CBT For Social Anxiety

I came to Judy when I found myself with increasing anxiety, problems with sleeping and lack of appetite. I felt like my head was a muddle of negative thoughts and while this hadn’t been triggered by one particular event, I knew that it was being antagonised by workplace stress and conflict, as well as a lifelong lack of self-confidence. I immediately connected with Judy who listened patiently. I knew I wanted to understand why I think like this, but ultimately I wanted to move forward with practical techniques to help me cope better. Judy helped me firstly understand my anxiety, she also made me realise that I wasn’t alone in the way I think. We recognised my triggers and my responses to situations, but also talked through some previous experiences which had shaped my mindset. We developed techniques to help me cope better, rebuilt my confidence and I can honestly say I have felt like a different person ever since. If like me, you are reading these reviews and recognise your own thoughts and feelings, go ahead and start a course of therapy, I couldn’t recommend Judy more highly.

Jess is absolutely fantastic. She supported me throughout my rather tough times. I honestly don’t know how I would’ve pulled through without her. She is very easy to open up to and she understands in depth what I’m going through. I’ve always looked forward to our sessions. She went above and beyond to help me feel secure and reassured me during times I needed it. Thank you so much Jess!!

Amanda was able to help me think through a lot of thoughts that made me feel extremely stuck and hopeless at the time. It’s not a quick fix but with the will to put in mechanisms that Amanda gave me and realisations that I was able to have through therapy, I am doing much better and am able to cope with my anxiety and OCD a lot better. 

I believe the whole experience was a process but one that I will continue with confidence. Amanda was extremely understanding throughout and approached my issues in a way that made me feel heard as she understood the mechanics of my thought process. I will definitely contact KlearMinds again in the future if I feel I need to reach out again. Thank you.

Carmen has deep empathy for her clients, actively listening to you and truly understanding what you said and unsaid. She creates a space for you to be vulnerable without being judged, develops a safe and trusting relationship to allow you sharing worries, thoughts and feelings. She understands your needs and support you through personal challenges.

Throughout the journey, you will be able to be aware of what you have been neglected and explore a new way to process things from another perspective. Personally, Carmen helped me to realize the importance of having self-love, guided me to set the healthy boundaries and for once in my life I am truly looking after myself gently.

Working with Paul was fantastic. As an expat transitioning to life with London, my days were filled with anxiety in navigating newness in every aspect of life & missing my life back in my home country. Paul is incredibly attentive and a great listener, and he was able to help me navigate this new experience. By the time we wrapped up, the amount of progress I made surprised even me! Couldn’t recommend Paul enough.

I didn’t really know whether counselling would help when I first went to see Maggie. All I knew was that I was feeling increasingly isolated and unhappy, anxious about the future and fed up with the way my life was going. All that changed over the next few months as Maggie helped me on my journey towards understanding myself and why I reacted to people and situations in the way I did. Eventually, as I began to feel reconnected to people again, I learned to value myself, be proud of my achievements and even feel excited about the future! I saw that it was possible to be alone but not be lonely, to be sad without being depressed, and discovered that many people feel afraid, they just deal with their fear in different ways.

Maggie was patient, perceptive and incredibly supportive throughout and each week I grew stronger, more empowered and liberated thanks to her skill and expertise. She has made a big difference to my life and for that I will always be grateful.

I found my sessions with Maggie immensely helpful. Maggie’s approach is not the least bit intimidating and immensely practical in nature. She helped me to identify the issues which cause me anxiety and to find techniques which enabled me to deal with them as they arose. I now feel I have the tools necessary to deal with the various stresses in my life and that I can adapt these tools to suit any situation I am presented with in the future.

This Financial Analyst and working mother had to deal with redundancy, a difficult new job, relationship challenges, child rearing and her own history of being unsupported and bullied in the past. Here’s what she says:

I started to see Maggie for ways to help me deal with old patterns of thoughts which lead to increased levels of stress and low confidence. She really helped me understand the roots of my thinking, how things had changed through time and ways in which I could shape my thoughts differently and break free of my old patterns. As a result, my stress levels have vastly improved and I have a very different outlook on life. I have also been able to break away from old patterns of thoughts which has been very positive in helping me deal with new situations. Maggie has a great ability to be empathetic. She is a great listener and can tailor therapy sessions to your needs and how you can best work through your sessions.

I found my time in therapy with Judy a very positive experience. I had therapy with Judy for about a year and a half. I suffer from generalised anxiety, social anxiety, depression and porn addiction. I tried therapy about ten years ago and it helped me considerably, but I had fallen back into old thinking patterns and forgotten many of the tools I learned.

I tried other therapists a couple of times for several months which didn’t help, but I could tell in the first session Judy was likely to be able to help me. It’s important to find the right therapist for you.

The things I found most helpful about therapy with Judy were:

I felt comfortable talking about very personal things without feeling judged. Talking about my thoughts made me more conscious of them and enabled me to figure out why I felt anxious and/or depressed. With Judy’s help and a different perspective, I was able to challenge negative thoughts and break down problems or issues I faced and come up with a wide range of possible solutions. This process made me feel like a weight was lifted, helped me make much better life decisions and gave me more confidence to go through with things I wanted to do instead of being too scared.

I learned many techniques I could draw upon if I started to feel down or anxious. Having these tools made my emotions feel more manageable. I started to feel more in control and self-sufficient when dealing with negative thoughts and emotions, though this took time and practice.
Learning about the nervous system and how anxiety works helped me understand how I could interrupt the vicious cycle of anxiety. The extra support therapy gave me helped me to feel less isolated and alone with my problems.

The changes I’ve made in my life since starting therapy have made me feel more aligned with myself and significantly increased my levels of happiness. In addition to therapy, I’ve tried medication (sertraline) which I think has made a big difference too. The combination of these two approaches has worked well for me.

It’s not that everything is amazing all the time, I still have anxiety issues but nowhere near as intensely and when I do experience anxiety, it doesn’t bother me as much. I also don’t get the catastrophic lows that I frequently used to experience. I’m happier, more positive and optimistic, I have closer relationships with my family, my feelings of loneliness have almost gone entirely and I’m pursuing a career I feel passionate about. I’m able to look forward to things again and enjoy social situations with good friends. For these reasons, I would recommend therapy with Judy.

I’m still a work in progress but I’ve noticed a big improvement in my life and how I feel.

I guess like most people, I was very nervous about starting therapy. This was the first time I had tried it and to be honest, I didn’t know where to start or what to expect. Before I even started my sessions, the Klearminds Team were extremely welcoming and made me feel at ease immediately. I didn’t feel pushed to make decisions and it was made clear to me that finding the right therapist was a 2-way decision; if I didn’t feel comfortable then that was ok and we’d explore other therapists. After and initial chat, I ended up having sessions with Maggie…which is where my outlook changed. I struggled with anxiety around eating. I immediately felt at ease with Maggie and although change didn’t happen in that moment, the gradual progression I was making was clearly evident. I am in a much better space now and couldn’t have done that without Maggie. Not only did she help me sort through my thoughts but has equipped me going forward, in all aspects of my life. For anybody thinking about starting therapy, I would say that only good things can come from it and taking those first steps with the team at Klearminds will be one of the best decisions you make.

I had sessions with Paul throughout the pandemic which was an extremely challenging time for me. I struggled to cope with the negative emotions that arose from the end of a long-term relationship as well as the feelings of anxiety, isolation and loneliness being in lockdown by myself.

Paul was so easy to talk to and provided me with the kind, caring and empathetic ear
that I needed during significant life changes and the intense emotions that came with it. Initially, I felt quite anxious being so emotionally vulnerable with a man, but Paul helped me work through that fear and anxiety, and I soon felt safe opening up during our sessions.

Paul is incredibly kind, supportive, patient and empathetic. He’s also sharp and alert which was helpful during my many rants and tangents – he really helped keep me on course. Our sessions had a huge impact on my life; I quit smoking, I take better care of myself, I am more emotionally and financially stable, and I am in a secure relationship. Paul would give me full credit for all of that, but I owe a great deal to our sessions.

I highly recommend working with Paul and I have his contact details neatly stored if I need a little extra emotional support in the future. Thank you Paul.

Working with Jess has been so helpful for my recovery journey. I was experiencing a worsening of my mental health during pregnancy and Jess really helped me to manage my anxiety better. I also learned an incredible amount about myself and gained new insights, even though I had been in therapy for years before with different therapists. The approach that Jess took allowed me to dig deeper and truly understand myself, my thoughts and my behaviours. I really appreciate her warm and supportive approach, which made talking about difficult topics so much easier. I feel that I have a new perspective on life and look forward to the future.

I reached out to KlearMinds due to a very intense feeling of anxiety and depression which had been going on for months. I was then working with Jess to help me overcome this, and I cannot speak highly of the care and tools I was given to move forward and positively. The sessions were very opening, as well as homework for me to practice and work on whilst not at a session – which I believe was pivotal in helping me overcome this down state. Jess’s experience and knowledge was very welcoming and she was very reassuring in helping me understand that this would all pass – which at sometimes I felt as though it would not. I always felt safe and unjudged, regardless of what my mind was thinking which helped me tremendously and gave comfort. I hope to use the tools provided by Jess throughout my life, but if things ever do take a turn again I would not hesitate to reach back out and continue with the support I was provided.