Robert William Hawkes BSc(Hons) /PgDip CBT/ DBT/ Mindfulness Teacher

Training, qualifications & experience

• My background in health care

• In 1989 I started out on a Youth Training Scheme (YTS) in the area of community care, oddly, in the very building where I currently provide Psychotherapy. I was then employed as a health care assistant (HCA) in 1990, working with the elderly, then moving to acute medicine at North Tees General Hospital in Stockton.

• In 1994 I was drawn to mental health, working with individuals with acute needs on an inpatient ward at North Tees. Then, in 2000 I started university and trained as an Occupational Therapist (OT) when qualifying in 2003 I set up a OT therapy service within the NHS for in patients with mental health needs.

• In 2008, I decided to move into Primary Care Mental health, working closely with GPs, who referred patients for treatment with depression and anxiety. This is when I became really interested in psychotherapy.

• In 2011 I retrained as Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist with MIND and worked in the local Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) service, Hartlepool branch.

• Then I moved to Secondary Care mental health (Sedgefield  Affective Disorders) within the community as a psychological therapist in 2014, providing psychological therapies. During this period I trained to deliver Dialectical Behavioural Psychotherapy (Skills Group and individual). More recently, I qualified to teach and deliver Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) in a group format, or individually.

• Having now moved fully into private practice I can use my vast wealth and knowledge of mental and physical ill health from a wide and varied number of settings to treat you in a highly flexible way. I am deeply passionate about delivering the highest standard of care and in 2016 I won a People's Choice Award whilst working with Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust.

Other areas of counselling I deal with

Borderline Personality Disorder

Substance misuse

Transgender

Gay

Bisexual

Lesbian

Suicide

Confidence Building

Improving Self-worth

Further information

I am registered with the Health Care and Professions Council (HPCP)- Occupational Therapist (OT). This is an independent, UK-wide regulatory body responsible for setting and maintaining standards of professional training, behaviour and health. Check my details here- http://hpc-uk.org/

Fully accredited with the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (UK lead organisation). Check my details here- http://www.cbtregisteruk.com/Default.aspx

Currently, I am a member of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists, who set the professional and educational standards for the occupational therapy profession and represent the profession at national and international levels. RCOT plays a crucial role in promoting the profession and meeting the professional needs of occupational therapy staff in the UK.