Dr Nicola Thorne

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Counselling Psychologist, CPsychol, PgDip, AFBPsS
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No current availability

This professional has no current availability for new clients. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.

Benfleet, Essex, SS7
No current availability
No current availability

This professional has no current availability for new clients. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.

About me

About Me
I am a Counselling Psychologist and CBT Therapist. I have also trained in Behavioural Couples Therapy (BCT) and now offer EMDR. I am an Associate Fellow with the British Psychological Society and am registered with them as a Chartered Counselling Psychologist. I am also accredited with the BABCP and registered with the HCPC.

I am a driven and hard working practitioner, keen to facilitate change with my clients. I am an ethical practitioner and have regular supervision to ensure the safe care and progress for clients. Furthermore I attend regular activities to continue my professional development to keep me in line with developments in the field.

My specialism is in PTSD and I use Trauma Focused CBT or EMDR to address these difficulties. I also work with a range of anxiety disorders including OCD, Panic Disorder, Health Anxiety, Social Anxiety, Generalised Anxiety and phobias. I also regularly treat individuals who suffer with depression. I sadly also regularly work with individuals who have suffered abuse and domestic violence. I am also able to work with bereavement, pain, fibromyalgia, interpersonal difficulties, couples and much more. Please contact me to discuss your needs.

I am also a trained supervisor, so would be able to assist with any individuals requiring clinical supervision for CBT.

What is CBT, EMDR, Counselling and BCT?
CBT - This is a therapy that helps you understand the link between how you think, how you feel and what you do. The premise of CBT is to help you become your own therapist, so you develop your own tool box of strategies to use when you need them. CBT is a very active therapy, requiring work from the client outside of the session. A trauma-focused (T-CBT) approach is also used to help trauma symptoms and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). CBT works across all anxiety disorders mentioned above, and depression and has a good evidence for all and is recommended by NICE (The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence)

EMDR - This is an approach which works on using your eye movement to process difficulties. The effect from this approach has been found to be similar that what occurs in REM sleep (Rapid Eye Movement) wherein events are processed. EMDR has as strong evidence and research base for PTSD and is also very successfully used in some anxiety disorders. EMDR for PTSD is also recommended by NICE.

Counselling - I use an integrate approach using core person-centred values to help you reflect on your difficulties and what might be maintaining them.

BCT - This is purely an approach for couples. BCT is appropriate where problems within the relationship have caused mental health problems, or mental health problems from one/both individuals have caused problems in the relationship. This is a very effective therapy which focuses on the individuals, the couples, the wider family unit and the total environment as a whole.

How Counselling/Therapy can help you!

When we suffer with personal difficulties, it can feel very isolating. Therapy can create a safe, objective space to discuss these issues where you can feel heard and contained. From my side as your therapist, I will bring my experience and knowledge of varied skills and interventions to help you find a way forward. Importantly, therapy is designed around you, according to your needs.

I also work with couples where either difficulties have occurred as a consequence of problems in the relationship which impacts mental health problems, or where mental health problems have impacted the relationship. I was trained to deliver Behavioural Couples Therapy by Don Baucom, a prominent American Couples Therapist. Please call me to discuss what your needs are as a couple.

What to expect about your first session?

Importantly, the first session is all about assessing your difficulties and your needs in addition to having any questions you have answered. We will also discuss and jointly agree a treatment plan, which we will review regularly during therapy. As stated above, therapy is about devising a treatment plan specific to you, no course of therapy is ever the same! That will mean that we will discuss what model of therapy (CBT, EMDR, Counselling) is right for you. My job, which I take very seriously, is to enable you to gain what you need from therapy in the shortest time possible. This will obviously vary person to person, but my job is to enable you to manage independently of therapy - you might say to facilitate you in becoming your own therapist! I am always very happy to have a telephone conversation to discuss therapy and your needs before you book an appointment.

How Do I get Started?
1. Give me a call or drop me an e-mail. I am happy to discuss your needs prior to you deciding whether you want to book an appointment with me.
2. If you decide you want to meet me, we will book in an assessment session. At the end of that assessment session, you will again be asked whether you would like to continue your therapy with me. Remember, it is really important that you feel that you can get on with your therapist, as you will be talking about lots of difficult material.
3. During the first session we would have discussed appointments and the optimum frequency for you, your financial situation and your needs. We will then book appointments going forward on that basis.

Importantly, always let me know of any difficulties that you encounter, so I can work through these with you to help your therapy stay on track!

About my Clinic
I work from home in a quiet cut-de-sac. I have a clinic room in my back garden which is very tranquil. There is plenty of off-street parking and regular bus routes. You enter my clinic room via a side entrance which is made of paving slabs and cobblestone. There are a couple of small steps as you enter the side-entrance and one small step into the clinic room. I have found that all clients who use crutches are able to access easily. However, it would not be practical for wheelchair use. However, if you are disabled, please contact me to discuss a home visit, as I would be able to provide therapy in your home or via Skype! I try very hard to make sure I accommodate as many clients as possible, so please call me to see how I can facilitate your needs.

Training, qualifications & experience

My Qualifications and Experience.
I have completed a professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology, qualifying in 2010, becoming accredited in 2011. This was a very lengthy training, which meant I was very experienced by time that my Doctorate was Conferred in 2011.Keen to improve consistently, I also completed a Post-Graduate Diploma in CBT to further develop my skills, which I again completed in 2011. I then went onto train in Behavioural Couples Therapy, completing this in 2013. My latest venture, is in Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR) which has a large evidence base for PTSD and anxiety disorders.

I have worked across varied settings from primary care services to inpatient settings. I then settled in a career working with primary care mental health services known as IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Settings). I then progressed to a Senior Therapist wherein I supervised other members of staff and fulfilled other management requirements consistent with my role.

During 2013, I decided to split my time between being self-employed and employed. In March, 2016, I decided to become fully self-employed in order that I could become more flexible and meet the needs of private clients.

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.

BABCP
British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP)

The BABCP is the lead organisation for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in the UK. Membership is open to anyone with an interest in the practice, theory or development of CBT. BABCP also provides accreditation for CBT therapists. BABCP accredited members adhere to the Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics in the Practice of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies, and are willing to be scrutinised in this adherence as required.

BPS
British Psychological Society (BPS)

British Psychological Society

HCPC
Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)

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.

Accredited register membership

British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies
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 Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies

Photos & videos

Fees

Health Insurance/EAP

  • Aviva
  • Axa Health
  • BUPA
  • Cigna
  • WPA

Additional information

My fees are dependent on whether people seeking treatment via Insurance or privately. Fees will be disclosed upon discussions with the client. 

When I work

Mondays 8am to 9pm Tuesday 8 am to 9pm Wednesdays 8 am to 9pm Thursdays 8 am to 9pm Saturdays 8 am to 1pm Occasional Fridays, if client availability is restricted to this day.

Further information

I am also able to offer therapy via skype.

Benfleet, Essex, SS7

Type of session

In person
Online
Phone

Types of client

Young people
Adults
Older adults
Couples

Supervision

In person
Phone

I was trained at the Institute of Psychiatry to provide clinical supervision to CBT therapists.

View supervision profile

Social

Dr Nicola Thorne
Dr Nicola Thorne