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Practitioner

Miriam Somerville

Miriam Somerville

Miriam Somerville enjoys working at Millburn as a cognitive behavioural therapist. She believes that a strong and positive partnership between client and therapist is an essential part of helping people to recover from their difficulties. So she loves to create a warm and open relationship where problems can be talked about without judgement or embarrassment. Before coming to Millburn, Miriam worked in health and social care for and retains a special interest in working with people who have communication difficulties, mental health problems or learning disabilities.

Qualifications

  • Postgraduate Diploma in CBT
  • BACP Accredited Counsellor/Psychotherapist

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

If you are trying to cope with depression or anxiety you may find cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) helpful. CBT has been proven to be an effective treatment for depression and a variety of anxiety difficulties such as panic attacks, phobias, OCD, social and health anxiety. CBT is also helpful in recovery from a trauma such as a bad traffic accident, physical or sexual assault or a life threatening illness. Communication and relationship difficulties can also be improved by using a cognitive behavioural approach.

What is CBT?

Miriam explains that CBT helps us to understand that the way we think about things influences our mood and our behaviour. It’s a practical therapy and you will set some goals at the start of therapy. Miriam will help you to explore, understand and where needed, adjust your thinking patterns, emotional reactions and behaviour to help you achieve those goals. Miriam believes in developing a strong and trusting partnership with her clients, so you will have a lot of say in the work you do together. For CBT to be effective, you will need to be prepared to carry out tasks between therapy sessions. You and Miriam will agree what the task is going to be during each session and you will be well prepared for it.

How much does it cost?

Each session costs £40.00. The first session is likely to take up to an hour and a half and each subsequent session lasts for an hour.

What qualifications does Miriam have?

Miriam has a postgraduate diploma in CBT from the Belfast Cognitive Therapy Centre. She is a BACP Accredited Counsellor/Psychotherapist. Miriam keeps herself up to date by attending courses and reflective practice sessions. She also receives regular supervision from a qualified CBT therapist.

Mindfulness

Miriam is a Mindfulness Practitioner and finds Mindfulness useful both in her own personal life and in her work with clients. Miriam runs some introductory courses in Mindfulness. If you would like to know more about this, contact the centre and ask Miriam to get in touch.

Supervision

Miriam is also available as a CBT supervisor for students undertaking CBT training or other CBT therapists.

Testimonials

“CBT is my lifeline. A healthy head makes for a healthy body.” (G.)

“I have found CBT particularly helpful in dealing with my problems because it focused on identifying and changing patterns of behaviour which had become established over time and which were no longer helpful to me in my daily life. In some cases my established patterns of behaviour were even injurious to my emotional and psychological wellbeing.”

“CBT also focuses on the thoughts or patterns of thought which keeps the old behaviours going. By helping me to change my old thought patterns I was able to then change those behaviours which were no longer useful or had become problematic in my life.”

“I have found this type of active and practical therapy extremely beneficial. It concentrates very much on each individual’s particular needs and is adapted to their own progress in therapy.” (J.)

“Hi, I have just finished some sessions with Miriam for CBT and I wanted to send a testimonial:- Miriam was so friendly she put me at ease straight away. I have suffered from social anxiety for a long time and Miriam has helped me look at things in a totally new way and has helped me live my life again. The sessions were really interactive and had loads of practical exercises that really helped.”