Mark De Freitas

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MBACP (Accred) Psychotherapy, CBT, DBT & Anxiety Management

About me


BACP Accredited CBT & DBT Psychotherapist (Since 2001)

I am an experienced Integrative Counsellor and Psychotherapist specialising in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT). I work with adults and young people who are struggling with anxiety, emotional overwhelm, low mood, or patterns in their thoughts, emotions, or relationships that feel difficult to change.

Often, people come to therapy feeling stuck or frustrated that, despite their best efforts, the same difficulties continue to return. Therapy helps you understand the psychological patterns maintaining these difficulties and, importantly, helps you develop practical skills to change them.

My approach is structured, supportive, and focused on helping you gain greater control over your emotional responses. As therapy progresses, most people experience greater emotional stability, clearer thinking, and increased confidence in their ability to manage challenges.

I can help you to:

regulate overwhelming emotions

reduce anxiety and emotional distress
change unhelpful behavioural and relational patterns
develop resilience and emotional stability
build lasting skills that support long-term change

I have worked across NHS services, Clinical Psychology, education, workplace mental health, and substance misuse settings. This experience allows me to tailor therapy to your individual needs, using evidence-based approaches with proven effectiveness.

An important part of my approach is supporting you in applying what you learn in therapy to your everyday life. Where appropriate, I provide guidance between sessions to help you practise and strengthen new skills. This helps ensure that therapy leads to meaningful and lasting change beyond the therapy room.

I aim to provide a professional, supportive, and collaborative environment where you can develop the skills needed to overcome difficulties and move forward with greater clarity, confidence, and emotional balance.

I offer both short-term structured therapy and longer-term work, depending on your needs.

Appointments.

I will usual arrange an initial appointment with you, either in person or online.

This is an opportunity for us to discuss your reasons for seeking therapy, and to see if we both feel that I am the right therapist for you to work with. Following our initial appointment we will usually agree a schedule of appointment. The usually pattern for appointments is to meet weekly, on the same day and time each week. We will periodically review our work together and assess how we are progressing. Therapy normal ends when we both feel the time is right.

I initially trained as an Integrative therapist, training in Cognitive Behavioural (CBT), Humanistic and Psychodynamic therapies. My therapeutic approach is Existential/Humanistic. The focus of which isn’t solely to alleviate the difficult aspects of life, but to make life happier, richer and more fulfilling. To find a way for you to live with greater purpose and direction.

Training, qualifications & experience

BACP Accredited Psychotherapist

Dialectical Behavioural Therapy(DBT) Diploma (Distinction)

Advanced Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Practice (University of Warwick)

Diploma in Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy

Diploma in Integrative Counselling (University of Warwick)

Member organisations

Registered / Accredited

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.

BACP
British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP)

BACP is one of the UK’s leading professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy with around 60,000 members. The Association has several different categories of membership, including Student Member, Individual Member, Registered Member MBACP, Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Accred) and Senior Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Snr Acccred). Registered and accredited members are listed on the BACP Register, which shows that they have demonstrated BACP’s recommended standards for training, proficiency and ethical practice. The BACP Register was the first register of psychological therapists to be accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). Accredited and senior accredited membership are voluntary categories for members who choose to undertake a rigorous application and assessment process to demonstrate additional standards around practice, training and supervision. Individual members will have completed an appropriate counselling or psychotherapy course and started to practise, but they won’t appear on the BACP Register until they've demonstrated that they meet the standards for registration. Student members are still in the process of completing their training. All members are bound by the BACP Ethical Framework and a Professional Conduct Procedure.

Accredited register membership

British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy
Accredited Register Scheme

The Accredited Register Scheme was set up in 2013 by the Department of Health (DoH) as a way to recognise organisations that hold voluntary registers which meet certain standards. These standards are set by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).

This therapist has indicated that they belong to an Accredited Register.

British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy

Areas of counselling I deal with

Other areas of counselling I deal with

Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT), is a type of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy(CBT). DBT is used to help people develop a set of skills that research shows to help improve a wide range of behavioural and psychological issues. DBT can be used to help with mood disorders, such as, anxiety, anger or depression. DBT is effective in helping people who experience problematic habitual behaviours, such as, substance misuse, OCD, eating disorders or self harming. DBT can also be used to help those experiencing relationship difficulties. DBT is effective because it focuses on developing skills associated with health and well-being, as opposed to merely symptom reduction. DBT is a very practical system of working to resolve personal difficulties.

Fees

£60.00 - £70.00

Health Insurance/EAP

  • WPA

Additional information

Psychotherapy - £60

Anxiety Management- £60

DBT - £70

Package of 4 sessions of DBT - £ 260

When I work

I offer 50 minute face-to-face appointments daytime/evening in Moseley. I also offer telephone or online appointments.

Further information

My areas of special interest are working with stress and anxiety disorders such as: Anxiety, low mood, panic attacks, general anxiety disorders, OCD, phobias, work related stress, sleep disorders, eating disorder, health issues, and addiction.

Stress is the bodies’ natural response to feeling under pressure. It is useful in motivating us to achieve what life requires of us at home, work and in the other areas of our lives. Unfortunately, in excess it can have the reverse affect making us feel anxious, which is harmful to our well-being.

In therapy I will help you to understand the cause of your stress and how to manage your anxiety. You will develop practical skills with which you can reverse the damaging effects of your anxiety. This will enable you to live with greater peace of mind and restore balance to your body and mind.

Although anxiety is made up of the same component parts, we each experience it in our own unique way. The degree to which we experience the different recognizable components is often used as a guide to categorising types of anxiety, such as OCD, phobias or work related stress.

Anxiety affects our body while simultaneously affecting us emotionally, psychologically and behaviourally. When we feel anxious it affects all aspects of our being and our ability to function. If we experience frequent anxiety it can have a profound affect on the quality of our lives.

The physical affects of anxiety can disturb our sleep pattern and appetite, and in the long term may lead, to conditions like Insomnia and digestive problems, lack of appetite, sickness and IBS. The physical affects of anxiety can also make us feel tired or lethargic. Some people feel restless when they are anxious which can lead to exhaustion, which is a common feature of Work Related Stress.

The emotional aspects of anxiety can make us feel insecure, uncomfortable, overwhelmed, or threatened. This can lead to changes in our behaviour, such as Social Anxiety, when we avoid anxiety provoking social situations. Or compulsive behaviours (OCD) were we repeat certain behaviours in a futile attempt to manage our anxiety. We can experience Health Anxiety, the persistent concerns about our or other people’s health, which can lead to excessive hygiene rituals, research about health conditions and unnecessary medical appointments.

The psychological affect or General Anxiety, can make us worry excessively, have intrusive thoughts, and find ourselves unable to let go. This can lead people to blame themselves for how they feel and can result in Low-Self-Esteem or Depression or Depressive Anxiety, which is a combination of feeling sad and anxious.

The behavioural aspect of anxiety can lead to us trying to avoid the unpleasant affects of anxiety through avoidant behaviours or Addiction to alcohol or drug misuse. Or engaging in other excessive avoidant behaviours like over eating, phone use, shopping or gambling.

The Well Health Centre, 89 Institute Road, Birmingham, West Midlands, B14 7EU

Type of session

In person
Online
Phone

Types of client

Young people (13-17)
Adults (25-64)
Older Adults (65+)
Families
Groups
Organisations
Employee Assistance Programme

Key details

DBS check

In England and Wales, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS, formerly known as CRB) carry out criminal records checks for individuals working with vulnerable groups, such as children. To find out more, visit gov.uk , or contact this professional directly

Wheelchair user access
Wheelchair user access

Wheelchair-accessible premises should have step-free access for wheelchair users and individuals who are unable to climb stairs. If a Counsellor's premises aren't step-free, they may offer alternative services such as telephone/web-based appointments, home visits, or meeting clients in different location, so you can choose the option that suits you best.

You can contact the Counsellor to discuss the options available.

Under the Equality Act 2010 service providers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that individuals with disabilities can access their service. You can read more about reasonable adjustments to help you to access services on the CAB website.

Online platforms

FaceTime
Microsoft Teams
Whatsapp
Zoom
Mark De Freitas
Mark De Freitas