Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)

What if you didn't have to believe everything your mind tells you?

You replay a conversation and wonder if you said the wrong thing. You imagine what might go wrong before it has even happened. You tell yourself you should be coping better, doing more or getting things right.

And the more you think, the worse you feel.

Perhaps you avoid situations that make you anxious. You seek reassurance from other people. You procrastinate because you're frightened of getting something wrong. Or you push yourself relentlessly because that critical voice in your head insists you're still not doing enough.

These reactions can make perfect sense in the moment. The problem is that they can also become part of a cycle that keeps you feeling anxious, low, overwhelmed or stuck.

CBT can help you understand that cycle, and begin to change it.

Changing the patterns that keep you stuck. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy explores the connections between what you think, how you feel and what you do.

Rather than simply telling yourself to “think positively”, we'll look more closely at the thoughts and beliefs influencing the way you respond to situations.

Is your mind automatically expecting the worst?
Are you assuming you know what somebody else is thinking?
Do you hold yourself to standards you'd never expect from another person?
Does one mistake quickly become evidence that you're a failure?
And when you believe those thoughts, what happens next?

Together, we'll identify the patterns that may be keeping difficulties going and explore practical ways of responding differently. That might involve learning to challenge an overly critical inner voice, testing whether some of your assumptions are actually true, approaching situations you've been avoiding, changing behaviours that offer short-term relief but create longer-term difficulties, or developing healthier ways of responding when life feels overwhelming.

CBT is an active therapy, so some of the work happens between sessions. I'll introduce strategies and exercises that you can put into practice in everyday life, and we'll use what you discover to guide our work together.

The aim isn't to eliminate difficult thoughts or never feel anxious, uncertain or self-critical again.

It's to help those thoughts have less control over what you feel, what you do and how you live your life.