Online Trauma Counselling · Cardiff

Online Trauma Counselling in Cardiff

Online trauma counselling for Cardiff, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Cardiff, from the bay and the centre to the streets around the castle, 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 trauma counselling for Cardiff, introducing his approach
ConfidentialA safe, private space
Person-centredThe therapy fits you

In and around Cardiff

Trauma Counselling for Cardiff, at a glance

Areas covered online
All of Cardiff: from the bay and the centre to Cathays, Roath, Canton and Grangetown
Known for
The castle, the bay and the Principality Stadium
Region
Wales (Wales)
Local NHS / support route
NHS psychological therapies (Wales)
Format
Secure video, UK-wide. In-person also available on the Sussex coast.

Life in Cardiff

Why people in Cardiff reach out

Cardiff, the Welsh capital, blends a revived waterfront and a big student population with neighbourhoods that carry real hardship. The pace of capital-city life, rising costs and the contrast between the gleaming bay and harder-pressed areas all shape the pressures people here carry.

Cardiff grew from a modest market town into what was once the greatest coal-exporting port in the world, its wealth shipped out through Butetown and the docks that locals still call Tiger Bay. The old Coal Exchange and the Pierhead Building remember those days, while the regenerated bay now holds the Senedd and the Wales Millennium Centre. As the Welsh capital, the city carries the national rhythms: rugby internationals filling the streets around the Principality Stadium, a large student population around Cathays and Cathays Park, and the civic grandeur of City Hall and the National Museum. Beyond the centre, Roath, Canton and Grangetown keep their own village feel, each with independent shops, cafes and a strong sense of neighbourhood pride.

Cardiff University and its student quarterthe Senedd and Welsh Government at Cardiff Baythe Principality StadiumBBC Cymru Wales at Central Square

Capital-city life is exhilarating and exhausting at once, with time and privacy always short; an hour that comes to you is often what makes therapy possible.

Cardiff is home to Cardiff University and the University Hospital of Wales (the Heath) in Cathays/Heath, and hosts the Senedd and Welsh Government at Cardiff Bay alongside the Principality Stadium in the city centre.

Areas covered

Neighbourhoods in and around Cardiff

CathaysRoathCantonGrangetownSplottAdamsdownButetownLlandaffWhitchurchCyncoedRiversidePontcanna

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

The trauma counselling itself

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.

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 trauma 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.

Face-to-face counselling and specialist addiction services can be found across Cardiff, and it is always worth exploring what is close to home. My own practice is based in Hove, on the Sussex coast, so I am not in the city in person. What I offer instead is confidential counselling by secure video, which reaches anywhere in Wales and across the UK. For many people, meeting online from their own front room turns out to be easier than travelling to an appointment at all.

Book a free 15-minute call

What I help with

How online trauma counselling in Cardiff can help

Intrusive memories

Support for flashbacks, nightmares and re-experiencing.

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 Cardiff

Why people in Cardiff come for trauma counselling

Cardiff has always been a city people move to and through, from the old docks of Tiger Bay to the students and workers who arrive each year, and difficult experiences can travel with us wherever we settle. Trauma is not only the event itself but the way it keeps living in the body long afterwards, the startle, the sleeplessness, the sense of never quite feeling safe. Counselling gives that its due, gently and without rushing. I am based in Hove, not in Cardiff, but I work with people across the capital by secure video, which many find a safer, more private way to begin.

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 Cardiff

My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Cardiff, you can access NHS psychological therapies through your GP or local primary mental health support service. You can find support through the CALL Mental Health Helpline for Wales, free and confidential on 0800 132 737.

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 press 2 for urgent mental health support. The CALL Helpline for Wales is free on 0800 132 737, and the Samaritans are on 116 123.

Cardiff questions

Online Trauma Counselling in Cardiff: common questions

Can I get online trauma counselling if I live in Cardiff?

Yes. I work with people right across Cardiff, from the bay and the centre outwards, and anywhere else in Wales, by secure video, no need to travel to Hove, and just as confidential as meeting in the room.

Do I have to describe what happened in detail?

No. Methods like the Human Givens Rewind let us process a memory without you reliving it or even speaking the detail aloud.

Is it safe to do trauma work online?

Yes, when it is paced carefully. We go slowly, keep you grounded, and you stay in control of what we approach and when.

What if I get overwhelmed during a session?

We build in ways to settle and pause, and never move faster than feels safe. Being in your own space online can make that easier.

Is it safe to do trauma work over video?

For many people it is, and being in your own home can actually help you feel more in control. We go carefully, at a pace you set, with grounding built in. From Hove I work with people across Cardiff and all of Wales this way.

How soon can trauma counselling start online for a Cardiff client?

We usually begin within a week or two, after a free 15-minute consultation to check the approach suits you. Trauma work is paced carefully. Sessions run by secure video from Hove, so you can start from somewhere that feels safe, whether in Cathays, Roath or out at Llandaff.

What does trauma counselling cost against NHS trauma help in Cardiff?

NHS Wales trauma care through Cardiff and Vale is free but may involve assessment and a wait. Privately I charge £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for two hours, with a free 15-minute consultation, so you can begin at a time and pace that feel right.

Is online trauma counselling for Cardiff available in the evenings?

Yes. Trauma counselling can be held by secure video, with some evening times available. Staying in your own safe space in Canton or Cyncoed, rather than a clinic across the capital, often helps you feel steadier. We move only at the pace that stays manageable for you.

Can I see you in person in Cardiff?

No. My practice is based in Hove, so I do not offer face-to-face sessions in Cardiff. I work with people across the capital and the wider region by secure video, which many find more convenient than travelling to an appointment.

Do you work with Cardiff's student population?

Yes, by video. Students around Cathays and the universities are welcome to get in touch. Sessions take place online wherever you are based, so term time and holidays back home need not interrupt the work.

Online Trauma Counselling in Cardiff, 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 Wales: Newport, Barry, Pontypridd. See all of Wales.

All counselling & therapy in Cardiff: Addiction · Substance Use · Drinking Problems · Anxiety · Depression · Relationship · Counselling & Therapy · Psychotherapy.

Closer to the Sussex coast? The same trauma counselling is available in person in Brighton & Hove, or see all in-person areas.