Beyond CBT: A Different Way to Heal What’s Underneath

And What to Do When You’ve Tried It but Still Feel Stuck

CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) is often the first therapy people try — and for good reason. It’s structured, short-term, and focuses on helping you manage symptoms by changing your thoughts and behaviours.

But what happens when you’ve done the worksheets, challenged the negative thoughts, followed the steps and things still don’t shift in the way you hoped?

If you’re here, you might be searching for things like:

• “CBT isn’t working for me”

• “Why does CBT help a bit, but I still feel stuck?”

• “Are there other options besides CBT?”

These are common questions. And they’re important ones.

CBT Helps Many People, But It’s Not Right for Everyone

CBT tends to focus on the present: What thoughts are running through your mind? What behaviours keep your anxiety going? How can you change your thinking to feel better?

But some problems don’t start, or heal, at the level of thoughts. They’re rooted in deeper emotional patterns, often outside of conscious awareness.

If you’ve tried CBT and found yourself saying:

• “I understand my triggers, but they still affect me.”

• “I know my thoughts aren’t logical, but I still feel overwhelmed.”

• “I’ve learned the tools, but something still isn’t shifting.”

Then you’re not alone. These are the very things many people bring to therapy with me.

CBT Focuses on Coping. ISTDP Aims for Real Resolution.

There’s a fundamental difference between coping with symptoms and resolving their root cause.

CBT is designed to help you manage distress. It teaches you how to challenge negative thinking and regulate your behaviour. For some, that’s enough.

But if you’ve found yourself circling the same struggles; anxiety, self-doubt, emotional numbness, relationship issues, it may be because the emotional root hasn’t been addressed.

That’s where ISTDP comes in.

ISTDP (Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy) is a focused, emotion-based approach that helps you:

• Identify the unconscious emotional blocks driving your symptoms

• Understand how past experiences shaped your patterns of self-protection

• Feel the emotions you’ve had to bury — in a safe, manageable way

• Unwind the defences that once protected you, but now keep you stuck

This is therapy designed to create lasting internal change, not just symptom management.

What I Offer And Why It Might Be What You’re Looking For

I work with people who’ve already done the work; the thinking, the journaling, the CBT, but still feel stuck.

If that’s you, you don’t need more tools to manage things. You need a way to understand what’s really going on underneath the surface and to begin changing it from the inside out.

In our sessions, we’ll work together to:

• Uncover the emotional conflicts that are being avoided or defended against

• Recognise how anxiety and self-protection are blocking deeper change

• Help you feel more connected to yourself; emotionally, physically, and relationally

• Shift patterns that no longer serve you, even if they once helped you cope

This isn’t passive. And it’s not about endlessly talking things over.

It’s an active, collaborative process, one that helps you move towards clarity, emotional freedom, and real change.

If CBT Hasn’t Worked, You’re Not Alone And You’re Not Beyond Help

Many of the people I work with arrive feeling unsure. They’ve done everything they were told would help, but still don’t feel like themselves. Still feel stuck. Still feel like something’s missing.

If that’s you, there’s nothing wrong with you. You don’t need more willpower, or more tools.

You need an approach that helps you resolve the emotional root, not just manage the symptoms.

Ready for something deeper?

I offer online therapy across the UK and in-person sessions in Nottingham, using ISTDP; a powerful, evidence-based therapy for people who want lasting emotional change.

If you’re ready to stop circling the same problems and start working through what’s really going on, I’d be glad to help.

👉 Click here to get in touch or book an initial session.