EVIDENCE-BASED APPROACHES · CBT APPROACHES
Three cognitive & behavioural frameworks: CBT, ERP & ACT
Helping partners understand long-standing emotional patterns that can keep relationships feeling stuck.
CBT works on the thoughts and behaviours that keep distress in place. ERP is the specific protocol within CBT used to treat OCD — the most-researched treatment we have for it. ACT shifts the question from "how do I feel less?" to "what life do I actually want to be living?" In most of my work, I incorporate elements of these approaches along with schema therapy.
THESE APPROACHES HELP WITH
Mental Health Challenges that respond well to cognitive behavioural work
Three structured approaches focused on what you think, what you feel, and what you do — and how shifting any of them can shift the rest.
— Anxiety & panic disorder, where CBT offers practical strate
— Practical strategies for Rumination and intrusive what-if throughts are derived from CBT and ACT.
— Low mood and depression is often treated through CBT & behavioural activation
— CBT can be helpful to treat insomnia & difficulties with sleep
— OCD - obsessions and compulsions are treated with Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP)
— Phobias and avoidance are treated with Exposure therapy.
— Where there is a gap between your choices and you values ACT is a helpful framework to explore.
— ACT can be helpful in treating grief, loss & chronic illness.
HOW THEY FIT TOGETHER IN THERAPY
CBT is the parent. It's the most-studied talking therapy out there, and the foundation underneath the others. The core idea is straightforward: what you think, what you feel, and what you do all feed into each other in loops — and shifting any one of them shifts the others. CBT gives you the tools to spot those loops and start changing them.
ERP — Exposure and Response Prevention — is a specific approach within the CBT family, mainly used for OCD. It's not just "facing your fears" in the general sense people often mean — it's a careful, step-by-step method that often goes against your instincts, designed to break the cycle between intrusive thoughts and the things you do to make them go away. If you have OCD, this is the approach with the most evidence behind it.
ACT — Acceptance and Commitment Therapy — sits a half-step alongside. Where CBT helps you change the loops, ACT asks a different question: what do you actually want your life to be about, and what's getting in the way? Especially useful when what you're dealing with isn't really going to be solved — only lived with, ideally well.
The three cognitive approaches lend helpful aspects to therapy
"In therapy, I draw on a range of approaches, tailoring treatment so that it is in line with the research. Certain approaches have been found to be more effective than others for certain problems”
ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT
A brief overview of each approach
No single therapy fits every person or every problem. I'll suggest, talk through, and adjust based on what's most useful — these are the frameworks I lean on most.
Why Schema Therapy is my Primary Modality
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. We map the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behaviours — then work to gently shift them. CBT has a range of strategies that help people to challenge patterns of avoidance, and break cycles that fuel mental health difficulties an prevent enjoyment in life.
CBT
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
ERP
Exposure & Response Prevention
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. We map the loops between thoughts, feelings, and behaviours — then test and gently shift them. This therapy breaks the cycle associated with OCD that can be debilitating and increases anxiety over time. Those with OCD often respond well to this therapy, which I tend to blend with schema therapy and ACT.
ACT
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. We clarify what genuinely matters to you, learn to make room for hard feelings rather than fight them, and take small, deliberate steps toward the life you want. This approach is helpful for situations …
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Related areas of support
SERVICE
Trauma & Abuse Recovery
APPROACH
EMDR
APPROACH
Schema Therapy
Support is here when you are ready
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