Rex Woodhouse

We all bring something unique into therapy, but the uncomfortable feelings we all experience are universal. Whatever the reason(s) might be, I have the tools and skills to help unpick them and support you in confronting their challenges.

A sense of emotional freedom is experienced not by trying to force the flow of life to fit around ourselves, but to develop a resilient but flexible mindset that moves with it.”

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Cognitive Behavioural Therapy with Rex Woodhouse

Registered with the NCS, I practice one to one therapy in-person or online. I’m compassionate, thoughtful and hold a non-judgemental space to reflect. I like to develop strong relationships with clients I work with, and enjoy seeing the progress they make.

Why CBT? It’s a great type of psychotherapy due to its ability to understand and overcome a broad range of emotional challenges. Namely, it’s discovering and practicing psychological flexibility. A mindset that is resilient but also adaptable. It can tolerate the fear of rejection or learn to respond differently in persuit of its longer term goals. Through nurturing this mindset, we can come closer to cultivating the life we want.

How CBT works: Typically, we work towards 12 sessions. However, this is flexible either way. We will focus on understanding your goals, and what experience, thought(s) and/or behaviour(s) might be holding you back. Then healthier and helpful alternatives are introduced to help achieve those goals. I will support you throughout, in session and with additional resources (readings, exercises, podcasts, videos etc).

Personal approach: I will use a number of CBT approaches; Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy (REBT); Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT); Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT); and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT); Schema Therapy.

I’m also a qualified yoga teacher and have a regular practice, and therefore enjoy drawing on mindfulness, breathing exercises and movement. Clients have found using one or more of these tools helpful to interrupt the unhelpful self talk.

Don’t wait to feel confident before acting, act now and feel confident later.”

What things can I bring to therapy?

Some people might have a clear idea of what’s wrong, “I can’t stop worrying,” “I want to learn to be more accepting of myself,” “my anger is out of control”, “I want to better communicate with the people around me” or “my confidence is so fragile.” Others might have a more general sense of dissatisfaction with life and want to learn how to change that.

Some common themes:

Anxiety, worry, and seeking reassurance: Often, in order to overcome the very thing we fear, we must face it. Anxiety drives us to minimise the feeling by worrying, seeking constant reassurance or actively avoiding the situation. Although this brings an immediate sense of relief, its only temporary because it reinforces the belief you can’t cope unless you worry, avoid or constantly seek reassurance. This therefore worsens the initial fear. Leading to a viscous cycle that is likely to result in further avoidance. In therapy, we learn to break the cycle by tolerating the anxiety and acting against the urge to avoid it. Over time, showing ourselves we can cope, self belief grows and so does our resiliency.

Low mood and feelings of hopelessness: These themes can also create a vicious cycle. In our low moods it can be hard to help ourselves and see hope in the future. Common thoughts are “what’s the point?” or “I don’t have enough energy.” The more we rehearse this, the more we withdraw and give in to the difficulty of life. Typically, In therapy, we learn to act against these urges and lean into the difficulty. We don’t wait to feel confident and good before acting, we act now and feel confident and good later. The more we can show ourselves we can do it despite the difficulty, the more capable and hopeful we feel.

Self defeating and overbearing inner critic: a lot of the time, we are our own worst enemy. Berating ourselves for having said that silly comment, or telling ourselves we should be doing better than we are. Maybe there was a silly comment, or you are capable of doing better at work, but where does it take us by putting ourselves down? In therapy, we learn to build an assertive compassionate voice, that is wise and courageous in its kindness. It enables us to safely evaluate, take learnings and move on without being self defeating.

Bereavement, Grief and Loss: Loss can come in many forms. The death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, or loss of an important career opportunity. In an attempt to adjust to this new world, we grieve the loss of that potential future. In therapy, we talk through how you’re coping and monitor the natural process of grief. When ready to do so, we can learn to accept, forgive and look to the future with hope and potential. Having personally experienced the death of a parent when I was a teenager, I have an affinity to those dealing with the death of a loved one.

Relationships – intimate, family, social and work: Relationships also come in many forms, and serve an important part to our existence. Learning to effectively manage them is challenging. From a foundational point of view, we encourage people to be there for themselves first most of the time, but not all of the time. It’s important we energise ourself and act in self interest in order to feed our self belief. But, it’s essential this is pursued with flexibility, allowing the space for others’ joys and difficulties. In therapy, we learn what these boundaries are for you and how to communicate them effectively in order to get your needs met.

Chronic health issues: Managing health issues such as chronic pain, diabetes or undiagnosed gut problems can be very challenging. How much of the day are you going to allow these issues to ruin? They can be non-negotiable, require significant lifestyle changes, and their symptoms can become overbearing. Do we energise that difficulty and get into a fury with ourself and/or the world? Or, can we learn to choose our attitude, tolerate the difficulty and find space for ease where possible? In therapy, we will cultivate acceptance and self compassion, and work on helpful management strategies.

Frustration, anger and rage: Often with this theme we state that someone or something makes us feel angry. “They make me so angry.” However, this gets us into problems. Are we able to control what other people do? If we think in this way, aren’t they only controlling how we feel? If we look closer, we have the power to change the way we feel by owning our emotion. “I make myself angry about what they did.” Additionally, scraping back the surface further on anger you’ll find other emotions like hurt (perceived as being treated unfairly). Anger becomes the defence to these perceived injustices. In therapy, we will peel back these layers, build understanding and develop helpful strategies to best cope.

Areas I’ll work with…

• Depression
• Anxiety (general, social, health, and workplace)
• Self esteem and self acceptance
• Anger
• Disordered eating
• Bereavement and Grief
• Relationships (intimate, family, social and work)
• Panic attacks
• Phobias
• Insomnia

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Psychotherapy Qualifications and Training:

• College of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
• Diploma in CBT/REBT
• Advanced Diploma in CBT/REBT
• Advanced Diploma in Integrated CBT/REBT I

My core experience to date of delivering CBT has consisted in the NHS, an IAPT backed platform servicing veterans suffering with PTSD and anger problems, and a private practice. Additionally, I volunteer for a suicide helpline in Central London, holding a space for those in significant emotional distress.

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Contact:

Tel: 07539 856 054
Email: rexwcbt@gmail.com
Website: rex-therapy.com

Rates:

50-minute 1 to 1 therapy: £65