Dr Birgit vote
Counselling Psychologist
Birgit has nearly twenty years of experience working in mental health services and provides psychological therapy for a variety of difficulties such as depression and anxiety disorders, PTSD or personality disorders. She also offers psychological support for people experiencing relationship problems, work stress, redundancies, grief or loss. She specialised in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and is also an EMDR Europe Accredited Practitioner and is currently working towards certification in Schema Therapy. Birgit’s specialist interest is complex trauma and PTSD, having been involved in managing the trauma pathway in a senior role within a secondary mental health service in the NHS.
In addition to her clinical practice, Birgit is a guest lecturer at the University of Essex and she is also a supervisor for Mental Health Co-ordinators in Social Care and for CBT Therapists in Private Practice.
Her understanding is that the choice of therapists is a very important and personal one, and it is paramount for recovery to feel that a person is able to talk openly about their thoughts and problems. Birgit will explore what therapeutic approach may be most appropriate to achieve an individual’s therapy goals and work towards them together and believes that building a trusting therapeutic relationship is the most important agent for change.
Birgit Specialises in the treatment of;
Anxiety
Attachment problems
Childhood Trauma
Depression
Fears of abandonment
Generalised Anxiety (GAD)
Low Self-Esteem
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Relationship problems
Road Traffic Accidents
Separation & Divorce
Sleep problems
Social Anxiety
Stress
Trauma
Models of therapy Birgit is trained in;
Cognitive Behavioural Therapist (CBT)
EMDR Europe Accredited Practitioner
ACT trained and member of ACBS
Schema Therapist
Person-centred therapy
Psychoanalytic psychotherapy
Member of ACBS Schema Therapist working towards certification Additional
Integrative Therapist
Qualification & Accreditations
HCPC number - PYL30735
BABCP 90134
Part 1, 2, 3 EMDR Training
Doctorate in Counselling Psychology
BABCP Accreditation
Diploma in Psychology
Languages Birgit speaks fluently: German and English
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 Organization (WHO) has also acknowledged EMDR as being an effective treatment approach to psychological trauma and trauma-related disorders.