CBT for anxiety
Anxiety can affect many areas of life, from work and relationships to sleep, confidence and everyday activities. You may find yourself worrying constantly, avoiding situations or struggling to switch off.
I provide Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for adults experiencing anxiety. I offer face-to-face therapy in Guildford, Farnham and Godalming, as well as online therapy for adults throughout the UK. I tailor our work together to your individual needs and goals.
As a BABCP-accredited CBT therapist, I aim to provide a compassionate and collaborative space where we can explore the difficulties you are facing and develop practical strategies for change.
What is anxiety?
Anxiety is a natural response to situations that feel threatening, uncertain or difficult. Everyone experiences anxiety from time to time, but it can become difficult to manage when worry or fear feels persistent, overwhelming or starts to interfere with your everyday life.
Anxiety can affect both your mind and your body. You might experience:
-
Persistent or excessive worry
-
Racing or repetitive thoughts that are difficult to switch off your thoughts
-
Feeling on edge, restless or unable to relax
-
Feeling tense or overwhelmed
-
Difficulty concentrating
-
Irritability
-
Difficulty sleeping
-
A racing heart or feeling your heart pounding
-
Feeling breathless or light-headed
-
Muscle tension
-
Stomach or digestive problems
-
Avoiding situations because they make you anxious
-
Repeatedly checking, seeking reassurance or trying to prevent things going wrong
You may know that your worries are excessive or that other people don't seem as concerned about the same things, but still find it difficult to stop worrying.
Anxiety can take many forms, including excessive worry, panic, health anxiety and social anxiety. CBT can help you understand what may be keeping your anxiety going and develop practical ways of responding differently.
How can CBT help with anxiety?
CBT is based on the idea that our thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and behaviours are interconnected.
When we are anxious, it is common to interpret situations as more threatening or dangerous than they may actually be. We can then respond in ways that make sense in the moment — such as avoiding, checking, seeking reassurance or trying to control our thoughts — but these responses can prevent us from learning that we are able to cope.
In CBT, we work together to understand your individual pattern of anxiety and identify what may be maintaining it.
Therapy may involve:
-
Understanding your personal anxiety cycle
-
Identifying patterns of worry and anxious thinking
-
Exploring how you respond when you feel anxious
-
Identifying avoidance, reassurance-seeking or other behaviours that may be maintaining anxiety
-
Developing alternative ways of responding to anxious thoughts and feelings
-
Gradually facing situations you have been avoiding, where appropriate
-
Learning strategies to manage worry and uncertainty
-
Developing greater confidence in your ability to cope with difficult thoughts, feelings and situations
You won't be expected to simply talk about your problems without a plan. Instead, we will work together to understand the difficulties you are experiencing and identify changes that could help.
Therapy is tailored to your needs, and we will regularly review your progress to make sure that our work remains useful and relevant.
The aim isn't necessarily to eliminate anxiety completely. Instead, therapy can help you develop a different relationship with anxiety so that it has less control over your decisions and your life.
Anxiety can take different forms
Anxiety can take many forms and can overlap with a number of other difficulties. I can support adults experiencing difficulties such as:
-
General anxiety & excessive worry
-
Social anxiety
-
OCD
-
Phobias
I also work with related difficulties such as perfectionism, low self-esteem, stress and burnout, and anxiety associated with long-term health conditions.
No two people experience anxiety in exactly the same way. I take a collaborative approach to therapy, working with you to understand what is contributing to your difficulties and what you would like to change.
CBT is central to my practice, and I may also draw on approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT), depending on your needs and goals.
If you're not sure which type of support is right for you, you don't need to work that out before getting in touch. We can discuss what you are experiencing and whether therapy with me is appropriate.
What can I expect from therapy with you?
Therapy will be tailored to the difficulties you're experiencing and the changes you'd like to make.
Together, we'll develop an understanding of your anxiety and identify patterns that may be keeping it going. Depending on your needs, this might involve working with worry, avoidance, reassurance-seeking, anxious thoughts or situations that you've been finding difficult.
We'll agree on manageable steps to practise between sessions and regularly review your progress.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CBT effective for anxiety?
CBT is an evidence-based psychological therapy for anxiety-related difficulties. It focuses on understanding the patterns that contribute to anxiety and developing different ways of responding.
How many sessions will I need?
The number of sessions varies depending on the nature and severity of your difficulties, your goals and how you progress through therapy. We will discuss this during your initial assessment and regularly review your progress.
Do I need a diagnosis to have CBT for anxiety?
No. You do not need a formal diagnosis to seek therapy for anxiety. During an initial assessment, we can explore what you have been experiencing and whether CBT is an appropriate approach for you.
Can CBT help if I experience more than one type of anxiety?
Yes. Anxiety difficulties often overlap. For example, someone may experience generalised worry alongside panic attacks, social anxiety or health anxiety. We can explore the different difficulties you are experiencing and decide together what would be most helpful to focus on.
Can neurodivergent adults have CBT for anxiety?
Yes. CBT can be suitable for neurodivergent adults, including people with ADHD or autism. I take an individualised approach and can adapt the pace, structure and way we work together according to your needs and preferences. Therapy focuses on the difficulties you would like support with rather than trying to change or “fix” neurodivergent traits.
Take the first step
If anxiety is getting in the way of the life you want to live, therapy can help you understand what may be keeping it going and develop new ways of responding.
If you'd like to find out whether therapy with me could be helpful, you can book a free 15-minute initial consultation.
