridge.

If you would like to read more first, I have written about the Imago dialogue for couples.

Within reach of Sussex? relationship counselling is offered in the room in Hove, where the room is as well as online; see the full list of areas.