Cognitive therapy in north London

Welcome to my website. I am a cognitive therapist with a private practice in East Finchley, north London. I can help with a wide range of problems including stress, anxiety, depression, relationship and parenting difficulties, anger issues, a lack of confidence or low-self esteem, phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder, addiction and eating problems such as overeating or binge eating disorder.

Having spent many years training in different approaches to counselling and psychotherapy I decided to focus on cognitive therapy, because it is proven to be the most effective way to tackle most psychological problems. It is a simple, common-sense approach that will help you feel better quickly and can also transform the unhelpful patterns and long-standing problems that cause difficulties in every area of your life. I am happy to work either short or long-term, depending on the issue you want to tackle.

Whatever problems you are currently facing, like everyone else you probably want to be happier and stronger, to feel calmer and more in control of your life. Cognitive therapy offers a highly effective way to help you achieve that, using easy-to-learn techniques I will teach you how to use yourself long after we stop working together. Many of these techniques are freely available on my website, so you can start using them right away.

Some problems can be solved with a short-term approach, while for more deep-rooted issues I will help you understand how early life experiences can affect you as an adult; why negative or unhelpful thoughts and beliefs lead to emotional difficulties; and, crucially, help you change your way of thinking so you feel better and life becomes easier and more enjoyable.

I'm also a certified cognitive-behavioural coach and offer a highly effective style of coaching which is based on CBT and approved by the British Psychological Society.

I am an associate member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and abide by their Ethical Framework.

And I am an affiliate member of the Association for Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy.

How I can help 

Although I can help with various issues, most people who come to see me are suffering from stress, depression or anxiety. If you are suffering from chronic stress you may feel deeply fatigued, irritable and unable to concentrate. You might be struggling to cope, feeling like everything is just too much at home or work. When people are stressed they suffer from psychological (feeling angry or depressed, negative or panicky thoughts), physiological (headaches, shortness of breath, racing heartbeat) and behavioural (being snappy with colleagues or family members, being unable to switch off or relax) symptoms – chronic stress makes life extremely unpleasant, so it's important to address it as soon as possible.

If you are depressed, you may have a hard time at work, in your relationships and as a parent – it casts a shadow over every moment of your day. Judging by all the research into depression – as well as my experience of helping dozens of people to recover from depression – I believe that no-one need suffer in silence; and that most people with depression can feel a great deal better with the right treatment, support and encouragement. If you are depressed, I would very much like to help – or do contact your GP, one of the many excellent mental health charities (such as Mind or the Depression Alliance) or another counsellor or therapist near you. 

If you are suffering from anxiety, day-to-day life may be a real struggle. You might have a hard time concentrating, making decisions or sleeping, have various physical symptoms and even panic attacks. But, like depression, anxiety can be treated with the right help and support. Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is proven to be the most effective approach for stress, depression and anxiety. Again, please contact me for help, talk to your GP or visit Anxiety UK.

I have also helped people with:

•Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)

•Various phobias, including agoraphobia

•A lack of confidence and low self-esteem

•Trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

•Test anxiety and fear of public speaking

•Divorce, relationship and parenting problems

•Redundancy, unemployment and financial difficulties

•Problems related to retirement and growing older

•Workplace bullying and other work-related problems

•Issues to do with anger and a lack of assertiveness

•Shyness and social anxiety

•Dependence on or addiction to alcohol, recreational or prescription drugs or gambling

•Binge eating disorder and overeating

Some of these problems are suitable for short-term therapy, while others need a slower pace and longer-term approach – I am happy to offer both.

My approach to therapy

My training has involved a number of different approaches to counselling and psychotherapy including humanistic, integrative, cognitive and mindfulness-based therapies, because I believe they all contain wisdom and have something unique to offer. As a  therapist I mainly use cognitive therapy techniques, but also draw from the best of the other approaches. This allows me to help you find solutions to whatever problems you are facing.

Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is the most effective way to relieve chronic stress, anxiety or depression. It's a short-term approach that will help you modify the negative thoughts and beliefs that are at the root of these problems. The great thing about CBT is that it starts helping quickly and you can learn a set of simple, common-sense techniques you can then use any time you run into difficulties.

Longer-term therapy will involve gaining a greater understanding of the difficulties in your past, usually stemming from childhood, that are causing you problems today. The focus of longer-term work depends on the issue you need to address, but often involves tackling the unhelpful beliefs and patterns of behaviour that cause difficulties in your life today. There is no time limit to this kind of work and no rush, so we will go at your pace.  

I also have a strong personal and professional interest in mindfulness meditation, which is increasingly recognised as an excellent way to tackle things like stress, anxiety, recurrent bouts of depression and even chronic pain. Mindfulness is now endorsed by the NHS and Mental Health Foundation, while compassion (another key Buddhist concept) is also becoming accepted as a useful antidote to a range of psychological problems.  

I see clients at my private practice in East Finchley, north London and work as part of a multidisciplinary team at the Ambition Health and Performance Clinic in Victoria. 

When I'm not working with clients, I spend my time writing. Before retraining as a therapist, I was a health journalist for over a decade, writing for most of the UK's newspapers and magazines; and I'm the author of Bipolar Disorder: the Essential Guide. With both my book and this website, my aim is to pass on the knowledge and self-help techniques that I think are most effective and helpful for a wide range of mental health problems. I also blog for the Huffington Post and am often quoted in the media on my specialist subjects. 

Testimonials

Here's what some of my clients have to say about working with me:

Where I work

Sessions are available from 8am-9pm on weekdays and 9am-5pm on Saturdays.

My private practice in East Finchley is based at East Finchley Consulting, 104D High Road, East Finchley, London N2 9EB. The practice is 200m from the East Finchley Northern Line station (10 minutes from Camden Town and 20 minutes from Euston, King's Cross and the West End) and is well served by local buses. It is within easy travelling distance of many areas of north London, such as Barnet, Finchley, Enfield, Hendon, Bounds Green, Crouch End, Highgate, Hampstead, Belsize Park, Hampstead Garden Suburb, Golders Green, Islington, Holloway, Archway, Tufnell Park, Kentish Town, Camden, Euston and King's Cross and has ample parking nearby.

I also see people at my home, which is 10 minutes' walk or a short bus ride from East Finchley tube station.

And I provide cognitive therapy as part of a multidisciplinary team at the Ambition Health and Performance Clinic in Victoria. To book a session there please call the clinic direct on 0207 630 5930 or visit www.ambitionfitness.com

Get in touch

If you would like to arrange an initial appointment, call me on 07766 704210, email dan@danroberts.com or get in touch via the Contact form.

All material copyright © Dan Roberts 2012. If you would like to reproduce any material from this site please get in touch.