Sonia Westwood
CBT & EMDR Psychotherapist
Sonia Westwood
CBT & EMDR Psychotherapist
Pronouns: She/Her
Sonia believes developing a trusting relationship is fundamental to any therapeutic journey. She offers a safe, collaborative and compassionate environment, to support clients in achieving meaningful change in their lives. Sonia’s aim in therapy is to support individuals to become healthier in their mental wellbeing and develop resilience for their own, long term mental health self-management.
Sonia has over 20 years experience working in a variety of different adult mental health settings, within both the NHS and private sector. She has an extensive experience of delivering psychological therapy for a wide range of mental health problems. With a background working in addiction and substance misuse treatment, Sonia’s specialist interest is working with those suffering with trauma of any kind. Sonia is a fully accredited member of the British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing therapy (EMDR) Europe. She a qualified Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) teacher and draws upon Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) to tailor treatment to each individual’s needs and goals.
Sonia’s aim in therapy is to support individuals to become healthier in their mental wellbeing and develop resilience for their own, long term mental health self-management.
Sonia’s areas of specialism include:
Addictions - Substance
Anxiety
Anxiety - Stress
Anxiety - Agoraphobia
Anxiety - Generalised (GAD)
Anxiety - Death
Anxiety - Health
Anxiety - Panic / Panic Attacks
Anxiety - Performance
Anxiety - Social
Anxiety - Phobias
Emetophobia (Specific Fear of Vomit)
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Depression - Low Mood
Carer Problems
Low Self-Esteem
Perfectionism
Procrastination
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
Sonia can also work with:
Addictions - Pornography / Sex
Addictions - Gaming / Gambling / Other
ADHD
Anxiety - Separation
Anxiety - Fears of abandonment
Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)
Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Body Image Problems
Chronic Fatigue / ME
Dementia
Depression - Major
Pregnancy, Prenatal, Postpartum
Depression - Seasonal Affective Disorder
Self Harm
Eating Disorders - Anorexia & Bulimia
Eating Disorders - Over Eating & Weight Loss
Family Issues - Blended families
Parenting Issues
Menopause
Grief / Bereavement / Loss
Miscarriage
Hoarding
LGBTQI+ Related Issues
Gender Identity Issues
Loneliness
Narcissistic personality disorder
Personality Disorders
Problem with telling lies
Pain management
Health conditions - Acute / Long Term
Health Condition - Cancer
Skin/Hair picking (tricotillomania / dermatillomania)
Sleep - Problems
Sleep - Insomnia
Tinnitus
Relationship - Attachment issues
Relationship - Codependency
Relationship - Communication difficulties
Relationship - Doubt in relationship
Relationship - Infidelity, affairs & betrayals
Relationship - Intimacy
Relationship - Separation & Divorce
Career Coaching
Life transitions
Work - Bullying
Work - General Problems
Work - Redundancy
Work - Stress
Long COVID
Anger
Menstrual Health
Therapy models & approaches Sonia can use in her practice:
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
BABCP Accredited CBT Therapist
Exposure Response Prevention (ERP)
Mindfulness
Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing (EMDR)
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT)
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
Sonia can work with:
Adolescents (16 - 18 Years)
Adults (19-65 Years)
Elderly (65+ Years)
Sonia’s Qualifications
BABCP accredited
Registered member BACP
EMDR Europe accredited
EMDR consultant in training.
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.