Cognitive Behaviour Therapy can be used effectively for a variety of problems, some of which are listed below. In practice there may be some degree of overlap between the different problems described.
I offer CBT for the following anxiety-related problems:
Phobias (e.g., fear of dogs, needles, feathers, buttons).
Agoraphobia ( when people find it difficult to go in to crowded places, e.g., supermarkets; people with agoraphobia may also have symptoms of panic ).
Social phobia (when people fear what others might think about them; blushing, sweating, shaking and stammering often become a negative focus).
Health anxiety (when people become preoccupied with developing a disease or disorder despite medical evidence to the contrary).
Panic attacks (people may fear collapse and sudden death; physical symptoms including palpitations and difficulty in breathing are common).
Post-traumatic stress disorder (following a traumatic event people may suffer flashbacks, have nightmares about the event; be unable to resume normal activities and feel cut off from other people because of the experience).
Obsessive compulsive disorder (fears of contamination or of some harm coming to friends or family may drive ritualistic behaviour e.g., repeated checking or handwashing).
Generalised Anxiety Disorder (excessive worrying and a preoccupation with all the things that might go wrong in life).
Clinical perfectionism (where getting things “just right” causes you so much anxiety or takes so much time that it makes life difficult).
I also offer CBT to manage or treat:
Depression (feeling low and tearful about life in general; difficulty in sleeping; not being able to enjoy things; hopelessness; thoughts about harming yourself or committing suicide).
Low self-esteem (not feeling good about yourself; thinking that other people are more worthwhile and not being able to value or take pleasure in your achievements).
Work-related stress (including difficulty in managing a work-load, speaking in meetings and difficulties in getting on with work colleagues).
Chronic pain (pain that is persistent and is interfering with you living your life as you would like to).
Long term conditions (e.g., COPD, arthritis)
Chronic fatigue syndrome.
Irritable bowel syndrome.
Medically unexplained symptoms (where a medical disorder has been excluded but symptoms remain; e.g., disorders where there may be a loss of function in a limb, unexplained tremor or dissociative seizures).
Habit disorders (e.g. hair plucking, skin picking, motor and vocal tics that accompany Tourette’s Syndrome).
If you do not recognise your problem as any of those listed above but would like to consider CBT please make contact with me to arrange an assessment. The list is not exhaustive and individual problems do not always fit in to the boxes we make for them!
Because of the pragmatic yet systematic nature of CBT, where the person seeking help is always at the heart of the treatment, it is possible for a CBT framework to be used meaningfully in unusual problems that would otherwise be difficult to tackle using alternative psychological therapies.
