Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

About me as a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist

I am a BABCP fully accredited CBT therapist with experience of delivering CBT within NHS as well as private
practice but also lecturing at the university (PGDip CBT, DClinPsy programmes) and delivering clinical
supervision to other psychologists, CBT therapists and CBT trainees within the university settings.

CBT is a type of evidence-based talking therapy, which is recommended by NICE for the treatment of depression and a variety of anxiety disorders (e.g. PTSD, GAD, OCD, Health Anxiety, Social Anxiety, Panic Disorder, Phobias etc.) as well as other issues such as low self-esteem, perfectionism, long-term conditions, persistent pain. CBT has been adapted to different groups and can be offered to adults as well as children and adolescents and older adults.

My registration number is PYL040928

My recognition reference 325886

My membership number 170533

"There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so".

~ Seneca, as cited in Schaffner, 2021, p. 41

I was lucky enough to be put in contact with Maja through work mental health support services, to help me with my anxiety. At this point in time, I was so overwhelmed and struggling immensely with everyday tasks, I felt this would be this way forever. Following our work together she has shared tools that have helped me gain a handle on many aspects of my life. Maja’s ability to reframe and offer an objective but compassionate opinion allowed me to feel like I can put my all into this experience and ultimately get the most out of it that I could. Our sessions were always a perfect balance of finding ways to challenge my thinking and providing tools to support me while I did this, in a truly safe environment. She was eloquently able to appeal to both the logical and the emotional parts of me which were previously at war with each other. Ultimately, through our time together I feel I have been able to move to a smoother path which seems more promising than it did when I started. The positive management of my anxiety has been noted by colleagues within my team, which has opened conversations regarding their own mental health.

Maja is a credit to her profession, and I am exceptionally grateful to have worked with her.

What is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy?

CBT focuses on current problems (although we acknowledge the past and explore how the problem developed) and strategies to change things in the here and now.

This means that your thought processes are constantly being improved and you are equipped with lifelong skills, enabling you to continue to grow and enhance your sense of wellbeing.

Within the course of CBT therapy, we aim to collaboratively explore your individual circumstances and help you understand how your problem has developed and what maintains it.

We work together on mutually agreed goals, and we design and test strategies to reduce the difficulties and disrupt the vicious cycles that keep the problem going.

CBT explores the connection between thoughts, feelings and behaviours.

It emphasises the fact that we often fall into patterns of thinking (C: cognitive) and responding (B: behavioural), which can be unhelpful and lead to worsening of our mental and physical state.

Hence, the aim of CBT is to help us break the patterns that no longer serve us and change the way we think, behave and respond to our problems or challenges in life, so we can feel better.

CBT therapy is an ‘umbrella’ term – within CBT there are different protocols designed to tackle depression and a range of anxiety disorders. For instance, there are well researched and tested protocols such as:

Trauma-Focused CBT,
CBT for OCD,
CBT for generalised anxiety,
CBT for health anxiety,
CBT for panic disorder
or CBT for phobias.

Although these protocols exist, please rest assured that therapy is always individualised to you and driven by our conceptualisation of your problem/s.