You may already understand that something isn't working but still find yourself caught in the same pattern. CBT helps us move beyond simply knowing that a problem exists and look closely at what keeps it going.
Thoughts, emotions, physical sensations and behaviour can reinforce one another. Together, we build an individual understanding of those patterns and use that understanding to decide what may help.
CBT is collaborative and active. Therapy can include talking and reflection, but it also involves trying different ways of responding so that change begins to happen outside the therapy session as well.
Anxiety often survives through avoidance, reassurance, over-preparation and attempts to remove uncertainty. These strategies can bring short-term relief while unintentionally maintaining anxiety over time. CBT helps us understand your individual pattern and practise different responses.
Read more about anxietyIntrusive thoughts can feel particularly frightening when they seem important, dangerous or inconsistent with who you are. Attempts to gain certainty—through checking, reassurance, mental reviewing, avoidance or rituals—can then make the cycle stronger. CBT can help you understand this process and work towards responding differently.
Read more about OCDAfter difficult or traumatic experiences, memories, beliefs, avoidance and a heightened sense of threat can continue long after the event itself. Trauma-focused CBT can help you make sense of these reactions and work through the patterns that continue to affect you.
Read more about trauma-related difficultiesLow mood can lead to withdrawal, loss of routine and increasingly negative conclusions about yourself or the future. Low self-esteem can also keep you caught in self-criticism, comparison and avoidance. CBT can help us understand these cycles and gradually change them.
CBT can be helpful for people who feel stuck in unhelpful patterns of thinking, feeling, or behaving. It can support you in understanding how these patterns develop and learning practical ways to respond differently.
CBT is commonly used to support difficulties such as anxiety, low mood, stress, low self-esteem, panic, and feelings of being overwhelmed. It can also be helpful for individuals who have experienced trauma or difficult experiences in their lives, offering a safe space to explore how these experiences may continue to affect thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.
You don't need to have a diagnosis to benefit from CBT. Whether you're experiencing a specific difficulty or feel that something in your life isn't quite working, CBT can provide a structured and collaborative space to explore what's happening and work towards meaningful change.
You tell me a little about what's going on. I answer your questions and we decide together whether to go ahead.
In our early sessions we map out what's happening and where it comes from, then set goals in your own words.
We look at thoughts, feelings and behaviour together, and try things out between sessions — small experiments, not homework to be marked.
We check what's shifting and what isn't, and adjust. When you're ready to finish, we plan for that too, so the change holds.
CBT isn't the right approach for everyone, and I'm not the right therapist for everyone. If it turns out you'd be better served elsewhere, I'll tell you honestly on our first call and help you think about where to look.
Fifteen minutes, free, no obligation. Ask me anything you'd like to know before committing to a session.