The therapies we draw on
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
CBT is one of the most widely used and thoroughly researched talking therapies. It’s built on a simple, powerful idea: our thoughts, feelings and behaviours are all connected. When we notice and gently shift unhelpful patterns of thinking and doing, we can change how we feel. CBT is practical, structured and usually shorter-term, and it gives you skills you can keep using long after therapy ends.
CBT is really a family of approaches. Depending on what you’re working through, we might draw on:
- ✦ Behavioural Activation — for low mood and depression, gently rebuilding activity, routine and a sense of momentum.
- ✦ Exposure therapy (including ERP) — for anxiety, phobias and OCD, facing fears gradually and safely so they lose their grip.
- ✦ Trauma-Focused CBT and Cognitive Processing Therapy — for trauma and PTSD (covered in the trauma section below).
- ✦ CBT-I — a highly effective, first-line approach for chronic insomnia and sleep difficulties.
- ✦ CBT-E — an enhanced version tailored to eating disorders.
- ✦ Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) — combines mindfulness with CBT to help prevent depression from returning.
- ✦ REBT — an earlier form of CBT that focuses on softening rigid “musts” and “shoulds”.
depression, anxiety and panic, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), stress, low self-esteem, insomnia and many everyday difficulties.
you like a practical, goal-focused approach and are open to trying small exercises between sessions.
CBT works best when you’re able to engage with the exercises and practise between sessions. If you’re in acute distress, we’ll usually focus on steadying things first.
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT (said as one word, “act”) is a modern, mindfulness-based therapy. Instead of trying to argue with or get rid of difficult thoughts and feelings, ACT helps you make room for them, unhook from them, and put your energy into living by what genuinely matters to you. The aim is “psychological flexibility” — the ability to stay present and act in line with your values, even when life is hard.
anxiety, depression, stress, chronic pain, and coping with difficult or uncertain life circumstances.
you’ve felt stuck trying to control or eliminate painful thoughts and feelings, and you’d like to focus more on the life you want to build.
acceptance doesn’t mean giving up, or that painful experiences are okay. It’s about loosening the struggle — and a good therapist introduces it gently, at your pace.
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
DBT was originally developed to help people who feel emotions very intensely and can find them overwhelming. Its name reflects a central balance: accepting yourself as you are, while also working towards change. Alongside individual therapy, DBT teaches practical skills in four areas — mindfulness, distress tolerance (getting through crises without making things worse), emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness (relationships and communication).
intense or rapidly changing emotions, self-harm and suicidal thoughts, borderline personality disorder, impulsivity, and relationship difficulties. It has a strong evidence base, particularly for borderline personality disorder.
emotions feel overwhelming or come on fast and hard, and you’d value concrete skills to manage them.
a full DBT program is intensive — typically individual therapy plus a skills group and between-session coaching. We can talk through what’s available and what suits your situation.
Mindfulness-Based Approaches
Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to the present moment with openness and curiosity, and without harsh judgement. It isn’t about emptying your mind or forcing yourself to relax — it’s about learning to notice what’s happening, in your body and mind, without being swept away by it. Mindfulness is woven through several of the therapies on this page, including ACT, DBT and MBCT.
stress, anxiety, overthinking and rumination, preventing depression from returning, and general wellbeing.
you tend to live “in your head”, worry about the future or replay the past, and want to feel more grounded.
for some people — for example during acute trauma symptoms, psychosis or mania — turning attention inward can temporarily heighten distress. In these situations we introduce mindfulness gradually, with grounding techniques, and adapt it to what feels safe.
Schema Therapy
Schema Therapy is designed for long-standing patterns that keep repeating — in relationships, at work, or in how you see yourself — often with roots in early life experiences. It brings together ideas from CBT, attachment theory and emotion-focused work. Together we identify the deep patterns (called “schemas”), notice the ways you’ve learned to cope with them, and work to meet the needs underneath — strengthening a calmer, wiser “Healthy Adult” part of you.
These are the recurring emotional themes schema therapy works with. You might recognise a few of them:
When a schema is triggered, we tend to respond in one of three broad ways. In schema therapy these are called coping styles:
- ✦ Surrender — giving in to the pattern and treating it as simply true.
- ✦ Avoidance — steering around anything that might trigger it, including shutting off emotions.
- ✦ Overcompensation — pushing hard in the opposite direction, as if the pattern weren’t there.
From moment to moment, these patterns and coping styles show up as different “modes” — shifting emotional states we all move between. Schema therapy gently works with the hurt or overwhelmed parts (often called the Vulnerable or Angry Child), softens the harsh inner critic (the Punitive or Demanding Parent), eases the coping modes we lean on (such as a Detached Protector that keeps others at arm’s length), and builds up the Healthy Adult — the steady, compassionate part that can meet your needs and set fair limits.
long-standing depression or anxiety, low self-worth, repeating relationship patterns, and personality-related difficulties that shorter therapies haven’t fully shifted.
you keep noticing the same painful patterns coming up, and want to understand and change them at a deeper level.
schema therapy is deeper, more experiential work and usually takes longer than CBT. It works best within a trusting therapeutic relationship, which we build together over time.
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
Emotionally Focused Therapy is a couples therapy grounded in attachment — our deep human need for safe, secure emotional bonds. When couples are distressed, they often get caught in negative cycles, such as one partner pushing for connection while the other pulls away. EFT helps you step out of these cycles, understand the softer, more vulnerable feelings underneath the conflict, and rebuild closeness, trust and security. (It can also be adapted for individuals and families.)
- ✦ De-escalation — understanding and calming the negative cycle so it stops running the relationship.
- ✦ Restructuring the bond — learning to share deeper needs and respond to each other in new, more open ways.
- ✦ Consolidation — strengthening the new patterns so the changes last.
relationship distress, feeling disconnected or misunderstood, recurring arguments, and rebuilding trust after difficult times. It’s one of the most well-supported couples therapies.
you both want to reconnect, break out of negative cycles, and feel closer and more secure with each other.
couples work isn’t appropriate where there is ongoing family violence or abuse — safety comes first and is addressed separately and individually. It’s also generally not the right time during an active, undisclosed affair, or when one partner has already firmly decided to end the relationship.
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)
Emotional Freedom Technique — often called “tapping” — is a gentle, body-based method that pairs light tapping on acupressure points with focused attention on a distressing thought, memory or feeling. Bringing the difficulty to mind while you tap helps settle the body’s stress response, so the feeling tends to lose some of its intensity and becomes easier to work through. (Despite sharing the initials, this is a separate approach from Emotionally Focused Therapy above — that one is a couples therapy, while this is a self-regulation technique for calming distress.)
- ✦ Tune in — naming the specific issue and rating how strongly it registers for you right now.
- ✦ Tapping rounds — tapping gently through a set sequence of points while staying connected to that feeling.
- ✦ Settle and re-check — re-rating the intensity and repeating until the charge eases and you feel calmer.
everyday stress and overwhelm, anxiety and worry, distressing memories, and strong urges or cravings. It’s often used alongside other therapies to take the edge off difficult feelings in the moment.
you’d like a simple, practical tool you can also use between sessions to calm your body and settle strong emotions as they arise.
EFT is a complementary self-regulation technique rather than a stand-alone treatment for complex trauma. Where deeper work is needed, we combine it with the other evidence-based approaches on this page.
Trauma Reprocessing Therapies
When something overwhelming happens, the memory can get “stuck” — intruding on the present as flashbacks, nightmares, feeling constantly on edge, or avoiding reminders. Trauma reprocessing therapies help the brain process these memories properly, so they lose their intensity and settle into the past where they belong. These approaches are recommended as first-line treatments for post-traumatic stress. Here are the main ones we may use:
trauma memories keep intruding on daily life — through flashbacks, nightmares, feeling on edge, or avoiding reminders.
timing matters. If you’re currently in crisis, at risk, or feeling very unstable or disconnected, we usually build safety and stability first before reprocessing. Some distress during this work is normal and expected — and you’re supported through it every step of the way.
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