Intrusive memories
Support for flashbacks, nightmares and re-experiencing.
Online Trauma Counselling · Chester
Online Trauma Counselling in Chester
Online trauma counselling for Chester, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Chester, from the Rows and the walls to the streets around the river Dee, 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 Chester
Trauma Counselling for Chester, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Chester: from the Rows and the walls to Hoole, Boughton and Blacon
- Known for
- The city walls, the Rows and the river Dee
- Region
- North West (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 Chester
What is going on for people in Chester?
Old cities are good at continuity and people are expected to be the same. Chester's polished image and strong sense of propriety can make an unspoken history harder to raise, not easier, because there is a general understanding that things here are pleasant. Trauma does not observe that. A childhood, an assault, a birth that went badly at the Countess of Chester Hospital, a crash on a road you still avoid. Emergency admissions for self-harm ran at 138.5 per 100,000 in 2023/24, above the England average of 117 per 100,000, which is a reminder that a well-kept city is not the same as an untroubled one. Vicars Cross and Boughton carry their share.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Chester
the city centre within the wallsHooleBoughtonBlaconHandbridgeNewtonUptonVicars Cross
Wherever you are in Chester, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Chester
Official figures for Chester, for context rather than as a description of you.
the rate of emergency hospital admissions for self-harm was 138.5 per 100,000 in 2023/24, above the England average of 117 per 100,000. Source: OHID Fingertips – Emergency Hospital Admissions for Intentional Self-Harm (2023/24).
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.
Because the work itself is the same wherever you live, the detail sits in one place rather than all of them: the trauma counselling page sets out the methods, how I work, sessions and fees covers the practicalities, and professional standards and registration covers accountability.
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.
Trauma sessions run online by secure video, with Bradley working from Hove and no room anywhere near you. That distance does useful things for this particular work. Your surroundings stay yours, you choose what is in the frame and what stays out of it, and you can close the call yourself at any moment without asking. Control over how a session ends matters when the difficulty is precisely about having had none. The camera can stay off.
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 Chester
Why people in Chester come for trauma counselling
You will not be asked to recount what happened, and that is not a concession made grudgingly. The Human Givens Rewind Technique, one of the central methods used here, is designed so that a memory can be processed without a spoken account of it, which removes the barrier that stops most people from ever starting. The early work is about stability: how your body behaves now, what sets it off, what sleep, concentration and reactivity are like, and what already helps you settle. The memory is approached only once that footing is secure, and only at your speed. If you say stop, we stop, and no reason is required. NHS access from Chester runs through the national NHS Talking Therapies finder, a self-referral route across England that can assess and direct trauma cases, with your GP a sensible parallel step where symptoms are heavy.
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 Chester
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Chester, 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.
Chester questions
Online Trauma Counselling in Chester: common questions
Will the first session involve telling you the whole story?
No. The first session is mostly about what you want, how things are affecting you now, and how we will work. The rewind method means the memory can be handled without narration, so the pressure to produce an account is taken out from the start.
Something happened to me here years ago and I still take a different route past it. Is that worth addressing?
It is a very typical reason to get in touch. A body that reroutes itself around a street is telling you something is unfinished. Working on it does not mean revisiting the event in detail, and many people find the practical avoidance eases first.
Which NHS service covers trauma around Chester?
You reach NHS talking therapies through the national finder, which takes self-referrals anywhere in England without a GP letter, and they can assess and route trauma cases. My Mind, from Cheshire and Wirral Partnership, sets out what is available locally. A GP appointment alongside is sensible where symptoms are severe.
How is trauma work paced if I only have an hour a week?
Carefully, and that constraint is built in rather than worked around. Sessions do not end with you opened up and no time left. Steadying comes first, the difficult material is approached in a contained way, and the last part of every hour is spent settling before you go back to your day.
What if I get partway in and want to stop?
Then we stop, and it is treated as good judgement about your own pace. Pausing for a few weeks or ending altogether are both legitimate. Nothing is booked as a fixed course, and the free 15-minute consultation exists so you can ask about all this beforehand.
Do you also work with people just over the border in Wales?
Yes. Chester sits right on the border, and because we meet online it makes no practical difference whether you're in the city, in Saltney or over into Flintshire. The connection is the same wherever you are, so nearness to the boundary is never an obstacle.
I am in Chester and need trauma support. How quickly can we start?
There is no rush and no queue. A free 15-minute consultation comes first, then we set a weekly time that feels safe. As I see Chester clients online, from Hoole to Boughton, we avoid the NHS waiting list and can begin trauma sessions as soon as you are comfortable.
What are the fees for trauma work in Chester, private versus NHS?
I charge £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 minutes and £120 for two hours, and the opening 15-minute call is free. People in Chester can seek NHS trauma support through their GP at no cost, though waiting times are common; private sessions let us begin when you are ready.
Do you offer trauma counselling to Chester online or in your Hove room, with evening slots?
Trauma work with Chester clients is delivered online; the Hove consulting room is only for those who can travel, which is seldom practical from here. Doing the work from your own home in Hoole or Upton can feel grounding, and I offer daytime and early-evening slots to suit you.
Online Trauma Counselling in Chester, 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 North West: Warrington, Liverpool, Crewe. See all of North West.
People who come for trauma counselling in Chester often also look at anxiety counselling, addiction counselling and psychotherapy.
For anyone near the coast, the same trauma counselling runs in person in Brighton. Every area covered is listed separately.