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Cognitive Behavioural Therapist

“If I accept the other person as something fixed, already diagnosed and classified, already shaped by his past, then I am doing my part to confirm this limited hypothesis. If I accept him as a process of becoming, then I am doing what I can to confirm or make real his potentialities”,  Carl Rogers 1967. 

 

Valerie Barr – Cognitive Behavioural Therapist

For Individuals

Personal therapy can be the greatest gift we give to ourselves for ourselves. The therapy I provide is individual for you and your experience and will be in collaboration with you.  By this I mean we will work together to build a trusting relationship, which will allow you to explore the issues you wish to discuss in a confidential, safe and nurturing environment. We will work together to explore and implement positive changes in your life at a level and pace suitable to you and your thoughts and feeling.

For Groups

I can provide specific group work and emotional support tailored to the needs of the group’s requirements. We can explore issues and group dynamics to ensure the group develops in a cohesive and supportive manner.

Below is a list of the areas & Issues I work with –

  • Addiction
  • Adoption
  • Alcohol Abuse
  • Anger Management
  • Anxiety
  • Bipolar Disorder
  • Chronic Pain
  • Coping Skills
  • Confidence & Self Esteem
  • Depression
  • Emotional Abuse
  • Eating Disorders
  • Life Coaching
  • Life Transitions
  • Loss and Bereavement
  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
  • Pain Management
  • Relationships
  • Sexual Abuse
  • Sexual Addiction
  • Substance Abuse
  • Suicidal Ideation
  • Trauma and PTSD

About Me

I am an integrative Cognitive Behavioural Therapist, my interest in becoming a therapist developed within my work in Social Care and Trauma Informed Services. Throughout my career I have been privileged to work with a diverse range of individuals. I have provided emotional and practical support within many communities to individuals who have been the most inspiring and resilient individuals that I have been fortunate enough to meet.

Early on in my career I worked within the learning disability community. This was a life enhancing experience for me, it was here I first became aware all behaviour is a form of communication. For many people within the learning disability community visual behaviour is their only form of communication as some have limited verbal communication. I learned both negative and positive behaviour is a sign of a person’s emotional well-being and also a signal for the emotional distress they may be experiencing. On a personal level I also learned the learning disability community is the most non-judgemental community you could be welcomed into. Acceptance of who you are is a lesson we could all learn it is a beautiful trait which threads throughout the community

I later moved on to work in specific services within Community Justice and Trauma informed services which worked with individuals who experienced many challenges within their daily lives such as addiction, homelessness, complex mental health issues, self-harm, offending, loss and bereavement. Here I learned about Cognition’s our awareness of our experiences. Many of the individuals I met used negative behaviours and unhelpful coping mechanisms to express their inner feelings to ease their emotional pain. Throughout my work I was aware how important it is be heard we all want to have our life experiences validated, I met many people who had throughout their life’s had their emotional pain dismissed or minimised which added to their distress.

This led me to learn more about this thing, which we all have in common which is called being HUMAN! The reality of living within our heads can be a difficult experience at the best of times never mind if we have experienced any form of Trauma, Emotional Pain or are struggling to be within our day to day lives. Anxiety, Depression or any other form of emotional pain is a frightening and lonely experience no matter if you have plenty of support or no support.

In life we may have had similar experiences but our uniqueness as human beings mean we all recover from emotional pain in our own individual way. Some of us may get stuck in our story, others may need to revisit their story to make sense of their past. Some may just need to be heard to enable them to move onto the next stage of our life. Whatever you’re experience we can work together using various emotional tools to help you gain a better understanding of your thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Sometimes our experience can take our voice and we struggle to find the words or indeed make any sense of our experiences. Through working together I will provide a creative and holistic therapeutic approach which combines both visual and sensory tools to ensure you can communicate your experience at a level and pace you are comfortable with.

  • Relevant Qualifications
  • SCOTSCS Diploma in Counselling and Group work – A CBT Approach (Dip)
  • COSCA Certificate in Counselling Skills Qualification
  • PDA Managing Self and others
  • SVQ Promoting Independence

I am an experienced Trainer and have provided training in –

  • Safe TALK – Suicide Prevention
  • Supporting Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse
  • Sexual Health and Learning Disabilities

I currently deliver various Self Esteem, Well-being & Nutrition Workshops, including Retrain Your Brain – Mood Food which provides Psycho-education around anxiety and food. (Please visit our Workshop & Retrain YOUR Brain sections for further information)

Continued Professional Development

I attend Regular Clinical Supervision and also attend relevant training courses to ensure my Continued Professional Development.