What is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy?

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is commonly used to treat anxiety, depression and other mental and physical health problems.

It takes the theory that your thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, behaviours and actions are linked, and that destructive thoughts and feelings can trap you in a negative cycle.

Approved by NICE (National Institute for health & Care Excellence), the goal of CBT is to help you deal with overwhelming problems in a more positive way, by breaking them down into smaller parts.

How it works

Together, we will explore patterns in your thoughts and behaviours and work towards developing more helpful ways of responding to life's challenges. As these new skills are practised and strengthened, you may notice improvements in your mood, confidence and overall wellbeing.

While CBT focuses on addressing difficulties in the present, we may also consider how past experiences have shaped your current patterns. The aim is to help you build practical tools and lasting strategies that support positive change long after therapy has ended.

With time, practice and support, meaningful change is possible, helping you move forward with greater resilience, self-understanding and hope for the future.

How can CBT help me?

Unlike many other talking therapies, CBT focuses on issues impacting the here and now, rather than the past.

It is practical: CBT helps identify specific problems and seeks to solve them.
It is highly structured: Rather than talking freely about your life, we discuss specific problems and set goals for you to overcome them. This does involve homework in-between sessions.
It is focused on current problems: Although CBT focuses on the present, it recognises that past experiences can shape the beliefs and thought patterns that influence how you think, feel and behave today. Understanding these influences can help identify and change unhelpful patterns.
It is collaborative: As your therapist, I'm not here to tell you what to do. Instead, we'll work together to uncover solutions designed specifically to improve your current challenges.