CBT-informed counselling
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a well-researched approach for anxiety and depression. I'm not a CBT therapist, but I use some of its ideas and tools within my counselling.
CBT works on the relationship between thoughts, feelings and behaviour. When we’re struggling, we often fall into patterns of thinking that make things worse: catastrophising, self-criticism, avoidance. CBT helps us notice those patterns, understand how they’re fuelling our distress, and gradually replace them with more helpful ways of responding.
I’m an integrative counsellor, and I took a course in CBT for depression in 2012. I use CBT ideas as one tool among several: noticing patterns, trying small changes between sessions. I don’t offer a full, structured course of CBT.
If that’s what you’re looking for, NHS Talking Therapies offers CBT free, and you can usually refer yourself without going through your GP first.
CBT ideas can help with
- Anxiety and worry
- Low mood
- Panic attacks
- Low self-esteem
- Stress
- Gambling
How I use CBT ideas
We understand the pattern
We look carefully at the specific thoughts, feelings and behaviours that are causing difficulty: what triggers them, how they connect.
We examine unhelpful thinking
Together we look at the evidence for and against the thoughts that keep things stuck, and develop more balanced alternatives.
We try things differently
Gradual behavioural experiments help you test new approaches in real life, building confidence and evidence that change is possible.
You keep the tools
You leave with a few practical tools you can use on your own after our sessions end.
These ideas sit inside a wider, integrative approach, so we're never just drilling technique. We keep sight of the whole picture and what matters to you.
See if this approach suits you
A short call to talk it over.