Therapy in the West Midlands
We are pleased to offer a private cognitive behavioural psychotherapy service in the Birmingham, Solihull, Coventry or Warwickshire areas. Contact us in confidence by mail, email or telephone. Individuals can refer themselves or alternatively ask their GP, Psychiatrist or other Health Professional to make a referral.
Contact Us
Michael Townend
Tel:
07976 895298
What are the Cognitive and Behavioural Psychotherapies?
Aaron Beck initially developed the idea of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for psychological distress after noticing that certain anxious or depressed clients experienced specific unhelpful thinking patterns of which they were only dimly aware, unless their attention was directly focused on them. These thoughts that Beck identified led to powerful and compelling feelings, but usually did not tell a balanced, reasonable story. He also noticed that people who are depressed or anxious do not readily think to question the validity of their thinking. These unhelpful thoughts were also noted to effect not just how a person feels but their behaviour as well such as difficulty getting going with and completing daily activities, avoidance of specific situations and difficulty with the achievement of personal goals at home or at work.
The main goal of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is thus to help individuals, families or couples bring about coping and changes in behaviour or thinking.
Goals for change may involve:
- Changing behaviour e.g. being more assertive
- Changing feelings e.g. being less fearful or depressed
- Changing thinking patterns e.g. learning how to solve problems or deal with self defeating negative thoughts or beliefs
- Improving coping e.g. dealing with panic or avoidance
What problems might benefit from Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy?
The following issues have been shown to be effectively treated with Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy in Controlled Outcome Studies.
- Major Depression
- Panic Disorder
- Eating Disorders
- Substance Misuse
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
- Chronic Pain
- Sexual Dysfunction
- Hypochondriasis
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Generalised Anxiety Disorder
- Phobias
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
The following issues is some circumstances can be successfully treated with Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy.
- Habits and Tics
- Personality Disorders
- Bipolar Disorder
- Schizophrenia
- Family & Marital Problems