Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
CBT is one of the most effective psychological therapies available. It’s also one of the most misunderstood.
For many people, CBT conjures up images of worksheets, thought diaries and endless homework. If you’ve tried CBT before and left feeling there should have been more to it, you’re certainly not alone.
Good CBT shouldn’t feel like following a script. It should feel like working alongside someone who understands how your mind works and knows how to help you change it.
My approach is collaborative, practical and tailored to you. Rather than asking you to fit a therapy model, I adapt the therapy to fit the person sitting in front of me.
Therapy that fits you
Some people come to therapy wanting rapid relief from distressing symptoms. Others want to understand why these patterns developed in the first place. Most people want a combination of both.
One of the strengths of CBT is its flexibility. Together we can decide whether it makes sense to focus on practical strategies that bring change quickly, spend more time understanding the deeper patterns driving your difficulties, or combine CBT with other evidence-based approaches where appropriate.
There isn’t a single “correct” way to do therapy. The best approach is the one that fits you.
CBT should never feel like going back to school
Whilst practical exercises between sessions can be incredibly helpful, they should have a clear purpose.
The goal isn’t to give you homework.
The goal is to help you develop new ways of responding that gradually become part of everyday life.
The most effective therapy often doesn’t feel like therapy at all. It feels like learning to respond differently to situations that previously felt overwhelming or impossible to change.
What CBT is particularly effective for
CBT has one of the strongest evidence bases of any psychological therapy and is particularly effective for:
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Panic Disorder
Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
Health Anxiety
Social Anxiety Disorder
Specific Phobias
Insomnia
Some forms of depression
Erectile Dysfunction
Vaginismus
For many of these difficulties, CBT is considered the first-line psychological treatment because of the quality of research supporting it.
More than a manual
After more than twenty years of clinical practice, I’ve learnt that no two people experience anxiety, depression or trauma in exactly the same way.
That’s why I don’t believe in delivering therapy from a manual.
CBT is one of several evidence-based approaches I draw upon, alongside Person-Centred Therapy, Schema Therapy, EMDR and Internal Family Systems (IFS). This allows us to build an approach around you, rather than trying to squeeze your experiences into a predetermined model.
The relationship we build together will always come first. Once you feel understood, we can decide which therapeutic tools are most likely to help you move forward.
Is CBT right for you?
CBT isn’t the answer to every problem, and I believe it’s important to be honest about that.
If we decide together that another therapeutic approach is likely to be more helpful, I’ll tell you. My aim isn’t to provide CBT at all costs. My aim is to help you find the most effective path towards meaningful and lasting change.
Whether you’re considering CBT for the first time or you’ve previously experienced it and felt there should have been more to it, I’d be delighted to show you what thoughtful, personalised and evidence-based CBT can look like.
Book an appointment today and let’s build an approach that works for you, not just one that follows a manual.