Cognitive Behavioural Therapist Recommendations
The following extracts are taken from real clients who have kindly agreed to share their comments after completing Cognitive Behavioural Therapy with Think CBT. Client surnames have been dropped to preserve client confidentiality:
"After 2 years of struggle with anxiety, depression-like symptoms, triggers and flashbacks, I decided to try an EMDR therapy to help me with the traumatic birth of my son - born lifeless, resuscitated, and sustaining brain damage due to the lack of oxygen during birth.
Rachel has been very professional in her approach, gathering plenty of information as to the trauma I had gone through (feelings, flashbacks, fears etc.) and pushing me to process those painful memories. She was nevertheless also caring and very encouraging through the terrible events I was re-living during our sessions.
I feel relieved from such a heavy weight, I am able to provide for my son without fearing as much for the future, and I now feel more confident in myself to cope with difficult situations.
I highly recommend Rachel and I'm forever grateful to her for the help and support she has provided throughout this EMDR therapy."
Olivia
"I did it, screw emetophobia!!!
Thank you so much for helping me, you've literally changed my life."
Harriet
"I was getting really weird balance problems with visual distortions, almost like tilting or tipping upside down when driving and looking at the sky. This was causing very scary physical sensations and disorientation.
I did six sessions of CBT and I am driving confidently, my panic attacks have stopped and I have just returned from flying abroad!!
This therapy is brilliant. It's not only dealt with the problem, but it has had a huge impact on my general levels of confidence.
Thank you so much."
Dave
"I began to get panic attacks when I was 24 and working in London.
The fear became so intolerable, the only practical way to carry on was to avoid the situations that would trigger it. That seemed like a reasonable compromise. Except the more concessions I made, the more areas of my life it enveloped. Robbing me of my free will, the phobia began to dictate the terms by which I lived my life. I developed difficult and bizarre ways to behave and function. I walked miles to avoid public transport, made myself sick with tranquillisers and alcohol to fly to work events.
My phobia made humiliating demands on me. I could wait for hours on the platform before selecting the ‘right’ train. Once on, I'd be flooded with sickening panic so intense, that I'd fight my way to the doors to get off. It would deposit me in the middle of nowhere, its hostage, watching as my train home pulled out. Worse still, I was filled with guilt, shame and self hatred at my weakness.
When my second child was born I gave up my job in London. A decision I would probably have made anyway, but to my phobia it was a massive victory. As I became more isolated working from home, it moved into new areas. Cinemas, the back seat of someone's car, an unfamiliar country walk, were all becoming impossible.
At 50 I had my first routine mammogram. When the nurse took me into ‘The Lilac Room’ and told me I had breast cancer, I almost welcomed the raw fear that hit me. This was at least, fear at the right time and place. I felt a moment's pride!
Trying to get well after my cancer treatment, I joined a beginners' jogging group. The coach was an inspiration. She talked openly to me about her problems with depression and had a pragmatic approach to seeking help when needed. I'd made two attempts at treatment via my GP over the decades. Neither had helped. Now at 57 I decided to try one final time. It would be the last.
Utterly at a loss how to help myself, I dumped the whole lot on William, who cleverly set about unpicking the issues. I can't have been the easiest of clients, becoming quite confrontational and combative at times. I'm thankful he could respond, remaining tolerant and non judgmental during those sessions! He helped me recognise and challenge my unhelpful thoughts and to find the alternative. But this wasn't a phoney or deluded alternative. I recognised it as true.
After more appointments I began our agreed plan of exposure. I learned to observe the fear and its symptoms with some detachment.
When I joined the crowd getting off a packed train in London just before Christmas my hands were shaking and my legs like jelly but I had the biggest grin on my face. I'd made it! Some weeks later I was sitting over a London Transport map planning my attack. The train to Denmark Hill, the London Overground to Canada Water, the Jubilee line to North Greenwich, the Emirates river crossing to Royal Victoria, the DLR to Shadwell, back on the Overground, then finishing in the middle row of the local cinema. The more I proved I could tolerate the fear, the more it melted away.
Now, after 33 years hijacked by fear, I have been to the theatre with friends in London by train, holidayed in France using Eurotunnel, piled into the lift at the supermarket and travelled with my daughter for the first time on the Underground.
I see this CB Therapy as being every bit as important to me as my cancer treatment. There are comparisons, I needed the right professional help. It's been hard and at times scary but also, potentially as life saving.
Many thanks William for helping me finally get my life back."
Wendy
"Having CBT was one of the best decisions of my life. Now that I feel better I can see that I was depressed for many years. In order to cope with my loneliness I had developed a system of beliefs and routine behaviour that gave me the illusion of being safe and of being ok in the small world they were keeping me in. But when my four-legged mate Casper died, I was left with no sense of purpose. Then, feelings of despair and hopelessness took over, and I could no longer pretend that everything was ok. It was my GP that suggested CBT and I am now so glad that I listened to her advice, and I am very happy to have found Think CBT. It only took a few sessions for one of their skilled and experienced therapists to help me. He showed me how those beliefs and attitudes of mine, that were fuelling my depression, did not actually make much sense. This is how and why CBT works: it makes us see our false or exaggerated beliefs for what they are. This is the starting point - the point that breaks the cycle of dysfunctional beliefs and detrimental emotions, the point where depression loses its grip, the point where life can start again, and anew."
Paola
"I came to Think CBT as I suffered from Health Anxiety. It was completely taking over my life and interfering with bringing up my 3 small children. We worked out why I think the way I do with regards to my health and I was taught a procedure to keep it in check. After completing 6 sessions I felt in total control of my disorder and feel it can never be that bad again. I have always felt embarrassed and weak about having Health Anxiety but having Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, I now realise I am the complete opposite of weak and actually have the strength to follow what I have been taught to stop this from taking over my life again. Think CBT also have a brilliant follow up procedure and are only ever a phone call/ email away if I need any extra help."
Natasha
"I would just like to say many thanks again. Working with you has been one of the most significant and positive experiences of my life so far. I truly appreciate everything you have taught me."
Simon
"I just wanted to say a proper thank you for all the help, support and encouragement you have given me. You are very clever (as is CBT, it's the way to go)! And you have also been very patient and tolerant, but you have also done some very eccentric things all in the cause of work. I have been grateful for the extra time you have given me with emails, a telephone conversation right at the very beginning, sessions often more than an hour long and more."
Jane
"Having spent two years suffering from the most awful panic attacks, I have just completed six CBT sessions. I stopped my panic attacks after the third session and I am still panic free. I didn’t realise what was happening to me, but working through the problem has given me a completely different perspective. This has really changed my life."
Alison
"I work as a senior manager in Central Government. This involves balancing a number of highly pressurised and competing targets. I noticed that my health was suffering because of this around nine months ago. I was having intermittent issues with my balance, body tremors, erratic breathing, chest pain and problems sleeping. After extensive medical assessments, my GP referred me for CBT. I must confess that I was very cynical to start with. Even the suggestion appeared to be undermining his belief in my symptoms. After twelve sessions, I have made tremendous progress. I hadn’t realised how closely my physical symptoms and my level of background anxiety were linked. This has helped me get back to myself again and establish a more balanced approach at work and home. It’s easy to get wrapped up in problems when the pressure is on. I can’t recommend Think CBT highly enough."
Graham
"I wanted to offer some comments following my careers coaching with Think CBT. I have spent twenty-five years in the same area of work and finally found myself in a redundancy situation six months ago. This really bounced me. I just didn’t know what to do and soon found myself feeling useless and low. What was really helpful was the way we reignited my interest in other areas again, worked through my options and put a plan of action together. I am now working part-time in a job that I love and back at college studying to become an interior designer."
Kathy
"I decided to try therapy for a long-term fear of flying. This was a real problem as my husband had refused to fly with me again and as my children wanted to visit Disneyland Paris. I went through the four session phobia programme which was really great. I am pleased to say that I got on the plane there and flew home again without any panic attacks or screaming."
Mary
"I have spent over four years with really terrible back pain. I have had countless tests and other than general wear and tear, there is no apparent reason for my pain. Working with Think CBT has helped me to take a completely different approach. Instead of constantly searching for a diagnosis, I have learnt techniques to tolerate the pain and make the symptoms less relevant in my daily life. Focusing on pain actually makes it worse and this creates a vicious cycle of depression, pain and anxiety. I have started swimming and running again and I am actually feeling quite good again."
Debbie
"I was so ashamed and embarrassed by my problems, that I found myself in a terrible state where I just had to hide away. I was lonely and I thought that I was going mad. This is what it’s really like when you suffer from OCD. I had tried to manage the problem myself, but I think that I had just made things harder for myself. I was very low. After completing the OCD programme with Think CBT, things have really changed. I have learnt that my OCD can be managed and that I can live a normal life. I have reclaimed four hours of each day back and I understand what was happening for me and where it came from."
Karen
"I saw my therapist for just four sessions and this has massively improved my confidence in presentations and my ability to just get on with the job without constantly worrying about what other people think of me. I was really embarrassed about this to start with, but the sessions were really helpful and have given me a new way of approaching problems at work."
Nic
"I suffered from depression on and off for years before I decided to do something about it. I was not happy about taking antidepressants and I didn’t think that they were really helping anyway. We used something called behavioural activation to make gradual changes in my daily routine. Although I didn’t have much faith in this to start with, it started to turn things around for me. Just doing things that you know will help, even though you don’t feel like it at the time, starts to lift that heavy depressive feeling. I also found the mindfulness exercises really helpful and I am a complete convert. Don’t suffer with depression, when you can do something practical about it."
Helen
"I have agreed to share a few words about our work on my PTSD. To start with, I didn’t even realise that "I had PTSD. What I did have, was a very traumatic series of events that left me feeling detached, numb, frightened, with horrible nightmares and sudden moments of feeling completely lost. I could be out shopping or walking through town and I would suddenly find myself completely dissociated, shaking and feeling physically unwell. Working through this helped me to realise that I wasn’t losing my marbles and that my reaction was normal for my circumstances. It’s a difficult process to go through, but it’s worth it. I have regained control of my anxiety and I can now deal with things that happened in the past without the terrifying side effects. Don’t suffer in silence. I would recommend Think CBT to anyone with PTSD."
Matt
"Think CBT was a lifeline to me during what turned out to be some of the hardest and most distressing months of my life. I was diagnosed with anxiety and panic disorder, that became so severe I had to take time away from work. As an Accident and Emergency nurse I have worked with many patients suffering similar issues, however only now do I understand how truly debilitating it can be if you let it. Think CBT was there when I didn't know what else to do. Their kindness, compassion and professionalism was endless. They went the extra mile every time. My therapist especially was brilliant. He worked with me over 8 sessions where I made great progress. CBT is a journey and not necessarily a quick fix. However if you trust the process and put the work in the support that is offered is outstanding. I have not enough words to thank them for helping me get my life back on track and providing me with the tools to keep it that way! I would recommend them to anyone."
Linda
The team at Think CBT would like to thank all clients for agreeing to share their feedback. All clients are asked to provide confidential feedback and we undertake an independent client satisfaction survey each quarter.
If you wish to share your feedback on a completely confidential basis, email us at info@thinkcbt.com. We never publish any feedback that compromises client confidentiality and your feedback could help other clients.
Recommend Us
If you recommend us to a friend, colleague or family member we will provide you with a £25.00 voucher to be offset against the costs of therapy with Think CBT. We will also offer the new client a 25% reduction for their first session.
All discounts are subject to confirmed bookings and may be withdrawn at any time.
