Finder

Specialises in

• Applied Relaxation
• Behavioural Activation (BA)
• CBT with Exposure and Response Prevention (CBT with ERP)

• Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
• Mindfulness based CBT

• Motivational Interviewing
• Trauma focused CBT

Offers

• Face-to-face consultations
• Video and telephone consultations

About me

Who am I?
Hi, my name is Jodie Darkes and I am a BABCP accredited Cognitive Behavioural (CBT) Therapist. I have worked in mental health since 2012, starting in private healthcare and moving to the NHS in 2013. I qualified as a CBT therapist in 2019 and have been practising since.

What is CBT?
CBT, in its simplest terms, means what we think affects how we feel and what we do. It would be my role as your therapist to help you understand what this means for you and we would explore together if CBT can help you.

Do I have to do anything?
CBT involves reflecting on your thoughts, feelings and behaviour and making changes to see if they can help. It is therefore considered a proactive therapy in that the most benefit comes from practicing skills between sessions.

What do sessions look like?
All sessions follow a loose structure. This is to ensure you are able to share and ask all that's important to you but also for me to cover what is most helpful for you to feel better. At our first appointment, we generally explore what's brought you to therapy and the day to day challenges you face. Whilst it can vary dependent on the person and problem, we may begin looking at what might help in just a few sessions. Sessions are for 50 minutes.

I have had CBT before and not found it helpful, can you help me?
If you've had poor or a bad experience with past CBT, I still encourage you to reach out. I have worked with many people who have not found CBT helpful previously but have when they've worked with me.

Take home message?
It is hard to know what to write here, as your needs are so individualised and unique. I am a therapist who strives to stick to the evidence base (in other words, what's been found to work and help people), whilst also not losing sight of the individual in front of me and, where appropriate, bringing humour and humanity to the sessions. If you're looking for an open, honest and conscientious therapist, I encourage you to contact me.

Areas of interest

I am specifically trained in evidence based treatment for the following conditions:
Depression; Generalised anxiety (worry); Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD); Health anxiety; Social anxiety; Panic attacks (with or without agoraphobia); Phobias e.g. vomit phobia; and Post-traumatic stress disorder (either single incident or multiple).
I am also trained in mindfulness based cognitive therapy for depression. Whilst I do not offer this as a sole therapy, I may weave into treatment where appropriate and with client consent.
More broadly, I am interested in and can help with:
Formulation (understanding why you might feel the way you do); Low self-esteem; Perfectionism; Sleep difficulties.