My name is Lindsay and I am the lead CBT therapist at 1st for CBT.

I am a qualified Cognitive Behavioural Therapist with a Masters Degree in CBT (MSc CBT), an Honors Degree in Psychology (BSc Hons), and I am an accredited member of the British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapists (BABCP).

I have previous experience of working within an NHS Primary Care service, and have worked for a private organisation as the lead Cognitive Behavioural Therapist in a special education school for adolescents with a diagnosis of an Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) and associated difficulties. I also offer private consultation with a specialist interest in ASC.

I have extensive experience working within mental health in various settings, both inpatient and outpatient. I have worked in a primary care setting with the NHS, treating disorders such as Depression, Anxiety and Trauma.

My previous experience also includes working with individuals with severe and enduring mental health problems, such as Personality Disorders and Schizophrenia for which I have provided both individual and group therapy. I have worked with children, adolescents, adults and older adults with positive outcomes, enabling these clients to have an improved quality of life.

Alongside a CBT approach to my work, I incorporate a person-centered approach and use elements of Mindfulness, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR).

I maintain my professional development by attending workshops, conferences and seminars.

1st for CBT has developed processes for working with specific conditions in order to provide specialised therapy.

Over the past few years I have specialised in modifying CBT to help both children and adults who have a diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome/Autism Spectrum Condition (AS/ASC).

I have completed my ADOS (Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale)and ADI-R (Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised) training and am able to provide private assessments for those that are finding NHS waiting times too long. Whilst there are a number of other excellent services that can provide a diagnosis of ASC, there is little in the way of individual and family support, psycho-education and implementing strategies to manage social, behavioural and psychological difficulties.

CBT has shown to be extremely effective in helping those with ASC and subsequent mental health difficulties, providing it is adapted to meet the needs of the individual. CBT for ASC utilises all the proven strategies and techniques that anyone accessing CBT would see.

For information on how adapted CBT could assist you or someone you know with ASC or for more information on assessments, please contact me to discuss further.

Effective strategies taught include a number of aspects: Socio-emotional skills groups for children and adults, Stress management, Procrastination, Depression and Anxiety, Perfectionism, Phobias, OCD, Emotion Regulation and Relationship difficulties. For those with and without an Autism diagnosis.