The Shire - Psychotherapy and CBT

08/10/2025

Very pleased to have got this in the post today. Might buy a frame and dig out my CBT one too!!

Hoping to do more EMDR with people in the coming months. It's wonderful to see how effective it can be, working with the body as well as the mind!!

Get in touch or share if you'd like to know more about me or EMDR and/or CBT.

05/07/2023

On a Tuesday and Thursday I'm mostly based at Rooms at 1900 in Calverley just outside of Pudsey and not far from Apperley Bridge/BD postcodes. The owners Annette and Nicola have created a wonderful Health and Wellbeing center, with several treatment and consultation rooms and an amazing varied practitioner list operating from here. I have a lovely spacious ground floor room, seen here, that has plenty of natural light, big windows and comfy seats, there is a waiting area if you arrive early and quite honestly the soothing music and lovely fragrances from the aroma therapy diffusers dotted about often make a good start to a session.

As a reminder I'm a qualified and accredited CBT and EMDR therapist and offer both face to face and remote sessions. Please, please do check that anyone you work with is appropriately qualified and trained in the modalities of therapy they offer, I've trained at postgraduate level in CBT, have to undergo rigorous continuing professional training and development to maintain my accreditation and have to attend 3 hours of clinical supervision every month with both a clinical psychologist and an EMDR consultant to ensure I am practising safely and effectively.

07/10/2022

A quick coffee before a full day of face to face CBT in Calverley at Rooms at 1900

10/02/2022

First bunch of daffodils this year reminding me that spring is on it's way. Something I often use in my sessions when people are working through depression or other difficulties is to keep a positives journal, just noting 3 good or positive things each day, because when we're struggling we have a tendnacy to focus more on the negatives, which ultimately feeds in to maintaining the problem. I do my 3 good things using photos or writing them on my "Line a day" 5 year journal (really cute and compact if you look them up), and note down all sorts like the bulbs coming up in the garden, then warmth of the sun through the window in the morning, the birds that are building their nest in the eaves of the house, the person who let me out of a narrow street when driving to shops and smiled when I waved a thanks - just the little things that I might over look if I didn't make space to notice them.

05/02/2022

When one of your oldest friends works at a library and they have books they don't need and you get a lovely delivery from the postman! My book shelves are heaving!!!!

05/02/2022

11/11/2021

https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-59162715

This is such a heart-breaking read. The BBC are running a number of stories on this at the moment and highlighting a very important set of points.

It's alarming to think that literally anyone, having done no more than a couple of hours online traing, can call themselves a psychotherapist, counsellor or cogntive behavioural therapist - if of course they are unethical enough to do so - because none of these are protected terms.

Reading these stories makes me feel angry, primarily for the people who put their trust and hopes in these "professionals" and often get worse rather than better, but also on behalf of my colleagues and friends who like me have trained for years at a post graduate level, done hundreds and hundreds of clinical practice hours and clinical supervision and are constantly keeping their skill set up to date via CPD activities to stay as a qualified and accredited therapist.

If you are in any doubt please check your therapists credentials when you meet them and check that they are suitably qualified for what they are offering. I am more than happy to provide evidence of my qualifications and training record and would always welcome a prospective clients curiosity. I would also always be transparent if I thought my skill set or expertise was not a good match for your particular problem and am always more than happy to help people find alternative support.

You can check CBT therapists accreditation status here https://www.cbtregisteruk.com/ and can find details of accredited counsellors here https://www.bacp.co.uk/about-therapy/how-to-find-a-therapist/.

BBC News has spoken to people who had bad experiences with unregistered therapists they found online.

26/09/2021

A wonderful surprise through the door of one of my favourite books. I'm going to keep this on my desk and read a page at random everyday. There's so much CBT-like stuff in the book, and even some lovely compassionate mind material, like on the first page where the author hopes we can be encouraged to live courageously, with kindness to our selves and others and to ask for help when we need it. None of which is particularly easy to do, but which is also a pretty good definition of self-compassion.

Just in case it's useful to know if you're thinking of getting in touch for any reason, I like to use compassion focused therapy and other mindfulness based practices to enhance my CBT work.

11/04/2021

Sleep, sleep, sleep!! I could sleep for England today now I'm nursing my second covid vaccine "hangover".

But following on from yesterday, top tip number two for increasing your chances of getting to sleep is....

2. No tech in bed, or ideally no tech for an hour before bedtime.

Most screens, mobile phones, tablets etc. produce quite bright light. Light levels partly control the levels of two substances in the body responsible for controlling our sleep wake cycle - serotonin and melatonin. They are produced at different times through the day and night in what is called a cycadiam rhythm/cycle. Higher light levels stimulate the production of our "wake-up" neurotransmitter serotonin, and simultaneously reduced production of our "go to sleep" neurotransmitter melotonin. A good old fashioned book is a good alternative or if you are feeling adventurous try meditating, I particularly like a "body scan meditation" at bed time, I'm often asleep before I get to my knees!!

10/04/2021

Sleep! Hands up who loves a good night's sleep? 🤚Hands up who feels pretty washed out when sleep is in short supply? 🖐️

Insomnia, long term sleep disturbances, and sleep stealing mini humans (aka babies) can lead to tiredness that feels debilitating, and reaching out to a therapist in these cases might be helpful. So please do get in touch with me so we can see if CBT can help.

In general, I think sleep can be a tricky character to tackle, thinking or worrying about poor sleep can literally push the chances of sleeping out of the door, but there are some simple things you can do to create a better likelihood of a good night's sleep that are easy wins.

I'll post my top tips for sleep over the next few days, starting with top tip no. 1:

Regular bedtimes and wake times! Lockdown has made it easier to stay up later and then sleep in longer, I, for one, am enjoying that extra 30 mins on the morning alarm. But if you struggle to sleep and then compensate for that by sleeping in the next day then it might be that you begin to fuel an unhelpful sleep cycle - so regardless of the quality or quantity of sleep go to bed on time and get up on time - if you're trying to get back on track.

04/02/2021

I hear a lot of people describe comfort zones. Although I'm not sure how comfy they really are.
What's your comfort zone?
Is it keeping you safe or stopping you move towards what matters to you?
Stepping outside your comfort zone usually comes with some discomfort, maybe some anxiety, but it can also come with some unexpected benefits.
I'm pushing myself outside of my "comfort zone" with social media today and my unexpected benefit is feeling like I've learnt something new, gained a sense of achievement (we've got to count the wins, even if they seem small) and am moving forward - rather than procrastinating.
What could you change today to just push the boundaries of your comfort zone ever so slightly?