Lucy Nicholas
- Name:
- Therapies:
- Psychotherapy, Cognitive-Behavioural-Therapy
- Qualifications:
- BSc. (hons) Psych., PGDip. CBP, PGCert. Mindfulness-Based Approaches
- Email:
- cbt@lucynicholas.co.uk
- Tel:
- 07757 814204
- Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy & Mindfulness-Based Approaches
- Individual and Group-Based Treatment
Member of the British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP)
What is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)?
CBT represents a unique category of psychological intervention and is based on scientific principles, which research has shown to be effective for a wide range of problems. It is a relatively short-term approach, and focuses on how you are thinking, feeling, and behaving today, rather than on early childhood experiences. The approach teaches ‘self-help’ through therapy, meaning that clients are often able to maintain their improvement following completion of treatment.
Overall, CBT aims to directly target distressing symptoms, reduce distress, re-evaluate thinking and promote helpful coping strategies by offering problem-focused skills-based treatment interventions.
The cognitive component refers to how people think about and attach meaning to events occurring in their lives. Cognitive interventions use a style of questioning to stimulate alternative meanings, viewpoints, or ideas. The intention is to move away from extreme and unhelpful ways of seeing things to more helpful and balanced ways of perceiving and acting.
The behavioural component refers to the way in which people respond when faced with distressing situations. Responses such as avoidance, reduced activity/isolation, and other unhelpful behaviour can act to keep problems going or worsen how the person feels. CBT aims to help the person feel safe enough to gradually test out their assumptions and fears and change their behaviour.
What types of problem can be treated?
- Anxiety Disorders – Generalised Anxiety, Panic, Phobias, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Health Anxiety, and Social Anxiety.
- Depressive Disorders – Depression, Manic/Bi-polar Depression.
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
- Eating Disorders – Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge-Eating Disorder.
- Anger Management difficulties.
- Adjustment to physical health problems such as pain, insomnia, irritable bowel syndrome, and chronic fatigue.
- Relationship difficulties.
What will it be like?
In CBT, the client and therapist work together as a team to identify and understand problems in terms of the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviour. This will lead to the identification of personalised, usually time-limited therapy goals and a treatment plan, which is then continually monitored and evaluated throughout treatment. Treatment is aimed at enabling the client to tackle their problems by harnessing their own resources using various cognitive and/or behavioural techniques as appropriate. Throughout treatment there will be an emphasis on putting what has been learned in sessions into practice between sessions in the form of ‘homework tasks’. This is nothing to worry about, and your therapist will be able to support and guide you in this process. It is important to ensure that you get the most out of treatment.
Ref: Adapted from: Grazebrook, K., Garland, A., and The Board of BABCP (2005). What are Cognitive and/or Behavioural Psychotherapies? Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, pp. 1-7
Types of Treatment Offered
Individual Therapy
Individual therapy typically consists of 10 – 15 sessions each lasting a maximum of one hour. Initially sessions will be conducted on a weekly basis and will gradually reduce to fortnightly, followed by monthly as treatment draws to a close.
Group-Based Therapy
Depending on the group you attend, group sessions will be either for a full-day (10:00AM-4:00PM) or a half-day (2 _ hours AM, PM, or evening session) and will take place on a weekly basis. Group sizes may vary, but are typically 4 – 8 people.
Benefits of group-based treatment include a more concentrated treatment package, increasing support networks, and meeting others who are suffering with similar difficulties to you. This can be helpful to normalize your experiences. Often people can feel very isolated and alone in their distress; attending the group can be extremely helpful in re-socialising and gaining support from other group members.
Group Packages Available:
- Anxiety Management
- Skills for Managing Emotions
- Anger Management
- Stress Management
- Mindfulness-Based Meditation
