Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

CBT is based on the understanding that:

• How we think affects how we feel

• How we feel affects what we do

• Unhelpful patterns can keep us feeling stuck or distressed

CBT helps you notice and understand these patterns and develop new ways of responding that reduce distress and improve wellbeing.

While CBT focuses mainly on present-day difficulties, it also recognises how past experiences can shape beliefs, coping strategies, and emotional responses.

CBT is a collaborative and structured form of therapy. Together, we work to:

• Develop a shared understanding of your difficulties

• Identify unhelpful thoughts, beliefs, and behaviour patterns

• Explore how avoidance or coping strategies may be maintaining distress

• Learn practical, evidence-based tools to support change

CBT is:

• Structured – sessions have a clear focus

• Collaborative – therapy is a joint process

• Goal-focused – guided by what matters to you

Between sessions, you may be encouraged to gently practise skills or reflect on experiences to support progress.

CBT can be helpful for a wide range of difficulties, including:

• Anxiety and panic disorders

• Depression and low mood

• Stress and burnout

• Health anxiety

• Phobias

• Obsessive-compulsive difficulties (OCD)

• Trauma and PTSD

• Low self-esteem and confidence

CBT can also support people adjusting to physical health conditions or neurological symptoms

CBT for depression focuses on understanding and changing patterns that can maintain low mood over time.

Depression often involves:

• Negative or self-critical thinking

• Withdrawal from activities

• Loss of motivation or pleasure

• Feelings of guilt, shame, or hopelessness

CBT helps by:

• Identifying unhelpful thinking patterns

• Reducing cycles of withdrawal and avoidance

• Increasing engagement in meaningful activities

• Developing more balanced and compassionate ways of relating to yourself

CBT supports gradual, sustainable change and helps rebuild confidence, motivation, and emotional resilience.

CBT is one of the most effective treatments for anxiety and panic.

Anxiety may involve:

• Persistent worry or catastrophic thinking

• Physical symptoms such as a racing heart or breathlessness

• Avoidance of feared situations

• Heightened alertness to danger or bodily sensations

CBT helps with anxiety by:

• Understanding how thoughts, physical sensations, and behaviours interact

• Learning strategies to calm and regulate the nervous system

• Reducing avoidance and safety behaviours

• Building confidence in managing anxiety-provoking situations

Over time, CBT helps reduce fear and increase a sense of control in daily life

CBT is widely used to support people experiencing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and trauma-related difficulties.

PTSD symptoms may include:

• Intrusive memories or flashbacks

• Nightmares or sleep difficulties

• Avoidance of reminders of trauma

• Heightened anxiety or emotional numbness

CBT helps with PTSD by:

• Making sense of trauma responses in a non-blaming way

• Reducing avoidance that keeps memories feeling overwhelming

• Supporting safe and paced processing of traumatic experiences

• Helping the brain recognise that the trauma is in the past, not the present

Trauma-focused CBT prioritises emotional safety, choice, and stability throughout therapy.

• An initial assessment session

• A shared formulation to understand what is happening for you

• Collaborative treatment planning

• Regular reviews of progress

• A confidential, supportive, and non-judgemental therapeutic relationship

Sessions are carefully paced and tailored to your needs

• CBT may be helpful if you:

  • Want practical tools alongside emotional understanding

  • Feel stuck in unhelpful patterns

  • Want support managing anxiety, depression, or trauma

  • Prefer a structured but flexible approach

  If you’re unsure, this can be explored together in an initial consultation.