Susan Holden

As an experienced psychotherapist in both primary health care and private practice, I provide a professional service which aims to make the therapy experience as relaxed and comfortable for clients as possible. I work primarily as a Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, but am equally able to draw on other therapeutic models as needed to help clients achieve their goals. Membership as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, and valuable career experience in the areas of human resources, training and personal development, add a depth of understanding of the wider pressures of modern life. My professional and personal life experience equips me to provide effective life and business coaching in addition to my psychotherapy work. I work with adults aged 18 and over. I offer discounted rates for referrals from General Practitioners and to trainee counsellors. Sessions can be held during the day or in the evening, at times to suit clients, in comfortable surroundings where integrity and confidentiality are assured.

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is a therapy actively promoted by the Department of Health as there is a lot of evidence to support its effectiveness in treating problems such as depression, all types of anxiety, depression, panic, self-esteem issues and stress, as well as other behavioural difficulties.

 I will work with you to understand how your habitual ways of thinking, behaving and feeling are interlinked, and how they may be contributing to your problems. By helping you make links between how you think, behave and feel, I can help you to make changes in your thinking (Cognitive) and in the way you act (Behaviour).  You will be introduced to a range of tools and techniques designed to help you to break out of your unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaving and to adopt more effective ways of living your life and, ultimately, to feel much better. 

 CBT is a practical solution-focused therapy and in sessions the aim is to create understanding, solve problems and develop your coping, self-management and life skills. You will be given work to do between sessions to encourage you to apply your learning and build your skills. 

Therapy is about change, and changing your life for the better. And change processes like CBT challenge your habitual ways of thinking about yourself, others and how life works. Your problems and difficulties may have made you feel hopeless and led you to believe you can never change.  I understand this and will work with you to make therapy as understandable, easy and effective for you as possible. Your own commitment to change will also have an impact on the effectiveness and length of therapy.

If you are unsure about therapy, I offer an exploratory session, at a discounted rate, to provide more information about the process and how it may help you- and for you to decide if you would be comfortable working with me. If you want to proceed we would then have an initial session to assess and establish your issues and current difficulties as clearly as possible, as well as identifying your goals in undertaking therapy. This session is normally 1.5 hours and would then be followed by regular hourly sessions. The fees for these would be based on the current hourly rate.