Intrusive memories
Support for flashbacks, nightmares and re-experiencing.
Online Trauma Counselling · Ballymena
Online Trauma Counselling in Ballymena
Online trauma counselling for Ballymena, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Ballymena, from the town centre and the Braid to the streets around the town clock, 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 Ballymena
Trauma Counselling for Ballymena, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Ballymena: from the town centre and the Braid to Harryville, Ballykeel and Galgorm
- Known for
- The Braid, the town clock and the Antrim countryside
- 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 Ballymena
Why people in Ballymena get in touch
Something can happen in a place like this and then never be spoken of again. An accident on the road out towards Broughshane, a sudden death, a violent night, something in childhood that the family has agreed to leave alone. Ballymena keeps its counsel. The same quiet strength that gets people through a plant closure or a hard winter also makes it very hard to say that a memory has been sitting in your chest for twenty years. Meanwhile everyday life keeps handing you reminders, because in a town this compact you drive past the place, you meet the person, you hear the name in the shop. The body keeps reacting long after the mind insists it is finished.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Ballymena
HarryvilleBallykeelGalgormBroughshaneBalleeDunclugCullybackeyDoury Road
Wherever you are in Ballymena, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Ballymena
Official figures for Ballymena, for context rather than as a description of you.
In Mid and East Antrim, the council area covering Ballymena, 5.0% of adults reported a low life satisfaction score (4 or below out of 10) in the year ending March 2023, in line with 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 actually happens in trauma counselling?
Trauma counselling here is gentle and led by you, drawing on methods designed for trauma including the Human Givens Rewind Technique, so a difficult memory is returned to ordinary recall.
What actually happens in the room is the same everywhere, so it is written up once: see the full trauma counselling page for the methods, how sessions run and what they cost for fees and session lengths, and how to check my registration if you want to check who you would be working with.
What happens in an online session?
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.
Trauma work runs online here, by secure video, with Bradley in Hove and no premises anywhere in the borough. That distance often helps. You stay in your own home, in a chair you know, and you close the laptop afterwards without a drive home while you are still raw. Choose a time when the house is empty if you can, and headphones if it is not. Sessions are paced by you, and stopping early on any given day is always allowed.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
Which difficulties does trauma counselling address?
Hypervigilance
Help when your nervous system is stuck on high alert.
Numbness and avoidance
For when you cope by shutting down.
Trauma behind addiction
Healing the wound that drives the habit.
Sub-threshold trauma
Reaching the quieter, accumulated hurts.
Feeling safe again
Working always at a pace that is led by you.
Trauma Counselling in Ballymena
Why people in Ballymena come for trauma counselling
People come to trauma counselling because the past keeps interrupting the present. Sleep breaks up. Ordinary things set off a reaction that seems out of proportion. Some carry a single event, others something that ran for years, and a few are carrying what happened to a parent or grandparent rather than to them. The work is client-led and slow to start, and it does not require you to tell the story. The Human Givens Rewind Technique lets a memory be processed without describing what happened out loud, which is why it suits people who have avoided help for a long time precisely to avoid saying it. Before any of that, we spend time on steadiness, so you are not left carrying more than you arrived with. Your GP can refer you through Health and Social Care for talking therapies, Inspire Wellbeing offers wellbeing support across Northern Ireland, and Lifeline is free on 0808 808 8000.
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 Ballymena
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Ballymena, 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.
Ballymena questions
Online Trauma Counselling in Ballymena: common questions
Would I have to put into words what happened to me?
No. The Rewind Technique is used precisely because it does not need the event told out loud, and nothing is asked of you that you have not agreed to. Some people say very little about the detail at all. You set what gets spoken about and what does not.
What does it cost to work this way?
The fee is £80 for a 60-minute session. Trauma work sometimes suits a longer appointment, so 90 minutes is £100 and 120 minutes is £120. The free 15-minute call is a sensible first step if you are unsure whether you are ready to begin.
Is there anything through the health service I should try too?
Your GP is the way in to talking therapies through Health and Social Care, and it is worth registering that request even if you start privately. Lifeline answers free on 0808 808 8000 at any hour, and Inspire Wellbeing runs wellbeing support you can approach directly.
Can this be done over video, or does trauma need someone in the room?
Video works well for this, and for some people it works better. Being in your own home means you control the setting entirely, and you can end the call and stay put rather than travelling while still unsettled. The pacing is the same either way.
I have not talked about this in twenty years. Where would we even begin?
With steadiness rather than with the memory. The first sessions go on sleep, on what happens in your body, and on what makes a difficult week manageable. Only when that ground is firm do we go near the material itself, and only at a pace you set.
Can trauma really be worked through over video?
Yes. Many people find the privacy of their own home makes this careful work feel safer, and the pace always stays with you. Bradley Riddell works with people across Ballymena and Northern Ireland by secure video from Hove, never faster than feels right.
How soon can I start trauma counselling online in Ballymena?
After a free 15-minute consultation, usually within a week or two. Trauma work is paced with care, so early online sessions by secure video focus on safety first. You can take part from home anywhere in Ballymena, with no clinic visit to arrange.
How do trauma counselling fees compare with the NHS in Ballymena?
NHS trauma services in Ballymena are free but often carry waiting lists. Bradley charges £80 for 60 minutes, 100 for 90 and 120 for 120, following a free 15-minute consultation, so support need not wait for a list to move.
Is online trauma counselling suitable for people in Ballymena?
For many, yes. Working online by secure video lets you stay in your own private space, which can feel steadier for trauma than an unfamiliar room. Bradley is Hove-based and UK-wide, with some evening slots for Ballymena clients who prefer to talk after work.
Online Trauma Counselling in Ballymena, 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: Newtownabbey, Belfast. See all of Northern Ireland.
Also available in Ballymena: anxiety counselling, addiction counselling and psychotherapy.
Closer to the Sussex coast? The same trauma counselling is available in person, in Hove, where the room is, or see every area I cover.