Therapy that helps you understand the pattern
and change it.
A structured, practical form of therapy that looks at the cycles between your thoughts, feelings, body, and behaviour — and works with you to change the ones that are keeping you stuck.
Areas of practice
What CBT can help with
Each of the areas below is something I work with regularly. Click any section to find out more about how CBT can help.
Fig. I · Anxiety
Anxiety & overthinking
Racing thoughts that won’t switch off. “What if” scenarios on loop. Physical tension you can’t quite shake. Anxiety pulls you out of the present and into worry that, when you look at it honestly, is solving nothing — even though it feels productive.
We map the worry cycle: what triggers it, what keeps it going, and what you do to try to feel safe. From there we work on practical responses — thought challenging to examine whether worries are as likely or as catastrophic as they feel, behavioural experiments to test anxious predictions, mindfulness to stay grounded in the present, and worry-time techniques to contain rumination instead of letting it run all day.
Anxiety responds well to structured CBT, and most people notice meaningful change within a relatively short course. Many people experience both this and health anxiety. Book a free consultation →
Fig. II · Perfectionism
Perfectionism & high standards
High standards that started as motivation have become the thing in the way. Anything less than perfect feels like failure. Procrastination kicks in when you can’t guarantee a perfect result — then a harsh inner critic kicks in for procrastinating. The whole loop runs even when you know it isn’t helping.
We examine the beliefs driving the standards and test whether they’re actually helping you achieve more, or just making you miserable. Graded exposure to doing things “well enough,” values clarification to reconnect with what really matters, behavioural experiments around imperfect work, and self-compassion practice — so you can recognise effort without finding it wanting.
We can build flexibility without lowering your standards — the goal is high standards that serve you, not ones that hold you hostage. Perfectionism often connects to performance pressure and low mood. Book a free consultation →
Fig. III · Health anxiety
Health anxiety
Constant worry about symptoms. Googling conditions late at night. Seeking reassurance from doctors, partners, or family — and the relief never quite lasting. Every physical sensation feels like a possible threat, and the checking is exhausting.
We map the cycle — worry, checking, brief relief, more worry — and work on tolerating uncertainty about health. That includes examining unhelpful thinking patterns, gradually reducing checking and reassurance behaviours so the cycle has less to feed on, and learning to live alongside the body’s normal background noise.
Health anxiety responds well to structured CBT, but it takes patience as you learn to trust your body again. It often overlaps with OCD-like checking patterns. Book a free consultation →
Fig. IV · OCD-spectrum
OCD-spectrum difficulties
Intrusive thoughts that feel dangerous or meaningful. Compulsions to check, wash, count, or correct until something feels “just right.” Brief relief from the ritual — and then the cycle repeats with more intensity. The whole thing takes up real mental and physical energy.
The most effective approach is Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), built up at a pace that feels manageable. We also work on cognitive defusion — observing intrusive thoughts without fusing with them or treating them as commands — and on tolerating the uncertainty that OCD works hard to avoid.
ERP is the gold-standard treatment, and we build it up gradually — there’s no need to face everything at once. Many people with OCD also experience health anxiety. Book a free consultation →
Fig. V · Performance
Performance pressure & exam stress
A presentation, exam, or interview on the horizon, and your mind fills with worst-case scenarios. Heart racing, mind going blank, voice trembling. In the run-up you avoid preparation because thinking about it feels too threatening — which only adds to the pressure when the moment arrives.
Graded exposure to performance situations rather than avoidance, cognitive restructuring to challenge catastrophic thinking about failure, practical relaxation techniques for the physical symptoms, and confidence-building strategies that prepare you for the real thing rather than the imagined version of it.
Performance anxiety is common and very treatable — many people are surprised by how quickly they start to feel more in control. It often overlaps with general anxiety patterns. Book a free consultation →
Fig. VI · Low mood
Low mood, burnout & motivation
Everything feels heavy and pointless. Activities that used to bring satisfaction now feel like obligations — or you’ve stopped doing them altogether. A cynical inner voice keeps questioning the point of trying. Burnout looks similar: the drive is gone, and everything at work or home feels like too much effort.
We start with behavioural activation — reintroducing small, meaningful activities to break the withdrawal cycle, even before motivation returns. Alongside that, thought monitoring to catch unhelpful patterns, values work to reconnect with what matters, energy management, and attention to sleep and basic self-care that gets deprioritised when mood drops.
When motivation is low we start small and build momentum — the goal is progress, not a sudden turnaround. Low mood frequently connects to perfectionism and self-criticism. Book a free consultation →
Fig. VII · Sleep
Insomnia & sleep difficulties
Your mind switches on the moment you get into bed. Going over the day, worrying about tomorrow, watching every minute pass. Or you fall asleep easily and wake at 3am with thoughts racing. Tired but wired — and the harder you try to sleep, the more elusive it becomes.
CBT-I (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia) is a structured programme that addresses both the behaviours and the thoughts that perpetuate sleep problems. Sleep hygiene and stimulus control to retrain your brain to associate bed with sleep, relaxation training, worry-time to contain night-time rumination, and — if appropriate — sleep restriction, a counterintuitive but highly effective technique.
CBT-I is as effective as sleep medication without the side effects, and the improvements tend to last. Book a free consultation →
Fig. VIII · Panic
Panic & physical anxiety symptoms
Heart pounding, breathing tight, a sudden sense that something terrible is about to happen. After the first panic attack, the fear of having another can become all-consuming — leading to avoidance of places, situations, or sensations that might trigger it. Your world starts to shrink around the fear.
We start with panic psychoeducation — understanding what’s actually happening in your body during an attack, and why it’s deeply uncomfortable but not dangerous. From there: interoceptive exposure (gradually getting comfortable with the physical sensations that trigger fear), breathing retraining for the moment, and gradual exposure to situations you’ve been avoiding.
Panic feels dangerous but it isn’t — and CBT can help you feel confident in your body again, without the constant “what if it happens here?” Book a free consultation →
Fig. IX · Other
I also work with
Alongside the eight areas above, I regularly support people with the following. The same model and process apply — the techniques shift to fit the specific pattern.
- Anger and frustration
- Social anxiety
- Specific phobias
- Self-esteem and self-criticism
- Adjustment to life changes
If you’re unsure whether your difficulty fits, the consultation is the right place to find out. Book a free consultation →
How CBT works
A model for what’s happening, and a process for changing it.
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We make sense of what’s happening now.
The situations that trigger distress, the thoughts that show up, the feelings in your body, and what you do (or avoid) as a result. We map the pattern in detail.
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We identify the cycle that’s keeping it going.
Rather than asking only why something started, CBT asks what is maintaining it now. That gives us something concrete to work with from the early sessions on.
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We test new ways of responding.
Behavioural experiments, exposure work, thought records, problem-solving, reducing reassurance and checking. Small changes that test the predictions anxiety and low mood quietly make.
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You build skills you can keep using.
The aim is not to stay in therapy. It’s to leave with a clearer understanding of your patterns, practical tools to work with them, and the confidence to use them on your own.
Inside a session
Sessions are collaborative, focused, and practical.
We usually begin by checking in on the week, agreeing what would be useful to focus on, and linking that back to the plan we’re working from. Some sessions are talking things through; others are practising skills, planning experiments, or reviewing patterns. The shape changes; the underlying structure doesn’t.
- A clear focus for each session.
- Space to talk — but not just talking for its own sake.
- Practical tools to take into the week, and review the next time.
- A pace that feels manageable, not pushed.
- Regular reviews of whether therapy is helping, and adjustments when it isn’t.
You don’t need to know exactly what you want before you start. Part of the early work is getting clear on it together.
You don’t need to have it all figured out.
Sessions are £80 and last 50 minutes. The consultation is free.
Currently offering online sessions across the UK. Edinburgh in-person sessions coming soon.