I treat many psychological disorders and specialise in the following areas:
Anxiety disorders
Depression and Mood disorders
OCD
Performance
Anxiety disorders
Depression and Mood disorders
OCD
Performance
ANXIETY:
I am experienced in treating the major recognised anxiety disorders:
Generalised anxiety disorder
Social anxiety
Health anxiety
Panic disorder
Anxiety is the body's way of responding to being in danger. The problem is, this happens whether the danger is real or imagined.
Thoughts that often occur:
I'm in danger right now
The worst possible scenario is going to happen
I won't be able to cope with it
In CBT we challenge these beliefs and seek to formulate more realistic and helpful thoughts patterns.
Behaviours might include:
Avoiding people or places
Escaping or leaving early
Going to the feared situation but using ‘safety seeking behaviours’: such as: holding a drink, fiddling with phone, avoiding eye contact, having an escape plan.
The problem is that safety behaviours keep your anxiety going. If you depend on them, you never get to find out that you can cope without them or that the anxiety would reduce on its own.
In CBT we seek to gradually expose you to the situations you might be anxious about while holding new helpful beliefs. You then gather evidence against negative predictions and reinforce the belief that you can cope.
I am experienced in treating the major recognised anxiety disorders:
Generalised anxiety disorder
Social anxiety
Health anxiety
Panic disorder
Anxiety is the body's way of responding to being in danger. The problem is, this happens whether the danger is real or imagined.
Thoughts that often occur:
I'm in danger right now
The worst possible scenario is going to happen
I won't be able to cope with it
In CBT we challenge these beliefs and seek to formulate more realistic and helpful thoughts patterns.
Behaviours might include:
Avoiding people or places
Escaping or leaving early
Going to the feared situation but using ‘safety seeking behaviours’: such as: holding a drink, fiddling with phone, avoiding eye contact, having an escape plan.
The problem is that safety behaviours keep your anxiety going. If you depend on them, you never get to find out that you can cope without them or that the anxiety would reduce on its own.
In CBT we seek to gradually expose you to the situations you might be anxious about while holding new helpful beliefs. You then gather evidence against negative predictions and reinforce the belief that you can cope.
DEPRESSION:
Depression can happen to anyone - and does happen to one in four of us over our lifetimes. There are certain factors that can make depression more likely to occur, such as a biological predisposition or certain events in our lives. What keeps it going though, is how we deal with those things. In CBT we look at the thoughts and behaviours that maintain the problem and seek more helpful alternatives.
Thoughts
People who are depressed tend to think very negatively about themselves, the future, and the world around them. It can be like seeing life through a pair of grey tinted glasses.
When we are depressed, we can get stuck in this negative thought pattern that only serves to make us more depressed. In CBT we would seek to formulate more realistic and helpful thoughts patterns so that they replace the negative patterns
Behaviours
As a result of our negative thought patterns and because of tiredness, difficulty sleeping and eating, we tend to do less and less. We don’t enjoy the things we used to do and so we have less and less interest in doing them. We might isolate ourselves from friends and family. This negative cycle continues. The less we do the less we want to do and so on.
One of the most important and effective treatments for depression is behavioural activation. Changing the way we behave, even though we don’t really feel like it. This in turn can lead to a more positive cycle- Increased activity gives us greater energy and increased motivation. Combine this with more helpful and realistic thought processed and we can begin to see a way out of depression.
Depression can happen to anyone - and does happen to one in four of us over our lifetimes. There are certain factors that can make depression more likely to occur, such as a biological predisposition or certain events in our lives. What keeps it going though, is how we deal with those things. In CBT we look at the thoughts and behaviours that maintain the problem and seek more helpful alternatives.
Thoughts
People who are depressed tend to think very negatively about themselves, the future, and the world around them. It can be like seeing life through a pair of grey tinted glasses.
When we are depressed, we can get stuck in this negative thought pattern that only serves to make us more depressed. In CBT we would seek to formulate more realistic and helpful thoughts patterns so that they replace the negative patterns
Behaviours
As a result of our negative thought patterns and because of tiredness, difficulty sleeping and eating, we tend to do less and less. We don’t enjoy the things we used to do and so we have less and less interest in doing them. We might isolate ourselves from friends and family. This negative cycle continues. The less we do the less we want to do and so on.
One of the most important and effective treatments for depression is behavioural activation. Changing the way we behave, even though we don’t really feel like it. This in turn can lead to a more positive cycle- Increased activity gives us greater energy and increased motivation. Combine this with more helpful and realistic thought processed and we can begin to see a way out of depression.
OCD:
Research has shown that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy significantly helps 75% of people with OCD and CBT is the treatment of choice for tackling OCD by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).
In many cases, CBT alone is highly effective in treating OCD, but for some people a combination of CBT and medication is also effective.
In CBT we look at how our thinking and behaviour affects how we feel. Someone with OCD may have a disturbing or distressing thought and become overly concerned that this thought might become a reality. In fact, we all have thoughts from time to time that are unusual or distressing. With OCD we need to work on the meaning that is attached to thoughts. We reinforce the message that it is just a thought and not a fact.
Exposure and response prevention (ERP) is used as part of the CBT approach and involves gradually exposing oneself to uncomfortable situations while resisting the urge to engage in compulsions. The individual the gradually learns develop alternative ways to respond to the obsessional thoughts or doubts.
Research has shown that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy significantly helps 75% of people with OCD and CBT is the treatment of choice for tackling OCD by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).
In many cases, CBT alone is highly effective in treating OCD, but for some people a combination of CBT and medication is also effective.
In CBT we look at how our thinking and behaviour affects how we feel. Someone with OCD may have a disturbing or distressing thought and become overly concerned that this thought might become a reality. In fact, we all have thoughts from time to time that are unusual or distressing. With OCD we need to work on the meaning that is attached to thoughts. We reinforce the message that it is just a thought and not a fact.
Exposure and response prevention (ERP) is used as part of the CBT approach and involves gradually exposing oneself to uncomfortable situations while resisting the urge to engage in compulsions. The individual the gradually learns develop alternative ways to respond to the obsessional thoughts or doubts.
PERFORMANCE:
As well as being a fully qualified CBT therapist I am also a professional musician and I believe I am uniquely qualified to understand many of the pressures facing musicians and performers.
Having originally trained as a musician I began to investigate the psychological aspects of performance. I have a master’s degree in psychology for musicians and it was during my studies that the potential benefits of therapy became clear. The positive results of my final thesis increased my interest and enthusiasm.
I retrained as a therapist and now have a master’s degree in Rational Emotive & Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. I have worked as a performance coach at Trinity College of Music and regularly treat musicians, singers, and actors from many areas of the industry including London orchestras and west end musicals.
Performers often concentrate on the acquisition of technique and neglect the psychological component. With CBT you can learn to develop helpful thought processes and behaviours that can enhance performance and help to unlock potential.
As well as being a fully qualified CBT therapist I am also a professional musician and I believe I am uniquely qualified to understand many of the pressures facing musicians and performers.
Having originally trained as a musician I began to investigate the psychological aspects of performance. I have a master’s degree in psychology for musicians and it was during my studies that the potential benefits of therapy became clear. The positive results of my final thesis increased my interest and enthusiasm.
I retrained as a therapist and now have a master’s degree in Rational Emotive & Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. I have worked as a performance coach at Trinity College of Music and regularly treat musicians, singers, and actors from many areas of the industry including London orchestras and west end musicals.
Performers often concentrate on the acquisition of technique and neglect the psychological component. With CBT you can learn to develop helpful thought processes and behaviours that can enhance performance and help to unlock potential.