CBT Leeds & Beyond’s Therapist

My name is Michelle Benn and I've been working as a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist for over 10 years, mainly with adults and more recently with young people in a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service. Prior to that I worked in a range of community organisations as well as in further and higher education providing advice and support to people with mental health problems, asylum seekers, refugees, young homeless people and students. I have a wealth of experience to offer, not just from my work as a therapist, but from my experience of life.

I am a fully qualified therapist and have been accredited with the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) since 2013. I continue to work hard to develop my knowledge, understanding and skills both personally and professionally through reading about new research into psychological approaches, attending high quality training courses and by trying to practice in my own life the ideas and techniques I share with the people I work with.

I achieve results, helping people get a better handle on their lives, understanding themselves better, improving their relationships, sleeping better, developing the confidence to go for the promotion or relationship they have been wanting and learning to be more supportive and less critical of themselves. I have helped hundreds of people over the years to take steps in their lives towards what they value and achieve things they doubted were possible.

There are many therapists to choose from, many of whom are highly qualified and competent. It's about more than a therapist's experience and qualifications though, that's just part of the picture. Finding someone you trust and feel that you can talk to and be open with is essential in helping you get to a better place. The feedback I've received over the years from past clients which has stayed in my mind has been the comments people have made about feeling comfortable, understood, cared about and heard, sometimes for the first time. This matters because the relationships I have been part of creating have enabled people to feel comfortable enough to honestly explore their troubles, face their fears and to take the risk to do the work necessary for a more contented life.