Mary Ion

Online Anxiety Disorders Specialist

BABCP Accredited Cognitive Behavioural Therapist (CBT)

mary ion

Accredited Cognitive Behavioural Therapist & EMDR Therapist

Anxiety Disorders Specialist

Pronouns - She/Her

PG Dip, MSc, BA, RN (Mental Health)

Mary is an experienced and empathic UK based cognitive behavioural therapist who is fully accredited with the BABCP to work with people experiencing anxiety and depression. 

With extensive experience including work at the Centre of Anxiety Disorders and Trauma (CADAT) in London, Mary is hight trained and experienced in the treatment of anxiety disorders with the most evidence-based approaches.

CBT is recommended by NICE for these difficulties and is an effective and relatively brief therapy of between approximately 5-20 sessions depending on individual circumstances.

Mary has a particular interest and expertise in helping people who have experienced trauma to overcome their difficulties.

Mary has also undertaken Europe and UK accredited training in EMDR which she is also able to offer online. EMDR is a very effective treatment for people who have experienced trauma as recommended by NICE.

Mary is a specialist in the assessment and treatment of;

• Anxiety

• Anxiety - Stress

• Anxiety - Agoraphobia

• Anxiety - Generalised (GAD)

• Anxiety - Death

• Anxiety - Health

• Anxiety - Panic / Panic Attacks

• Anxiety - Performance

• Anxiety - Fears of abandonment

• Anxiety - Social

• Anxiety - Phobias

• Emetophobia (Specific Fear of Vomit)

• Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)

• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

• Body Image Problems

• Chronic Fatigue / ME

• Depression - Low Mood

• Depression - Major

• Pregnancy, Prenatal, Postpartum

• Eating Disorders - Over Eating & Weight Loss

• Parenting Issues

• Grief / Bereavement / Loss

• Miscarriage

• Low Self-Esteem

• Health conditions - Acute / Long Term

• Perfectionism

• Procrastination

• Sleep - Problems

• Sleep - Insomnia

• Relationship - Attachment issues

• Work - Bullying

• Work - General Problems

• Work - Stress

• Long COVID

• Menstrual Health

• Trauma - Childhood Trauma

• Trauma - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

• Trauma - Complex PTSD

• Trauma - Dissasociation

• Trauma - Road Traffic Accidents

• Trauma - Rape / sexual assalt

• Trauma - Childhood sexual abuse

Mary is highly experienced in all evidence based practices for all the listed disorders, including exposure response prevention (ERP) for the treatment of OCD.

Mary is also highly experienced in the treatment of;

• Anxiety - Separation

• Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

• Alexithymia - difficulty identifying/ expressing  emotions

• Bi-Polar Disorder

• Depression - Seasonal Affective Disorder

• Self Harm

• Eating Disorders - Anorexia & Bulimia

• Menopause

• Infertility

• Hoarding

• LGBTQI+ Related Issues

• Gender Identity Issues

• Loneliness

• Narcissistic personality disorder

• Personality Disorders

• Pain management

• Health Condition - Cancer

• Skin/Hair picking (tricotillomania / dermatillomania)

• Tinnitus

• Relationship - Codependency

• Relationship - Communication difficulties

• Relationship - Doubt in relationship

• Relationship - Infidelity, affairs & betrayals

• Relationship - Intimacy

• Relationship - Separation & Divorce

• Sexual dysfunction

• Career Coaching

• Life transitions

• Work - Redundancy

• Psychosis

• Anger

Therapy Models Mary is trained and experienced in, include:

• Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

• BABCP Accredited CBT Therapist

• Exposure Response Prevention (ERP)

• Mindfulness

• Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT)

• Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing (EMDR)

• Integrative Therapy

• Person-centred therapy

• Schema Therapy

• Solution Focused Therapy

Mary Works With:

• Adolescents (16 - 18 Years)                  

• Adults (19-65 Years)                   

• Elderly (65+ Years)                   

Feedback about therapy with Mary Ion

Mary's Warm and Empowering Approach to Therapy

“Mary is a very warm person and quickly put me at ease with a good rapport from the off. She explained EMDR thoroughly (without being too technical!) and identified some additional areas of focus before we started processing work, all while listened intently, encouraging and giving reassurance where I needed it. I was relieved not to feel like I was under the microscope, but rather like she was expertly guiding me through a process I had chosen to do. This was not only supportive but also empowering, and I come away with a genuine feeling of accomplishment, as well as some techniques that I will continue to practise.” Jo

Empowering Recovery with Mary Ion

“Mary Ion has just been amazing. It has been a highlight of the week seeing her. What she does is brilliant, and she's so professional yet completely approachable. In the space of three months, I have gone from not being able to leave my house to now, starting to get my life back together, and working with Mary has played a huge part in that recovery process. She would definitely be my first port of call should I need help again in the future.” Caitlin

Uncovering Solutions with Mary. A Testimonial to the Power of Online Therapy and Unwavering Support

“Online therapy has had such a positive impact on my day to day life. It really helped me understand the root cause of what was happening and what I needed to do about it. My therapist (Mary) was brilliant, I couldn’t have done it without all her support.” Mark

Transformative Healing with Mary. Embracing EMDR and the Flexibility of Compassionate Care

“Mary was amazing . I had no idea what EDMR was but she correctly assessed this was the right option for me. I was really surprised how well it worked. Mary was very flexible when family life got in the way and she was really gentle, kind and compassionate in the sessions” Annonymous

What is CBT?

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is an evidenced based & well researched talking therapy. It is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for many mental health problems.

It is most commonly used to treat anxiety and depression, but can be useful for many other mental and physical health problems.

CBT focuses upon how your thoughts and behaviours impact upon your emotions and physical symptoms.

CBT is collaborative treatment and typically involves doing homework tasks between appointments.

It aims to teach you to become your own therapist, teaching you tools so you can keep using the strategies and techniques you have learned after you have finished therapy.

What is EMDR?

EMDR Stands for Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing.

When a person experiences psychological trauma or highly stressful events, they are not always able to process the relevant information (i.e. thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations). As a result, they can end up getting “stuck” inside of them and can resurface later on, as if the person was still reliving the traumatic or stressful event.

EMDR aims to ‘process’ negative experiences or events which can subsequently improve emotional well-being and help to significantly reduce, but more often eliminate distressing symptoms and bodily sensations associated with the trauma.

In 2013, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has also acknowledged EMDR as being an effective treatment approach to psychological trauma and trauma-related disorders.

Mary’s professional Qualifications & Accreditations

• Registered Mental health Nurse :NMC 96B0744E

• MSc Mental Health Services Research

• Postgraduate Diploma in CBT (qualified December 2012)

• Accredited CBT Therapist (Full accreditation with BABCP since April 2014):130060

• EMDR Training with EMDR Academy. Levels 1,2,3.