Psychology is the scientific study of people, the mind and behaviour. Many of the problems we face in daily life are rooted in human behaviour, so psychological knowledge can help us to find solutions. Psychology is an evidence based therapy. I will refer to scientific evidence to work out what might be causing your difficulties and what will be likely to help. I will then tailor the therapy to suit your needs.

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Psychologists support people of all ages from a wide range of backgrounds; they help people with all sorts of problems and work in many different areas of society. There are many areas of life where a psychologist can help. These could include helping people manage and live with health conditions such as cancer or chronic pain, assisting people who have difficulties in their relationships or helping people to overcome symptoms of depression and anxiety. ​

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is usually a short-term therapy that focuses mainly on your current situation. It explores how your thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and behaviours are connected. CBT can show how negative thoughts and unhelpful behaviours might be maintaining your difficulties by trapping you in a vicious cycle making you feel stuck in your situation and unable to move forward. Understanding your problems in this way can help you to break the cycle; you can learn to manage your difficulties on a daily basis by changing the way you think and behave.

CBT is evidence based and has been shown to be an effective way of treating a number of different mental health conditions. NICE, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, recommends CBT for:

• Anxiety

• Depression

• Generalised Anxiety Disorder (Excessive Worrying)

• Low self-esteem

• ​Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

• ​Panic Disorder (Panic Attacks)

• Phobias

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

• Sleep problems such as insomnia​​

The eventual aim of therapy is to teach you to apply the skills you have learnt during treatment to your daily life. This should help you manage your problems and stop them having a negative impact on your life – even after your course of treatment finishes.

It is impossible to predict the length of therapy before we meet. The first session you will have is an assessment. During this appointment we will talk about how therapy may be helpful and we will also develop a plan together for your therapy and the estimated duration. You can leave therapy whenever you want to, however it is always more effective if you can commit to four sessions initially to give yourself chance to find out if you can benefit from therapy with me.

All appointments are £95 and last approximately 50 minutes ​

You can pay via Bank Transfer prior to your appointment.

All psychologists have a broad training at doctoral level. This includes experience of using lots of different types of therapy under expert supervision. This combined with the experience of the psychologist means we are able to draw on all of the approaches above to create a therapy plan that suits you.

All Psychologists are members of a regulating body called the Health Care Professionals Council (HCPC). This body makes sure that we meet ethical and professional standards and that we all have a high level of academic qualification and professional experience. This is important as it means you can be assured that your psychologist will keep up to date with the latest clinical research and use it to work with you in the way that suits you best and is proven to be most effective. Other therapists do not often have this level of qualification and usually only offer one type of therapy.

All sessions are strictly confidential; I am bound by the strict code of ethics laid down by accrediting organisations. In the unusual event that I am worried that you can't keep yourself safe, I may need to inform your G.P.

I offer a free 15 minute phone call so we can have a chat about what you are looking for. This is an opportunity to get to know me a little and for you to ask me any questions you have. We can discuss how therapy may be beneficial for you at this time. There is no obligation to book an appointment during this phone call.

Your first appointment is called an ‘assessment appointment’. It is an opportunity for me to understand what you are struggling with, how and when the problems started and get an idea about what your hopes and expectations are for your therapy. I may also ask you about your background, history and relationships. At the end of the appointment I will be able to share my thoughts with you and what we can work on in further sessions. The assessment appointment is also an opportunity for us to get to know each other and to see if we are able to work together.

Regular attendance is important to ensure you fully benefit. Weekly sessions are usually recommended and, when possible, the same time will be reserved for you each week.

In person appointments are available in Wetherby on Tuesday and Wednesdays between 9am and 2pm and online appointments are available on Thursdays between 9am and 2pm.

Yes, I am registered with BUPA, AXA, Aviva, Vitality and WPA and I will usually invoice your insurance provider directly after each session for payment.

It is your responsibility to contact your insurer and find out how this will work. You will need authorisation for the therapy to go ahead and how many sessions they will fund. You will also need to find out if you have an excess to pay as this will be paid directly to me by yourself. before they will begin to pay for your therapy sessions.