Intrusive memories
Support for flashbacks, nightmares and re-experiencing.
Online Trauma Counselling · Sunderland
Online Trauma Counselling in Sunderland
Online trauma counselling for Sunderland, by secure video. From a base in Hove I work with people across Sunderland, from the city centre and the river to the streets around the river Wear, 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 Sunderland
Trauma Counselling for Sunderland, at a glance
- Areas covered online
- All of Sunderland: from the city centre and the river to Roker, Hendon and Washington
- Known for
- The river Wear, Roker beach and the Stadium of Light
- Region
- Yorkshire & North East (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 Sunderland
What brings people in Sunderland to counselling?
Emergency hospital admissions for self-harm in Sunderland ran at 152.4 per 100,000 in 2023/24, above the England average of 117 per 100,000. Figures like that count the crises that reach Sunderland Royal Hospital and miss the far larger number of people carrying something old and unspoken. Trauma here arrives through industrial injury, violence, road collisions and childhoods in households under strain, and the shipbuilding and glassmaking heritage sits alongside a culture that expected people to absorb a great deal without discussing it. Years later that shows up as broken sleep, a short fuse, and a stretch of the city that is quietly never visited.
Areas covered
Neighbourhoods in and around Sunderland
RokerSeaburnHendonWashingtonSouthwickFulwellMillfieldSilksworthRyhopeHoughton-le-Spring
Wherever you are in Sunderland, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.
The local picture
The local picture in Sunderland
Official figures for Sunderland, for context rather than as a description of you.
the rate of emergency hospital admissions for self-harm was 152.4 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 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 the full trauma counselling page for the methods, session lengths and fees for fees and session lengths, and qualifications, registration and ethics if you want to check who you would be working with.
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.
We meet by secure video. I am in Hove and there is nothing here to travel to, which for trauma tends to be the better arrangement anyway. You are in your own home, with your own door, your own light and your own way of finishing. There is no drive back afterwards while still shaken, and no local waiting area where somebody might recognise you. How you signal that you want to slow down gets agreed before anything difficult begins.
Book a free 15-minute callWhat I help with
What sort of things do people bring?
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 Sunderland
Why people in Sunderland come for trauma counselling
Nobody is required to have a story ready, or even a word for it. Most people start with the effects: a temper that frightens them, sleep that never restores, an ordinary noise that empties them out. The work is paced and led by you, and it does not depend on retelling what happened. Where it fits, the Human Givens Rewind Technique lowers the emotional charge in a memory while the detail stays entirely yours; it is done calmly, without going back through the event, and that alone brings in people who had ruled counselling out. First, though, come the foundations: sleep, grounding, and understanding why the body reacts before thought catches up. Self-referral on the NHS runs through the NHS Talking Therapies finder, which will assess you and pass you on if a specialist service fits better. Sunderland Mind can support you alongside.
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 Sunderland
My online counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Sunderland, 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.
Sunderland questions
Online Trauma Counselling in Sunderland: common questions
Do I need to go through what happened before this can help?
No. That is a deliberate feature rather than an allowance made for nervous people. The Rewind Technique settles a memory without requiring an account of it, and the remaining work concerns how life is now. You keep control of every disclosure throughout.
I was hurt in an industrial accident and cannot cope with machinery noise. Is that trauma?
It very likely is. Sound is one of the strongest reminders there is, and reacting to it years later is a normal nervous system response rather than an overreaction. It responds well to work that settles the alarm before approaching the situation itself.
What will this cost me?
Nothing for the first 15-minute consultation. Sessions are £80 / 60 min afterwards, though for trauma many people prefer £100 / 90 min so there is time to settle properly before the end, and £120 / 120 min is available. No block booking is involved.
Is there NHS trauma support here I can arrange myself?
You can self-refer using the NHS Talking Therapies finder, without a GP appointment. They will assess what you describe and may direct you towards a different NHS service for certain kinds of trauma. Running that alongside private sessions creates no difficulty at all.
I have never told my family any of this. Do I have to now?
Not at all, and that is your decision rather than part of the work. Some people never tell anyone in their family, and get better anyway. If you do want to say something eventually, we can think about it together and take it slowly.
Do I have to relive it all for this to help?
No. Effective trauma work isn't about forcing yourself back through every detail. Much of it is building a sense of safety and control in the present. We approach memories gradually, only as far and as fast as feels manageable for you.
How soon can I start trauma counselling online in Sunderland?
We begin with a free 15-minute consultation, usually within a week, then a first video session at a careful pace. Working from Hove across Sunderland means no waiting list and no journey across Wearside when you're feeling vulnerable; the session comes to you.
How much is trauma counselling, and why not just use the NHS in Sunderland?
You can; local NHS talking therapies and hospital services are free, though often with a wait. My fees are £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 and £120 for two hours. Longer sessions can suit trauma work, and privately you'd start sooner and set the pace.
Is trauma work safe to do online instead of in person in Sunderland?
For many people, yes. Being in your own familiar space in Sunderland can feel steadier than an unfamiliar room after a trip across the city. I work from Hove by secure video, and we can use 90-minute or evening sessions so there's time to settle and close gently.
Online Trauma Counselling in Sunderland, 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 Yorkshire & North East: Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, Durham. See all of Yorkshire & North East.
If trauma counselling is not quite what you are looking for, anxiety counselling, addiction counselling and psychotherapy may fit better in Sunderland.
For anyone near the coast, the same trauma counselling runs in person in Brighton. Every area covered is listed separately.