CBT, EMDR and NET Therapy in Crystal Palace (SE London) & Online

Trauma may involve a single event, such as an assault or accident, or it may involve repeated and prolonged experiences such as domestic violence. Traumatic experiences often have a profound and long-lasting impact, making it difficult to cope day-to-day. You may experience symptoms such as intrusive memories, flashbacks, nightmares, intense emotions, difficulties concentrating, challenges in relationships, and avoidance of reminders of the event(s). Past experiences will often still feel present, leaving you feeling unsafe and on edge.

These are common responses to trauma and can be effectively treated within evidence-based Trauma-Focused Therapies. These approaches directly address the traumatic experience(s) and the emotional distress that follows by helping to process the memory itself.

I am trained in three types of Trauma-Focused Therapy, which differ in content and structure but share the same overall aims. We can think together about the best fit for you and what aligns with your preferences.

OCD involves a cycle of intrusive, unwanted thoughts or images (obsessions) and the repeated actions or mental rituals someone feels driven to do in response (compulsions). Although these compulsions are attempts to reduce anxiety or prevent something bad from happening, over time they keep unwanted cycles going and make the fears feel even more powerful.

Intrusive thoughts can feel loud, urgent and overwhelming, leaving you feeling trapped in doing things even when you know they don’t make sense. You may for example find yourself checking things repeatedly, excessively cleaning, or needing to do things in a particular order/number of times until it feels just right.

CBT helps gently break these cycles by supporting you to understand how OCD works, reducing the grip of compulsions, and building confidence in your ability to tolerate uncertainty and regain a sense of freedom in daily life.

OCD is a particular clinical interest of mine.

You may feel sudden, intense surges of fear or discomfort that seem to come out of the blue, or often arise in confined and busy spaces. These episodes are driven by the body’s alarm system misfiring - physical sensations like a racing heart, tight chest, dizziness or breathlessness arise, and when these are interpreted as signs of danger the panic intensifies, keeping the cycle going.

Over time, the fear of having another panic attack can become just as distressing as the attacks themselves. Everyday sensations can start to feel threatening, and you may find yourself avoiding certain places or activities.

Panic can feel frightening and unpredictable, as though something terrible is about to happen, even if you logically know you’re not in danger. CBT helps break this cycle, so life feels less restricted and more manageable.

You may have an intense fear of a particular object, situation, or sensation. Often this for example includes vomiting, spiders, flying, needles, confined spaces or heights. From a CBT perspective, we know the strategies people use to cope will unintentionally reinforce the belief that the feared thing is dangerous.

The fear can feel immediate and overwhelming, often out of proportion to the actual level of threat. Even thinking about the feared situation (including reading about this right now!) can trigger strong physical sensations such as a racing heart, nausea, shaking, or a sense of losing control - making it feel impossible to face. Over time, you may notice increasing avoidance that restricts daily life significantly.

With the right support, the fear can become less powerful, and everyday life begins to feel less restricted.

Health anxiety involves a preoccupation around having a serious illness, often driven by misinterpretations of normal bodily sensations. You may find yourself monitoring your body for signs of illness, reassurance‑seeking, researching symptoms, or avoiding doctors and health-related topics completely.

The fear can feel so frightening and consuming - small sensations can trigger spirals of worry, and the need for certainty can feel urgent and relentless. Even when tests or reassurance provide temporary relief, the fear often returns.

CBT helps by gently shifting these patterns by supporting you to understand how health anxiety develops, reduce thoughts and behaviours that maintain it, and build trust in your ability to interpret bodily sensations more accurately - so your mind and body can feel calmer.

Do you find yourself stuck in loops of ‘what if’ thinking? GAD involves persistent, wide‑ranging worry, often imagining every worst-case scenario; you may feel this helps to prepare for or prevent possible negative outcomes. Although these attempts to reduce uncertainty can feel like they will keep you safe and in-control, they most often intensify anxiety and keep the mind in a constant state of alertness - making things feel quite out of control.

This kind of worry can feel exhausting - your mind is always scanning for danger, replaying scenarios, or anticipating problems. You may notice your body is tense and restless, and you may struggle to sleep and concentrate.

CBT helps break these cycles and rebuild confidence in your ability to tolerate uncertainty so life feels steadier and less overwhelming. You may feel you have ‘always been a worrier’, but it doesn’t have to stay that way.

BDD involves a distressing preoccupation with perceived flaws or differences in appearance. These features may feel highly noticeable, and like they define your whole worth, even if others don’t see them that way. This can feel extremely consuming and isolating.

You may find yourself checking and analysing yourself, comparing yourself to others, avoiding mirrors, photos or social situations, and desperately trying to hide or ‘fix’ the perceived flaw. Sadly this can inadvertently intensify self‑focus and keep the concerns feeling more real and overwhelming. All this takes a heavy emotional toll, often significantly impacting daily life, particularly relationships.

With the right support, these cycles can be broken and it becomes possible to relate to your appearance with more compassion and freedom, so daily life feels less restricted and more aligned with who you are beyond how you look.

People experiencing social anxiety typically fear negative judgement and criticism from others. For example in social or work settings, you may feel as if there is a ‘spotlight’ on you. Physical symptoms like blushing, shaking, or a racing heart can make you feel even more exposed, triggering feelings of shame and embarrassment, worsening the sense that others will notice and think badly of you.

You may have developed strategies to prevent negative evaluation, such as avoiding eye contact, rehearsing what you say or staying quiet. Through CBT we come to understand that, in the long run, these strategies increase anxiety and makes situations feel even more threatening.

Outside of interactions, your mind may replay conversations, worry about how you came across or anticipate future interactions with dread. Over time, this can lead to avoiding situations and withdrawing from others.

CBT helps you to shift attention outward, let go of strategies that no longer serve you and challenge unhelpful beliefs. Gradually, interactions begin to feel more natural and manageable.

Low self‑esteem often involves a persistent sense of not being ‘good enough’, accompanied by harsh self‑criticism and difficulty recognising your strengths. You may doubt yourself and compare yourself to others, often feeling as though you’re falling short.

This experience can feel heavy and limiting, often underlying both low mood and anxiety. The feeling of not being ‘good enough’ can show up in different areas of life and deeply affect relationships, work, decision‑making and your overall sense of worth.

CBT helps by gently exploring where these beliefs come from, updating unhelpful patterns in thoughts and behaviours, and supporting you to build a more balanced view of yourself. Over time, self-criticism softens as self-compassion grows.

Perfectionism often looks like setting extremely high standards for yourself and feeling intense pressure to meet them. This is often fuelled by all‑or‑nothing thinking and the belief that your worth depends on achievement or doing things ‘perfectly’. Striving for high standards can feel helpful to an extent, but perfectionism often leads to stress, burnout and a constant sense of falling short despite giving your absolute all.

This pattern is relentless and exhausting. You may spend excessive time checking, re‑doing or over‑preparing, or avoid tasks altogether because the fear of not doing them perfectly feels overwhelming. Even when you achieve something, the relief is brief before the next pressure sets in.

CBT helps by understanding the beliefs that drive perfectionism, loosening rigid standards and supporting you to develop healthier, more sustainable ways of living and relating to yourself. Gradually, you can move towards goals with more ease, flexibility and self‑trust, rather than fear and pressure.

Depression often involves a persistent sense of heaviness, low energy and motivation, and a loss of interest in things that once felt meaningful or enjoyable. It may feel like everything takes more effort than it should, and that you’re moving through life with less colour, leaving you feeling far from yourself. You may feel hopeless, exhausted, guilty, irritable, numb or stuck, and everyday tasks can begin to feel unmanageable. Your sleep and appetite may also be impacted.

From a CBT perspective, this cycle is maintained by reduced activity, withdrawal, and self‑critical or negative thought patterns, all of which make mood drop further and make life feel smaller and increasingly harder to engage with.

CBT supports you to re‑engage with activities, soften self‑criticism and shift unhelpful thinking patterns. Over time, energy begins to return and life feels more manageable, meaningful and connected again.