Creative Tailored Therapy

East Sussex
Catherine James-Simmonds
07944 428005
Company Reg No: 12940947
AXA PPP Healthcare Provider number CJ01295

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

What is CBT? 

  • CBT is one of the most evidence based therapies around. It is widely recognised by NICE (National Institute for Clinical excellence) and NHS England. It also has the added bonus that it can often work in quite a short space of time, therefore not needing as many sessions as other forms of counselling. It’s a therapy where the problems are worked on together and in a collaborative way. Here is a link to the NHS website that explains more about CBT and what it is:
  • CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) is a talking therapy. CBT looks at how we think about a situation and how this affects the way we act. In turn our actions can affect how we think and feel. The therapist and client work together or in groups, in changing the clients behaviours, or their thinking patterns, or both of these to achieve an agreed goal and outcome. We use regular outcome measures, which are questionnaires to keep track of your progress so that you can see how far you have come and also we can tackle any areas that you may need more support on. 
  • There is a great deal of evidence and research to show that CBT works effectively in treating a wide range of emotional and physical health conditions. This research has been carefully reviewed by NICE, The National Institute for Health and clinical Excellence.
  • I am extremely passionate about CBT. It is really important to like and trust your therapist. Its also a good idea to shop around and make sure you meet a couple of therapists to see if you get on with them and feel comfortable. There is  strong evidence to suggest that if you like and trust your therapist then this can account for 40% of the likelihood of therapy working, as the therapeutic relationship is the most important factor. The actual specific therapy you choose to have accounts for about another 15% of change. So  55% of evidence based treatment that works and the other 45% comes down to the readiness of how much you, your child, or you loved ones want to get better and change. Thats pretty good odds, so if you are ready to tackle your issues and also happen to like me, well thats 100% of great therapy. 
  • The reason I believe that CBT works so well is that I think I am very likeable (I have been told this, although it feels a little weird blowing my own trumpet on my website).  I also have a great sense of humour and genuinely care about people. I am extremely compassionate about what I do and due to the high evidence base for the effectiveness of CBT. I believe by combining this with the great therapeutic relationship I believe we can achieve, and a little sprinkling of hope for the future, I think we have the best combination to be able to work wonders. 

Mindfulness

  • There is also something called Mindfulness that many of you may have heard of, I have found some amazing simple videos on how to do this, so here is Mindfulness video on exactly how to do it and another one here mindfulness introduction and exactly what it is and the most amazing part. If you are getting it wrong, then you are in fact getting it right.

What can CBT Help With?

  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Self-esteem
  • Stress management
  • Panic disorder and overcoming panic attacks
  • Relationship issues
  • Childhood anxiety and other Mental health problems
  • School refusal
  • Behavioural problems
  • Parenting 
  • Binge eating disorder
  • Asperges’s syndrome and learning disabilities 
  • Family issues
  • Life Coaching
  • Consultancy to businesses:
  • (Large and small) Including teaching CBT in the workplace to increase productivity, staff training, Team building and effective leadership, managing stress, managing mental health in the workplace in a positive manner to reduce the amount of sickness taken by staff. Giving Businesses the CBT tools they need to implement changes that will enable people to feel happier at work and therefore produce better quality work, enables staff to become more effective, and reignites passion for their career.  
  • Training to teachers on CBT and how to implement this in school, for inset days 
  • Teaching CBT to children within schools 
  • Couples CBT
  • Family CBT and counselling
  • Self-esteem
  • School refusal
  • Seperation Anxiety
  • Creative techniques on reducing anxiety
  • Mindfulness teaching
  • Relaxation awareness
  • Group therapy and training for adults and children
  • Chill group for teenagers to reduce anxiety in schools
  • Problem solving training
  • CBT for increasing business potential and revenue
  • Techniques for getting on with people
  • CBT for communication skills
  • Learning how to love what you do and not let the small stuff bother you
  • Assertiveness training in groups for teams
  • Team building days
  • Teaching children to problem solve and manage conflict 
  • Seminars on the formula for happiness
  • Positive Body image Sessions 

This list is not exhaustive, but throughout my career as a Play Therapist, Psychiatric Nurse Consultant and Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist, I have come across and treated a vast amount of various disorders and mental health problems. This is in contrast to a more proactive and positive way of working where I feel able to install hope in people and can help them overcome the problems listed here:

What to expect in your first CBT session

I am told I’m extremely friendly and easy to talk to, I really care about the people I see. If you come alone, I will do my best to make you feel comfortable. If its your child I am seeing, again I will ensure they feel comfortable and safe.

With couples therapy and family therapy,  I will make all of you feel valued and heard. 

The first session is usually where we meet face to face or over the telephone, Skype, Facetime or solely messages. This is where I want to get to know what the problem is, and how it came about, I will conduct a brief risk assessment to check that you can keep yourself safe and if i am worried I can provide you with crisis numbers and a crisis plan if need be. (This is confidential). We would also try and establish a goal for therapy. This is to install some HOPE. As this is what will keep you motivated to keep trying.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is a “collaborative” therapy. This means that it consists of you and your therapist both working towards your goal, that you set at the beginning of therapy. (Don’t worry if you don’t have a goal or even know what it is, that is something that I can help you with)

I am there and totally for you, focussing exclusively on what you bring to the therapy. I am there to be a mentor, guiding you and teaching you techniques and coping strategies to give you the skills to make the changes that you want for your life.

I will not have a judgemental view on how you should change. I will work with you so that together you can think about realistic new possibilities for more helpful ways of managing whatever difficulties you bring to therapy.

Homework, (I like to call it in-between session reading tasks) is a very important part of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and research has shown that the degree to which you are willing to do this, relates to the success of the therapy.

Sometimes CBT can seem like hard work, but it does get easier the more you do it and the more you put into it, its like riding a bike, learning a new skill, running, playing Xbox, cooking, in fact any skill that gets practiced a lot . Research shows that CBT is a very successful therapy for most people. If you are finding specific things difficult – discuss this with me so that I can give you helpful hints and tips for success, which you can keep in your portfolio and look back on, if ever things get tough again. You can also book booster sessions, for up to 3 hours or more, if you really want to learn intensively and work on your issues.

Learning the skills of CBT, will give you long term coping strategies that you can keep in your portfolio for ever and use for the rest of your life. And if you ever need to email, or have an extra session, or just a friendly reminder you can always contact me.

CBT Scientific Evidence

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