CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) is a structured, evidence-based psychological therapy that works by identifying the connection between your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. It helps you recognise unhelpful thinking patterns, challenge them with evidence, and replace them with more balanced responses. Change your thoughts, and your emotional experience changes too.

CBT is effective for a wide range of conditions including anxiety disorders, depression, panic attacks, OCD, PTSD, phobias, insomnia (CBT-I), low self-esteem, stress, burnout, eating disorders, and anger management. It is the most widely researched psychological therapy and has evidence supporting its use across all of these areas.

Most people see meaningful improvement within 8–16 sessions. Some conditions respond faster — phobias and specific anxieties can improve significantly within 4–6 sessions. More complex presentations, like long-standing depression or trauma, may benefit from more sessions. Your therapist will discuss this with you at the outset.

Yes. Multiple randomised controlled trials have confirmed that online CBT produces equivalent outcomes to face-to-face therapy for anxiety, depression, OCD, and other conditions. The therapeutic relationship and the structure of sessions are the active ingredients — both are fully maintained via video.

Standard counselling typically provides a supportive space to explore and process feelings. CBT is more structured and skill-focused — every session has an agenda, involves identifying specific thought patterns, and you leave with practical homework to apply between sessions. CBT is goal-directed and time-limited in a way that general counselling often isn't.

CBT is suitable for most people dealing with anxiety, depression, OCD, panic attacks, or stress. Your care coordinator will discuss your situation before matching you with a therapist to ensure the approach is right for your specific needs. Not everyone is best served by CBT alone — sometimes a combination of approaches works better.

No. You do not need a formal psychiatric diagnosis to begin CBT. Many people seek therapy for stress, relationship difficulties, low mood, or general anxiety without a formal diagnosis. A clinical psychologist can assess what you're experiencing in the first session.

Sessions typically begin with a brief check-in on your mood and the previous week. Your therapist will then work through a structured agenda covering a specific theme — identifying automatic thoughts, exploring their accuracy, developing alternative perspectives, and setting homework. Sessions are collaborative — you're an active participant, not a passive recipient.

Yes, completely. Everything you share with your therapist is confidential. The only exceptions are legal requirements — if you disclose imminent risk of harm to yourself or others, your therapist has a duty to act, which they will discuss transparently with you.

Once you've requested a callback, most people speak with our care team the same day. Your first therapy session can typically be booked within 24 hours. We don't have the long waiting lists common to NHS or public mental health services.