meganedwardscbt@gmail.com 
www.meganedwardscbt.com
www.meganedwardscbt.com
Do you feel overwhelmed by your problems at the moment?
You might be experiencing problems with stress and anxiety for example panic attacks or you might feel really low and find that you have lost all enjoyment in life? Perhaps you have noticed that your difficulties are affecting your relationships with people you care about and you've begun to spend more and more time on your own?
At times like this, it can be very difficult to find a way forward. We don't feel able to share our problems with family and friends and we end up feeling stuck in a vicious circle of self critical or frightening thoughts. This can stop us from finding solutions to our problems and make us feel more and more isolated and alone.
CBT is a talking therapy developed by Dr Aaron Beck in 1979 used to help people experiencing a wide range of psychological and mental health difficulties. The basis of CBT is how people think affects how they feel and how they behave.
Using a CBT approach we will work together to make sense of how you are thinking and feeling about yourself. In particular we look to see how these thoughts are making you behave, when we are anxious or depressed we often think and act very differently from how we would normally and in ways that may feel helpful to begin with but actually keep our problems going.
CBT therapy will help you to stand back from your problems and to find new ways of reacting to and dealing with challenging situations.
CBT will help you to make sense of overwhelming problems by breaking them down into smaller parts. This makes it easier to see how problems are connected and how to begin to make change; we will map out your problem and look at new ways of understanding it and of coping with it differently.
In doing this, this often results is a major improvement in how you feel and live your life. You will also be equipped with new skills for dealing with any future problems.
CBT has been shown to be effective for treating a range of problems and difficulties.
I am highly skilled and experienced in treating the following conditions:
Compassion Focussed therapy was developed by Professor Paul Gilbert. It is often referred to as 'third-wave' CBT. For some people, CBT therapy is really difficult because they feel a strong sense of shame and are highly self-critical. This impacts on their ability to be able manage strong emotions and physical sensations, this can make working with thoughts really difficult.
Using this approach, we explore how we have evolved to develop the difficulties we are facing, we will make sense of this together, helping you to understand the patterns that have developed for you, and addressing the blocks that make you feel stuck and unable to change.
Compassion Focussed Therapy helps us to recognise that none of this is our fault, but enables us to have the courage to undertake compassion to work with these difficulties and to make a commitment to take responsibility in a more compassionate way, to bring about the changes you want to make in your life.
For more information on this approach, please look at this UK website:
and also, based in Ireland:
www.irishcentreforcompassionfocusedtherapy.com
It is really important that you receive therapy from someone who is appropriately trained and accredited and in whom you trust.
CBT has become increasingly popular over the last few years and as a result of this demand, some therapists who have limited training in CBT are calling themselves CBT therapists, even though they do not have the appropriate training. It is therefore important when choosing a CBT therapist, to establish what type of training they have had. Many therapists have covered some aspects of CBT during their training, but this does not qualify them as CBT practitioners.
For a list of Compassion Focused Therapists, please follow this link:
For a list of recognised CBT practitioners and to find out more about CBT, please visit the Irish Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (IABCP) website.
IABCP is a branch of the British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP).
Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy Ireland (CBPI).
CBPI are members of Irish Council for Psychotherapy (ICP) - the umbrella body for Psychotherapy in Ireland.
I am a fully qualified CBT practitioner and have completed the Post Graduate Diploma in Cognitive Therapy at Manchester. I have over thirty years of experience of working with people experiencing mental health problems. I am BABCP Accredited as a practitioner, supervisor and trainer. I am also CBPI accredited and registered with the Irish Council for Psychotherapy (ICP). I have provided therapy for many years to people from all walks of life. I have also supervised other therapists and trained students to become qualified CBT therapists.