Intrusive memories & flashbacks
Support for unwanted re‑experiencing, nightmares, and the sense of being pulled back into something you'd rather leave behind.
Trauma Counselling
Trauma Counselling in Brighton & Hove
Trauma comes back as a reaction, not a memory, until we process it. If past experiences still shape your thoughts, your body and your relationships, trauma counselling can help you feel grounded, safe and in control again.
When the past won't stay in the past
Trauma isn't only about what happened, it's about what's still happening inside you now. An overwhelming experience can keep returning as a reaction: a racing heart, a flash of panic, a wave of dread that arrives as though the event were occurring all over again.
That's because, until we process it, a traumatic memory hasn't been filed away properly. An avoidant defence, pushing it down, steering around it, paradoxically keeps it alive in the present. It can stay hidden for years, then return, with varying intensity, as if brand new.
When we gently turn towards it instead, and get to understand it as the outdated response it is, the memory is finally consigned to the past. It stays there as a recollection you can access when you choose, but it no longer controls you. You control it.
How it can show up
You don't have to have a "big T" trauma to benefit
Trauma can come from a single overwhelming event or from many smaller, repeated experiences. However it shows up, we work at a pace that always feels safe and led by you.
Hypervigilance & anxiety
Help when your nervous system is stuck on high alert, closely linked to anxiety, panic and difficulty relaxing.
Numbness & avoidance
For when you cope by shutting down or steering around reminders, sometimes feeding low mood or depression.
Trauma behind addiction
Very often, an unhealed wound is the driver of addiction. Healing the wound takes away the need for the anaesthetic.
Sub‑threshold trauma
The quieter, accumulated hurts, using Human Givens methods such as Molar Memories and the Affect Bridge to reach what's underneath.
Relationship impact
When trauma affects how safe you feel with others, often interwoven with relationship difficulties.
The Rewind Technique & a gentle, integrative approach
I'm an integratively trained therapist, which means I draw on whatever genuinely helps you, including approaches designed specifically for trauma. One of the most powerful is the Human Givens Rewind Technique: a calm, non‑intrusive method that directs a memory through the brain's hippocampus, returning it to ordinary memory so it no longer fires off automatically or floods you with distress.
Crucially, you don't have to relive the detail or even speak it aloud for this to work. Alongside it I use relational, person‑centred and Brainspotting approaches, always at a pace that protects your sense of safety. You can read more about my methods, sessions and fees.
Ask me how it worksIf we can see it, we don't have to be it.Bradley Riddell · ADART Counselling
Let the past become a memory, not a reaction
Book a free 15‑minute consultation. We'll talk gently about what's been happening and whether trauma counselling, in Hove or online, feels like the right next step.
What to expect
What to expect from trauma counselling
Trauma isn't only about what happened; it's about what your nervous system is still doing to keep you safe from it. That can look like intrusive memories or flashbacks, being easily startled or on edge, trouble sleeping, numbness, or avoiding anything that stirs the feeling. It can follow a single overwhelming event or build up from many smaller, repeated hurts. You don't need a dramatic story, or a diagnosis, to be affected, or to benefit from support.
Safety comes first and sets the pace of everything we do. Early on we build steadiness and grounding, so you never feel flooded, before we go anywhere near the difficult material. One of the most effective tools I use is the Human Givens Rewind Technique, a calm, non-intrusive method that helps the brain file a memory away as an ordinary recollection, so it stops firing off in the present. Crucially, you don't have to relive the event or even describe it aloud for it to work.
Alongside it I draw on relational, person-centred and Brainspotting approaches, always led by you. Sessions last an hour and are entirely confidential, and you stay in control throughout, deciding what we approach and when.
Because unhealed trauma so often sits beneath addiction, anxiety and low mood, easing it can bring relief on several fronts at once. I offer trauma counselling in person from Hove, including Brighton, Hove and Worthing, and online across the UK. See all the areas I cover.
If you need urgent help right now
This is a private counselling practice, not a crisis or emergency service, and I can't always respond straight away. If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, please call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. For free, confidential support at any hour of the day or night, contact the Samaritans on 116 123, or text SHOUT to 85258.
Areas we cover
Trauma Counselling across Brighton, Hove & Sussex
In-person trauma counselling in towns across the area, and online right across the UK. Choose your area for local detail.