Intrusive memories
Support for flashbacks, nightmares and re-experiencing.
Online Trauma Counselling · Newtownabbey
Online Trauma Counselling in Newtownabbey
Online trauma counselling for Newtownabbey, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Newtownabbey, from Glengormley and the centre to the streets around the Antrim hills, 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 Newtownabbey
Trauma Counselling for Newtownabbey, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Newtownabbey: from Glengormley and the centre to Rathcoole, Monkstown and Mossley
- Known for
- The Antrim hills, Belfast Lough and the shore road
- 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 Newtownabbey
Why do people in Newtownabbey reach out?
Communities on this edge of the city have their own memories, and the legacy of division here is part of what people carry, usually without discussing it. There are also the traumas that arrive privately: a bad accident, a violent incident, a death that came without warning, a childhood in which nobody stepped in. Newtownabbey is a working, get-on-with-it sort of place, so most of this stays under the surface for a very long time. What eventually brings someone to look for help is rarely the memory itself. It is the sleep that has stopped working, the reaction that seemed wildly out of proportion, or the growing distance from people they love.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Newtownabbey
GlengormleyRathcooleMonkstownMossleyCarnmoneyWhiteabbeyJordanstownBawnmoreHazelbank
Wherever you are in Newtownabbey, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Newtownabbey
Official figures for Newtownabbey, for context rather than as a description of you.
In Antrim and Newtownabbey, 2.0% of adults reported a low life satisfaction score (4 or below out of 10) in the year ending March 2023, well below 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 is trauma counselling, in practice?
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 trauma counselling in detail for the methods, the practical side for fees and session lengths, and my BACP registration if you want to check who you would be working with.
What do I need for 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 sessions are held online by secure video, and because Bradley is in Hove there is nowhere in the borough to attend. Many people prefer that for this work. You stay in your own home with the door shut, and when the hour finishes you are already where you want to be rather than driving back down the shore road unsettled. The pace is set by you throughout, and pausing or stopping a session is always an acceptable thing to do.
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 Newtownabbey
Why people in Newtownabbey come for trauma counselling
Trauma keeps its own timetable. Something from twenty or forty years ago can sit quietly while life is busy, then start making itself felt when a job changes, a parent dies or a child reaches the age you were. People arrive with broken sleep, a startle response, anger that arrives too fast, or a numbness they cannot explain to their family. The work is client-led and paced deliberately, and it does not ask for the event to be described. The Human Givens Rewind Technique processes a difficult memory without you telling the story out loud, and where what you carry came from a previous generation rather than your own experience, that is worked with in the same careful way. Steadiness comes first. A GP referral opens talking therapies through Health and Social Care, and Lifeline answers 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 Newtownabbey
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Newtownabbey, 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.
Newtownabbey questions
Online Trauma Counselling in Newtownabbey: common questions
What if I cannot get the words out?
Then you do not say it. The Rewind Technique is used precisely because the memory does not need to be narrated for the work to be effective, and plenty of people never give the detail. What you disclose is entirely yours to decide, session by session.
How much does it cost, and can I stop whenever I want?
Sessions are £80 for an hour, £100 for 90 minutes and £120 for two hours, paid as you go, and you can stop at any point without explaining yourself. The free 15-minute call is a sensible way to ask about pacing before you begin.
Which local services should I know about?
Talking therapies are reached through your GP, who can make the referral into Health and Social Care. Inspire Wellbeing offers mental health and wellbeing support directly across Northern Ireland, and Lifeline is free at any hour on 0808 808 8000 if a night turns bad.
My family lived through difficult years and never talked about it. Could that be part of this?
It very often is. Growing up around silence, vigilance or unexplained grief shapes how a nervous system settles, even without a direct experience of your own. The focus stays on what you notice in yourself now rather than on uncovering their story.
Does this work as well over video as it would face to face?
Yes, provided it is paced properly, and careful pacing is what makes trauma work safe in any setting. Being at home means you control the room and the ending, and the same methods are used, at the same speed, with the same checks along the way.
Will talking about the past over video feel too exposed?
Most people find the opposite: the privacy of home makes difficult conversations feel safer, not harder. The pace is always yours, and Bradley Riddell works with people across Newtownabbey and Northern Ireland by secure video from his base in Hove.
How soon can I start trauma counselling online in Newtownabbey?
After a free 15-minute consultation, usually within a week or two. Trauma work is paced carefully, so early online sessions by secure video focus on safety first. You can take part from home anywhere in Newtownabbey, with no clinic visit to arrange.
How do trauma counselling fees compare with the NHS in Newtownabbey?
NHS trauma services in Newtownabbey 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 Newtownabbey?
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 Newtownabbey clients who prefer to talk after work.
Online Trauma Counselling in Newtownabbey, 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: Belfast, Ballymena. See all of Northern Ireland.
Close to this in Newtownabbey, there is anxiety counselling, addiction counselling and psychotherapy.
If you can reach the south coast, this work is also done face to face in Brighton — all in-person areas are listed here.