Edinburgh CBT & Counselling Services

The right therapy for you is the one you respond to best. It depends on your likes, dislikes, learning style, how you prefer to work, and what you would like to work on. The most important element though is your relationship with your therapist. It is important to find someone you feel you can trust.

The sessions are 50 minutes long.

We think positive mental wellbeing and support is something that we should all be able to access. We try to make it as affordable as possible. Please see our pricing.

The first session is always relaxed and friendly. It is a chance for you to meet with your therapist to see if they are someone you feel you can work with.

Sessions work differently depending on the kind of therapy. We can discuss that with you when you call. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is our main therapy and is slightly different from the others in that we set an agenda together at the start of each session. This is to ensure you get the best use of the time. Everything we do will work towards your goals in some way. That can involve talking about something you bring and it might also involve practical experiments. You should leave each session with something that helps you work towards your goals in some way.

Yes we can help if you are suffering from stress or any other overwhelming emotions, like anger or worry.

Some of our clients feel different right away. They often say this is because they feel listened to or understand their issues better. You might quite quickly notice small changes. That might be to do with a tool we have put in place, a raised self-awareness or understanding of why you feel the way you do. After a while others might notice some differences too as you work towards your goals. Your behaviour might change or you may seem emotionally in a different place – happier or less angry, for example.

Yes we support people struggling with depression. CBT in particular is an evidence based therapy proven effective in the treatment of depression. We use Behavioural Activation, along with other techniques along with supportively challenging beliefs you might have about yourself, others and the future.

There will always be people we don’t like or get on with. Our aim is for you to reach your goals. If you are unhappy and feel you cannot talk to your therapist, you can contact the clinical lead: info@edinburghcbt.com. We can look at allocating a different therapist.

Yes we can. We offer various therapies to help with anxiety. Each works in different ways. Please see Please see our Therapies Explained page.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Compassion Focussed Therapy are evidence based and particularly effective in the treatment of anxiety - a fear of what might happen, a way of thinking or a collection of bodily symptoms, or both.

Both these therapies help us to treat ourselves as kindly and with as much respect as we would treat others we cared for. They also help us to understand and contain our worry, so that it doesn't take over our lives. Using strategies like Worry Postponement, Behavioural Experiments, observation of others, surveys and thought records we gently help clients challenge what they think might be the case and instead live by more flexible rules based on what is more likely.

For example, we might believe deep down that we are a failure. Because we believe this we might be scared to try new things - that promotion at work or meeting new people. We develop rules for living like "If I try anything different I will definitely fail.' We cope by either procrastinating or avoiding, never actually getting round to applying, or over preparing. Both come at great cost and keep our anxiety going, because we never learn that it is not true. In therapy we would work on the thoughts that we have that may not be based on fact. We would try out different, more flexible beliefs, like 'If I prepare well, write a good CV and practice my interview technique, one day I might be successful.'

If you are interested in finding out more, please call and discuss what we do. CBT in particular is a very practical kind of therapy where you learn to be your own therapist in the long run. Compassion Focussed Therapy helps us to understand where our critical voice comes from, What we believe we are doing by treating ourselves so harshly, what actually happens when we talk to ourselves in this way, and how we might flourish if we could develop a kinder way of treating ourselves.

Combined, these therapies are powerful, nurturing, healing and bring about sustained improvements.

Please see our Therapies Explained page.

Issues relating to what or how we think, what we feel, our behaviour or our emotions. Anything that causes low mood or anxiety. Any behaviours we would like to have or stop. A goal we would like to work towards, or to get to know ourselves on a deeper level.

The best place to work that out is with your therapist in session.

Our therapists are trained to help people to talk. In talking together you will gradually work out what you are unhappy with, what is keeping you stuck and you will become comfortable expressing this.

Email or call, whichever is easier. We love to talk about what we do.

When you have achieved your goals, or when you feel the time is right. You will know when this is.

All our therapists are qualified to Diploma level or above, with prior degree level education. Some of our therapists are accredited or working towards accreditation. This is an advanced professional qualification and ensures rigorous training standards are adhered to and a quality service. We also have trainees on placement working their way through the Diploma course. Please see the Bio for each therapist.

Trust your instincts.

Please head over to our Coorporate Services page.