Dr Craig Griffiths
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Are you feeling overwhelmed, stuck, or simply longing for a safe place to explore your emotions? Taking the first step toward therapy is an act of immense courage and self-compassion. It's a profound choice to prioritise your emotional well-being and allow yourself to be seen, heard, and understood. Therapy offers a unique opportunity to embrace vulnerability - a quality that fosters healing, growth, and deeper self-awareness. Sharing your inner thoughts and feelings may feel daunting at first, bit it is through this openness that transformation begins.
If you want to take this brave first step towards a more fulfilling, connected, and empowered version of yourself, reach out today, and let's begin a journey on your terms, at your pace, and with support you deserve. You are worth it.
I am Craig, a chartered clinical psychologist practicing with the NHS and in a private capacity. I have completed more than 13 years of study in psychology and psychotherapy, and have been working in the field of mental health for 14 years. My specialism is in assessing and treating mental health difficulties in adults, and I have a lot of experience working with people who find themselves in complex situations involving, for example, neurodiversity, psychosis, complex emotional and relational needs (sometimes called personality difficulties), substance use and addiction, complex trauma, social disadvantage, and family or systemic problems. I have also expertise in children and adolescent mental health services, having worked in CAMHS for three years.
If you were to choose me as your therapist, our focus will initially be to co-create a reflective, empathic, validating, and non-judgmental space as a foundation for discussing and exploring the situation you wish to address. If what you want is to talk freely about things that have happened or are happening, that will be fine. Otherwise, we could clarify what it is you want to get out of therapy, take measurements, set targets, and track progress towards them. My desire is to adapt the therapeutic space to help you make progress towards what you want, how you want.
If change is your goal, the process will involve us collaborating to create a 'formulation'. A formulation is a shared understanding of what has been happening, how the situation developed, what may be keeping things from getting better, and what resources (in your life and in you) you have to draw upon for making positive changes. As part of this process, we may talk about relationships, issues, and situations from your past. This may seem daunting at first, but we will only go so far as we need to for pursuing your goals, and we will take care to go at a pace that is comfortable to you.
It can help to think of therapy as a laboratory in which we test out new ways of being in the real world. If something doesn't work, we will try to understand what went wrong, revise our formulation if necessary, and try again. I will be there to support and encourage you throughout, and will respect your boundaries and limitations.
Clinical psychologists are trained to doctoral level in mental health service delivery. Our knowledge-base is intentionally both broad and in-depth, covering a wide range of clinical presentations and psychological models for alleviating distress. A word you'll often see used is 'integrative,' meaning that a therapist tailors the best feature of many psychological models to the specific needs of each individual person. Where appropriate, we may discuss using such an approach, but I may also recommend a single-modal approach where best-practice evidence suggests that will be most likely to help bring you to where you want to be. I typically make primary use of a cognitive behavioural therapy approach.
Thank you for taking the time to look through my profile. If you would like to talk with me to find out more, please get in touch for a free, 15-minute telephone consultation.
Training, qualifications & experience
I have worked for the NHS in mental health services since 2010. I achieved my doctorate in 2018. and since then have practiced as a clinical psychologist in both child and adult services.
I have particular experience in working with people who experience problems associated with: anxiety, depression (including long-term and severe depression), psychosis, fluctuating moods and bipolar disorder, panic, agoraphobia, specific phobias, social anxiety, worry and generalised anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, adjustment to and management of physical health problems, single-event and complex trauma reactions (including PTSD), low self-esteem, addiction, self-harm, suicidal ideation, attachment, and relationship difficulties (as individuals, couples, or families). You may be experiencing these kinds of difficulties alongside other issues, diagnosed or not, which impact upon your experiences; I have a lot of experience working with people who present with neurodiversity (e.g., ADHD or autism), or with complex emotional and relational needs (often attracting diagnoses of personality disorder).
Relevant qualifications:
- Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy) (Leicester University)
- Postgraduate Certificate in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Psychosis and BiPolar Disorder (PGCert CBTp&b) (Oxford University)
- Postgraduate Certificate in Low-Intensity Psychological Interventions (PGCert LIPI) (Birmingham University)
- Bachelor of Science (Honours) - Psychology and Criminology (BSc) (Keele University)
- Foundation in family therapy (Leicester University)
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy top up training for supervisors (Oxford University)
Member organisations
school Registered / Accredited
Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.
The HCPC are an independent, UK-wide health regulator. They set standards of professional training, performance and conduct for 16 professions.
They keep a register of health professionals who meet their standards, and they take action if registered health professionals fall below those standards. They were created by a piece of legislation called the Health Professions Order 2001.
Registration means that a health professional meets national standards for their professional training, performance and conduct.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Therapies offered
Fees
£80.00 - £110.00
Additional information
Therapy appointments for individuals are 50 minutes and charged at £80 per hour.
Therapy appointments for couples are 50 minutes and charged at £110 per hour.
When I work
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Evening clinics are 6pm - 8pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Please contact to check availability.
Further information
I currently work both in the NHS and privately, and therefore my availability currently falls outside of typical office hours. I am able to offer appointments online or via telephone only.
Please email me or text/call.
