Intrusive memories
Support for flashbacks, nightmares and re-experiencing.
Online Trauma Counselling · Derry
Online Trauma Counselling in Derry
Online trauma counselling for Derry, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Derry, from within the walls and the centre to the streets around the Peace Bridge, 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 Derry
Trauma Counselling for Derry, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Derry: from within the walls and the centre to the Bogside, the Waterside and Creggan
- Known for
- The city walls, the Peace Bridge and the river Foyle
- Region
- Northern Ireland (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 Derry
Why people in Derry reach out
Derry, the walled city on the Foyle, carries a particularly deep history of the Troubles alongside long-standing economic hardship and its distance from Belfast. Intergenerational trauma, insecure work and isolation in the north-west all shape the pressures people here carry.
Derry, also called Londonderry, sits inside the only complete set of city walls left in Ireland, looking down over the Foyle and the elegant sweep of the Peace Bridge. The Bogside carries its Free Derry mural and its history close to the surface, while the Waterside spreads across the far bank and Creggan climbs the hill above. It is a warm, quick-witted city that comes alive each autumn for one of Europe's biggest Halloween celebrations, with the Guildhall lit up and the streets in costume. Ulster University's Magee campus, the shops of Foyleside and the new transport hub give the north-west its own centre of gravity, a long way from Belfast and proud of it.
Border communities can feel far from the nearest city and its services; online brings discreet, experienced support directly to you.
Derry hosts Ulster University's Magee campus and is served by Altnagelvin Area Hospital, the main acute hospital of the Western HSC Trust for the north-west.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Derry
BogsideWatersideCregganBishop StreetRosemountCulmoreShantallowthe DiamondBallymagroarty
Wherever you are in Derry, 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.
Getting support in Derry need not mean a long drive to Belfast for an appointment. Sessions are held online, by secure video, across the whole of Northern Ireland, so help reaches the north-west as easily as anywhere else. The counsellor is based in Hove and works UK-wide by video rather than seeing anyone face to face in the city, which means you can talk from home, wherever you are on either bank of the Foyle.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
How online trauma counselling in Derry can help
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 Derry
Why people in Derry come for trauma counselling
Few places carry their history as visibly as Derry, where the Free Derry mural and the walls hold the memory of the Troubles close to the surface. That history can live on quietly in families, as watchfulness, broken sleep or grief that was never given room. Trauma counselling offers a slow, careful space to work through what you have carried or inherited, never faster than feels safe. Bradley Riddell works online by secure video from Hove, right across the north-west, so this gentle work can begin from home without any need to travel or be seen in the city.
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 Derry
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Derry, 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, and the Samaritans are on 116 123.
Derry questions
Online Trauma Counselling in Derry: common questions
Can I get online trauma counselling if I live in Derry?
Yes. I work with people right across Derry, from within the walls and the centre outwards, and anywhere else in Northern Ireland, 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.
Living somewhere with such a visible past, will you understand the context?
Bradley works sensitively with people across Northern Ireland and takes care to meet your experience on your terms, at your pace. Sessions are online by secure video from Hove, giving you a private, unhurried space to talk through difficult history when you feel ready.
How soon can I start trauma counselling online in Derry?
After a free 15-minute consultation, usually within a week or two. Trauma work moves at a careful pace, and early online sessions by secure video focus on safety first. You can take part from home in Derry, with no journey to Belfast to manage.
How do trauma counselling fees compare with NHS help in Derry?
NHS trauma services in Derry are free but often carry waiting lists, and the north-west's distance from Belfast can add to delays. Bradley charges 80 pounds for 60 minutes, 100 for 90 and 120 for 120, after a free 15-minute consultation.
Is online trauma counselling right for people in Derry?
For many it is. Working online by secure video means staying in your own private space, which can feel steadier for trauma than an unfamiliar clinic. Bradley is Hove-based and UK-wide, with some evening slots for Derry clients who would rather talk after work.
Do I have to travel to Belfast to be seen?
No. Because sessions are online by secure video, you can take part from home in Derry without the long journey east. The counsellor is based in Hove and works UK-wide by video, so distance from Belfast makes no difference to getting started.
Online Trauma Counselling in Derry, 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: Lisburn, Craigavon. See all of Northern Ireland.
All counselling & therapy in Derry: 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.