Meet your therapist

Paula Fitzsimon
Cognitive Behavioural Therapist

Hello, I’m Paula, a dedicated and compassionate CBT therapist with 20 years of therapy experience, including over a decade working within the NHS. I’m accredited by the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) and currently serve as a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Chester.

My approach to therapy is highly personalised, ensuring that each session is tailored to your needs. I believe that therapy should be a collaborative process, where we work together to create lasting, meaningful change.

As well as offering private therapy, I also work with a number of healthcare and insurance providers including Vita Health, AXA and Aviva.

I'm here to support you every step of the way and am committed to helping you achieve the results you're looking for.

What is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)?

CBT is a type of talking therapy that helps you explore how your thoughts and behaviours can affect the way you feel—both emotionally and physically. It’s all about helping you spot unhelpful patterns and giving you practical tools to shift them, so you can start feeling better and carry those changes with you long after therapy ends.

There are different styles of CBT, and we can tailor the approach to suit your specific needs and goals—so the support you get is personal and relevant to you.

Our sessions will be

  • Personalised

    Our sessions will be dedicated to assessing your wellbeing and working to a personalised plan to fit your unique needs and goals.

  • Targeted

    CBT is focused on dealing with the issues at hand, proving you with specific techniques and insights that can help you to move forward at each and every session.

  • Compassionate

    What you bring to each session will be met with compassion, empathy and understanding, whilst helping you to navigate challenges you’re facing understanding.

What we can achieve

in collaboration

I offer evidence-based CBT talking therapy that can help you with the following issues:

  • Anxiety and worry

  • Panic Attacks

  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

  • Posttraumatic Stress

  • Phobias

  • Health Anxiety

  • Social Anxiety

  • Low self esteem

  • Depression

  • Feeling low and hopeless

  • Struggling with nightmares or flashbacks about things from your past

  • Fear of things like spiders, heights, flying

  • Habit Disorders

  • Body Dysmorphia

Sessions are offered remotely, either by phone or video call, so you can get support from the comfort of your own home—or anywhere else you feel safe and comfortable. This flexible approach makes it easier to fit therapy into your life and helps remove some of the barriers to getting the support you need.

By the end of our sessions, you’ll have a clearer understanding of what triggers you and how to manage those moments more effectively. You’ll also get self-guided materials to work through between sessions, helping you keep up the momentum and stay on track with your goals.

I view therapy as a genuine collaboration between therapist and client, and I look forward to working with you.

How you’ll feel…..

more confident, clearheaded and ready to face the road ahead

Services

  • The aim of the assessment is to get a clear understanding of your current difficulties and needs. You will be asked a variety of questions relating to key information about what you’re struggling with, what you’ve tried so far to help, and your goals for treatment.

    Following your assessment, your therapist will talk to you about treatment options so you can make an informed decision about the next steps.

  • Treatment appointments are usually 60 minutes long with the aim of making positive progress towards your goals each week.

    Most courses of treatment last between 8-16 weeks, and some as much as 20, depending on your needs. The number of sessions you need will be decided collaboratively with your therapist at the end of the assessment process.

  • A Therapy Blueprint is generated at the end of your course of treatment in collaboration with your therapist. You will leave therapy with a personalised plan designed to help you maintain the gains you have achieved in treatment. The plan will detail

    • What you’ve learnt

    • What you need to keep practicing,

    • Identification of personal triggers for relapse

    • An action plan to help you overcome obstacles or relapses

    • Key techniques and accompanying worksheets from your treatment

  • If you have completed a course of therapy, and find yourself struggling in the weeks or months after sessions have ended, you can request some Booster Sessions to get you back on track. Your therapist will complete a brief assessment to determine what you’re struggling with, and agree a targeted approach to helping you overcome these obstacles.

  • Sessions - All sessions are charged at £80 per hour.

    If you have a budget in mind for your treatment, please make your therapist aware so this can be taken into account when planning a number of sessions.

    Letters & Reports - Where needed, a standard GP feedback letter can be provided free of charge.

    If you need a report, please note that there will be a charge for this service. You should discuss the details of this with your therapist.

FAQs

how long are sessions?

60 minutes

how many sessions will I need?

This will depend on the outcome of your assessment. Most people need somewhere between 8-12 sessions, however a course of treatment can be up to 20 sessions. During your assessment, we will talk about what you want to work on and agree a therapy plan together which will include an estimated number of sessions.

How often will sessions be?

Sessions are usually weekly to help you achieve consistent momentum and progress towards your goals.

Are sessions confidential?

Yes, your sessions will be confidential. There are some legal and ethical limits to confidentiality, but don’t worry, this will be discussed with you in full at your first appointment.

How will I access my therapy sessions?

You can access your sessions from wherever you feel comfortable and safe. Just make sure you are somewhere you can talk confidentially without anyone else present. Your therapist will either contact you by phone at the time of the appointment, or send you a link to a video call in advance - whatever you feel most comfortable with. Video links do not require any additional software. You should be able to click on the link and the meeting will open.

How much will it cost?

Please see the information on pricing. If you have an idea of how much you want to spend on sessions, please make your therapist aware of this during the assessment so your plan can be tailored to take this into account.

Are there any additional costs?

For your sessions, all you will need is something you can use to take notes. If you require a report, please let me know. Depending on what you need, please note an additional fee may be charged (see information on pricing for further details).

What age do I have to be to access therapy?

The therapy I offer is suitable for adults aged 18 and over. If you are looking for someone to assist with anyone under this age, you can find a list of fully qualified and accredited practitioners on the BABCP Register who specialise in working with children.

What if I need urgent help?

If you are in urgent need of help, please contact your GP or 111 in the first instance and let them know you’re struggling. You can also attend your local A&E should you feel you are at risk. If you need someone to talk to, you can contact Samaritans 24 hours a day.