This website or its third-party tools use cookies which are necessary to its functioning and required to improve your experience. By clicking the consent button, you agree to allow the site to use, collect and/or store cookies.
Please click the consent button to view this website.
I accept
Deny cookies Go Back

Openforwards: Counselling Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) Birmingham

Birmingham City-Centre Psychology Service offering Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), ACT, EMDR and Compassion-focused Therapy, professional training and well-being consultancy.

Get in touch

Call now to book an appointment:
Tel. 0121 523 1108

  • CBT & Counselling
    • CBT for Anxiety
    • CBT & Counselling for Depression
    • CBT & Counselling for Work-related Stress
    • CBT Therapy for Confidence Building & Self Esteem
    • Trauma-focused CBT Therapy after abuse or injury
    • Therapy for Marriage / Couples
  • Professional Training
    • An Introductory Training in Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)
    • Acceptance Commitment Therapy Training Level 2
    • ACT for Long-term Conditions
    • Therapist Wellbeing Training
    • ACT / CBT Supervision
    • Well-being Consultancy
  • Community
  • Meditations
  • FREE Articles
    • Podcast
    • About Therapy
    • weekly round-up
    • Mental Wellbeing & Self Care
      • Anxiety
      • Depression
      • Flashbacks Trauma & Trust
    • Relationships
    • Stress at Work
      • Burnout
    • Physical Health & Exercise
    • Personal Development & Growth
      • Confidence Building & Self Esteem
    • Family, Community & Prosocial Society
    • Training in ACT
      • Clinical Supervision
  • Team
  • Contact
  • Login
You are here: Home / About Therapy / What problems can therapy help me with?

July 3, 2020 by jim lucas

What problems can therapy help with

What problems can therapy help me with?

Do you want to know if we can help you?  It’s a great question.

People’s problems come in all shapes and sizes, and if I were going for counselling, I would want to know that I was going to the right place.

Our team of therapists specialise in helping adults, so anyone over the age of 18 years old.  We don’t see children, because therapists need to undergo different training.  If you’re looking for help for your son or daughter and they’re still at school, then we won’t be able to help.  I recommend you look for an Educational Psychologist or CBT Therapist who specialises in working with children and young people.

Our Specialities

Over the many years that WE’VE been working as professional psychotherapists, we’ve specialised in many common areas including:

  • Anxiety including OCD, Panic, Agoraphobia, Generalised Anxiety & Social Phobia.
  • Depression, whether it is a recent onset or it’s been happening for many years.
  • Work-related Stress & Burnout
  • Self-Esteem and Confidence
  • Trauma from childhood or through more recent incidents
  • Grief including bereavement
  • Insomnia
  • Living with long-term health conditions
  • Shame and self-critical tendencies
  • Relationships including Couples Counselling
  • Interpersonal problems including assertiveness training and anger management

I know that sounds like quite a few specialisms, and you’re right.  There may be instances where we would say we can’t help.  For example, if you need help from multiple mental health professionals, including Crisis Teams.

How can we be good at all of these problems?

Our team of counsellors and psychologists has helped thousands of people.  It’s how we’ve developed the experience and skills to help with a wide range of problems.

It’s common for people to struggle with more than one problem, so we’ve needed to be good at more than one thing.  The benefit is that you don’t need to change counsellors to deal with a different type of problem.

If both anxiety and depression limit your life, then we can help.  If you struggle with the effects of trauma and a long-term health condition, then we can counsel you through both difficulties.

We’ve built the skills to help you with these problems, because we needed to and because we are interested in the human condition.  We’ve studied, and we’ve practised – a lot!  An outstanding brain surgeon will operate not just on your brain, but on your spinal cord and your entire central nervous system.  They need to because these parts are connected.

Our training and experience allow us to deliver exceptional therapy.  People’s problems overlap, and they interconnect.  Over 80% of people need help with more than one difficulty, which is why we are ready to teach you the relevant skills that you’ll need.

Does that make us a ‘jack of all trades and a master of none’?

If we dabbled in doing a bit of counselling for this and a bit for that, then you’d be right to be cautious.  The fact is that we’ve undergone significant training to a post-graduate level.  We’ve not just got degrees; we’ve got additional professional qualifications too.  Our in-depth training is one of our strengths, and it means we can offer high-quality therapy for a broader range of problems.

Many basic counselling courses only teach you how to listen and how to ask questions.  While you might find those counsellors quite supportive and understanding, they probably won’t have the skills to teach you the coping strategies that you need to move forward.

The Three Essential Components of Change

People overcome challenges when a therapist gives them three things:

  1. Knowledge
  2. Skills
  3. Support

To make a positive change, you need to know about the problem you’ve got.  We’ll teach you about it, get you interested in it so you can understand it.  You need to know what skills will help so that you can start practising them.  Therapy sessions focus on teaching you at least one new skill every time we meet.  Skills that focus on your attention, your thoughts, emotions, physiology and behaviour will get you to the top of your mountain.

We’ll help you reach the summit – nobody achieves great things on their own.  People build resilience together, not on their own.  Friends and family can play an important role.  They can offer their support, but they probably don’t have the knowledge or skills to teach you.

We cover all three of those bases – knowledge, skills and support.

Will I get rid of this problem once and forever?

I wish we could read the future, but of course, we can’t.  The knowledge and skills we teach you will last for a lifetime.  What you learn over the next few months will help now and in years to come.  You’ll learn much more than many of your friends and family that you’ll begin to notice how they get stuck too.

There are no guarantees that you will never again feel anxious, depressed or stressed.  The chances are that you will.  You will feel the pain of loss because people come in and out of your life.  You may develop health problems.  The future is unknown, except that it will one day end.  That may sound gloomy, but it is a simple truth.

It’s a powerful truth, one that can motivate us.  As far as we know, no other animal species is aware that one day it will die.  Humans know it, and it can be a powerful motivator.  It can drive you to make every day count, and not waste it on worry.

It was Mark Twain who said, “I’ve had lots of worries in my life, most of which never happened”.

Therapy can be your game-changer.  It can change your life, and we’ll help you do that.  We’ll help you tackle the problem, and we’ll help you build the life you want. If you wish to work better, play better, love better or feel better about you, then we’ll support you through that process.


Get in touch

Would you like to speak to a therapist?  Get in touch to book a consultation at our Birmingham CBT and Counselling services located in the Jewellery Quarter.

Get in touch

Filed Under: About Therapy

About jim lucas

Jim is the Founder and Managing Director of Openforwards. He is a BABCP Accredited CBT Therapist / Supervisor & a Teaching Fellow at University of Birmingham School of Psychology.

He writes articles, records podcasts and creates online courses to give you the opportunity to get the knowledge, skills and support to help you feel and cope better.

GO BEYOND THE CONVENTIONAL WISDOM

Share in our weekly round-up of ideas from around the world to help you work, love, play and feel better

Send me the wisdom

What would you like to read about?

  • About Therapy
  • Anxiety
  • Burnout
  • Confidence Building & Self Esteem
  • Depression
  • Family, Community & Prosocial Society
  • Flashbacks Trauma & Trust
  • Mental Wellbeing & Self Care
  • OCD
  • Personal Growth
  • Physical Health & Exercise
  • Relationships
  • Stress at Work
  • Training in ACT
  • weekly round-up

Most Recent Posts

[weekly] Do you feel under pressure at work?

Do you feel under pressure at work? April is Stress Awareness Month in the UK. Did you know that stress accounts for around half of all sick days, so it’s a big problem? Many organisational factors cause stress in employees, e.g. excessive workload and administration. Work-related stress is also a warning sign for burnout, depression and physical health problems such as […]

8 Surprisingly Effective Ways to stop procrastinating and turn you into a Master of Commitment.

8 Surprisingly Effective Ways to stop procrastinating Did you ever wonder what the difference is between people who are good at committing to things and those that are bad? It’s not what you think. It’s not that you were born that way. Nor is it your personality-type. Masters of commitment follow a useful set of […]

[weekly] I’m still standing

Are you still standing? Another weekend and another week of lockdown are over.  If you’re wondering how many more weeks you can suffer, then you are not alone. You know that, of course. Most days feel like I’m getting shoved between ‘man this is tough’ and ‘yes, but many more people have it worse.’ It’s […]

[weekly] Have yourself a stubbornly optimistic Christmas

What do you want for Christmas?  I’m on the lookout for some stubborn optimism The situation keeps changing. Naturally, so too do the rules, and it’s hard to keep up. My Christmas plans have changed five times in the last few weeks. We’re not in control of what happens, and it’s full of disappointment, frustration […]

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

What are you looking for?

  • Therapy for Anxiety
  • Therapy for Depression
  • Work Stress Therapy
  • Therapy for Confidence Building & Self Esteem
  • Trauma Therapy for Trust Issues
  • Marriage & Couples Counselling
  • Training & Supervision for Therapists

FREE Well-being Resources

  • Podcast: Self Help Sat Nav
  • Mindfulness Meditations

SUPPORT

  • FAQs & Information about Therapy

Not sure what you need?

Speak to a Therapist

Members

Psychology Services

  • Join our Community
  • Consultancy Services
  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
  • Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT)
  • Eye Movement Desensitisation ReProcessing (EMDR)
  • Learn
Openforwards Award 2019

Openforwards Ltd, The Jewellery Business Centre, 95 Spencer Street, BIRMINGHAM, UK.

Tel. 0121 523 1108

Company

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • The Openforwards Method
  • UniWellbeing

Legal

  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy Policy

© 2021 Openforwards Ltd