I offer Cognitive Behavioural Therapy as my current mode of therapy. My CBT qualification is a Post Graduate Diploma in CBT from the University of Nottingham awarded in 2011 and I am accredited by the BABCP (the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive psychotherapy) which is the professional regulating body.
My CBT Experience
I have been working as a CBT therapist since training at the University of Nottingham 2009-2011. For the following 9 years my work was within the NHS primary care IAPT services (Improving Access To Psychological Therapies). During that time in the NHS I saw around 400 patients for CBT, provided around 2,500 hours of one to one CBT and facilitated 50 hours of group work. However in total I worked in the NHS in mental health in a variety of settings for 34 years to April 2019 when I moved to my own practice.
Prior to 2009 I worked for 9 years as a generic Psychological Therapist in a Common Mental Health Problems Service in GP surgeries offering a variety of therapies including CBT and trained in IPT (Interpersonal Psychotherapy) so my experience of the use of CBT and other psychological therapies with common mental health problems spans 18 years.
Previous clinical experience
My clinical background is originally as an Occupational Therapist, qualifying in 1985. I have experience throughout the whole spectrum of psychiatric care - in-patient wards, a specialist day and out-patient unit in the late 1980's where I first learned CBT ideas and techniques. I was then part of the first community mental health team to be set up in Leicestershire with a specialist role in treating anxiety and depression before moving on to the primary care roles I have mentioned. I believe that a good understanding of the whole range of psychiatric and mental health problems can be helpful and reassuring in CBT work, especially when people are distressed, confused and worried about how they feel.
Occupational therapists are trained to work with all aspects of health, having trained in difficulties arising from the whole range of medical, physiological and neurological illness, the impact of acute physical trauma and surgery, congenital and learning disabilities as well as the psychiatric and psychological problems of which a CBT therapist requires knowledge
My approach to therapy
My work as a CBT therapist has always been informed by my clinical background as an Occupational Therapist. My aim in therapy is to enable and empower you to be in charge of your own goals, progress and future plans. Both OT and CBT place emphasis on what the person can do and their roles in life, rather than defining them by their problems. I believe CBT carried out collaboratively can be life changing and offer you a whole new way of approaching the future – helping you to be reflective, resilient and mindful and more at peace with yourself and the world.
I have a strong belief that people have a right to be fully informed about all aspect of their health care – their ‘condition’, the evidence associated with treatments and how and why treatments work. I will encourage you to read evidence- based information and NICE guidelines and to come back to sessions with questions and hopefully challenges.
I believe that therapy is best seen as a journey that we undertake together. At the start you might not be sure where you are and neither of us will be certain about where you are going at first but my job as therapist is to be at your side, working with you on that journey.