Rex Woodhouse

Is your sense of confidence fragile? Are anxiety and worry running your life? Are you irritable or extra sensitive? Are you struggling to take risks? Is your internal chatter harsh and unforgiving? Maybe something shocking or traumatic has happened.

We all bring something unique into therapy, but the uncomfortable feelings we all experience are universal. Whatever the reason(s) might be, as an accredited NCPS Cognitive and Behavioral Therapist, I will bring the necessary tools and skills to help you unthread and confront their challenges. The space I create will be warm, compassionate, and thoughtful to reflect in. Additionally, I like to form strong relationships with the people I work with and enjoy seeing the progress they make.

Why CBT?

CBT is a great form of psychotherapy because it can be applied to a broad range of emotional challenges. Namely, it’s discovering and practicing psychological flexibility. A mindset that is resilient but also adaptable. It can learn to respond differently in the face of difficulty for its longer-term benefit. For example, tolerating and leaning into the fear of rejection rather than trying to avoid it altogether, might lead us to take a calculated risk that we otherwise wouldn't have done. Through nurturing this mindset and behavioural approach, we can come closer to cultivating the connection, fulfillment, and joy that we want in life.

What things can I bring to therapy?

There are some who might have an idea of what's wrong, "I just can't get out of these low moods," "I get so overwhelmed when I say a silly comment in a social setting," or "I'm struggling to deal with the pressure I'm under at work (or home/socially)," "I just get so irritated when my partner doesn't listen, and my reactions to it aren't normal," Others might want to be preventative, curious to learn skills and tools for better emotional resiliency. Or, maybe some are sensing a general lack of meaning, purpose, or satisfaction in their lives.

Some common themes I work with:

Anxiety and procrastination: Often, in order to overcome the very thing we fear, we must face it. However, anxiety drives us to minimise its feeling by actively avoiding the fear. For example, procrastination can be driven by the fear of failure. In order to avoid facing that possibility, we put off doing what we know is better done today to tomorrow. Although this brings an immediate sense of relief, it’s only temporary because it reinforces the belief you can’t cope with the possibility of failure. This worsens the initial fear, leading to a vicious cycle that is likely to result in further avoidance. In therapy, we learn to break the cycle by tolerating the anxiety and acting against the urge to avoid it. Over time, we show ourselves we can cope, and so self-belief and emotional resiliency grow.

Self-defeating & harsh inner voice: A lot of the time, we are our own worst enemy. Berating ourselves for having said that silly comment in front of new colleagues, or telling ourselves we should be performing better than we are. Maybe there was a silly comment, or you are capable of doing better, but where does it leave us by berating ourselves for it? In therapy, we learn to build an assertive and compassionate voice, that is wise and courageous in its kindness. It enables us to safely evaluate our setbacks, take learnings, and move on without dragging our self-worth through emotional turmoil.

Compare & despair: It’s within our nature to compare ourselves to our environment. However, if our self-worth is attached to our idea of success we become reliant on this external validation to feel adequate. Without that validation, i.e. falling short of our peers on similar career paths, our self-worth is undermined and we’ll feel despaired. In therapy, through a process of acceptance, we will challenge this dependency on external validation for us to feel adequate. We don’t have to like where we are right now, and we don’t have to stay here. Once we’ve accepted the reality (e.g. where we are versus our peers) and understood what is most meaningful and purposeful to us, the more effective we can be at taking action.

Relationships – intimate, family, social, and work: Relationships also come in many forms, and serve an important part to our existence. Learning to effectively manage them is challenging. From a foundational point of view, we encourage people to be there for themselves first most of the time, but not all of the time. It’s important we energise ourselves and act in self-interest in order to feed our self-belief. But, it’s essential this is pursued with flexibility, allowing the space for others’ joys and difficulties. In therapy, we learn what these boundaries are for you and how to communicate them effectively in order to get your needs met.

More themes...

• Stress
• Anxiety (Worry/dread/performance/social anxiety)
• Depression (Hopeless/helpless/failure/loss)
• low self-confidence/self-defeating/low self-esteem/harsh inner voice
• Loss of meaning, purpose, and satisfaction/feeling numb
• Struggles with body image/relationship to food/disordered eating
• Sensitivity/irritability/frustration/anger
• Relationship difficulties/endings
• Grief (death, loss of a relationship or opportunity)
• Chronic illness management
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)/Phobias/panic attacks

What if we could learn to hold our desires and fears with a degree of lightness or softness? By making room for both joy and difficulty, we can begin to drop the struggle and choose to do things differently for our longer-term benefit. 

If any of this resonates with you or you'd like to learn more, don't hesitate to get in touch to book an intro call.

I look forward to connecting :)

For more information, please also view:

My website rex-therapy.com, or

My profile at Barnsbury Therapy Rooms: https://barnsburytherapyrooms.com/therapists-north-london/cbt-therapy-in-islington-with-rex-woodhouse/

My profile at City Therapy Rooms:            https://citytherapyrooms.co.uk/therapists-city-of-london/cbt-therapy-with-rex-woodhouse/