No. You don’t need a referral, an assessment from another service, or a diagnosis to get in touch. Just complete our contact form and we’ll take it from there.
Our costs are all set out here: There’s no cap on how many sessions you can have. You can continue for as long as the therapy is helping you.
Yes, your sessions will be delivered by a therapist-in-training who is working towards full accreditation. Every session is closely supervised by Dr Nicola Walker, a BABCP-accredited clinician with decades of clinical experience. Every therapist is fully insured and indemnified. If you prefer to see Nicola for ongoing therapy, she delivers the group psychotherapy option. You can read more about this way of delivering therapy here.
You’ll be matched with a therapist following your assessment, based on what you need support with. If it doesn’t feel like the right fit once you’ve started, let us know. Finding someone you feel comfortable with matters, and we’ll work with you to get it right.
The first step is a free 30 minute triage call by phone. Nicola will ring you within 24 hours of receiving your enquiry and will check out with you what help you are looking for and if Low Cost CBT is the most suitable service. If so, a face-to-face or online assessment appointment will be arranged with Nicola.
Your first session will be your assessment. It’s a conversation, not a test. We’ll talk through what you’re experiencing, ask a few questions to understand where you need support, and work together to determine whether Low Cost CBT is the right fit for you.
Each 1:1 session usually lasts an hour every week. Each group session lasts 2 hours every week. How many sessions you’ll need depends on your particular circumstances and how you’re finding therapy is helping you. There’s no set number and no cap. You and your therapist will keep this under review together, for as long as it’s genuinely useful to you.
We offer therapy in several formats, so you can choose what suits you best. Individual CBT is one-to-one with a single therapist and is delivered online. Group CBT is delivered with one or two therapists and up to eight clients, generally face-to-face in London or York. Hybrid CBT combines both, giving you the focus of individual sessions alongside the shared support of group work. Your therapist will help you choose the right format when you begin.
That’s completely normal and is exactly what your assessment is for. You don’t need a diagnosis or the right words for what you’re feeling before you reach out. We’ll help you work out what’s going on, and whether we’re the right support for you.
If, at any point, it becomes clear you need a different kind of support, we’ll talk this through with you and help you find the right next step, rather than leaving you without direction.
Yes. Therapy works best when it’s something you want to be doing, not something you feel obliged to continue. If you decide to stop, for any reason, that’s entirely your choice. You’re welcome to return in future if you’d like to.
Low Cost CBT is committed to protecting the safety and wellbeing of everyone who uses our service. This statement sets out how we approach safeguarding and what happens if a concern is raised.
Our approach
Every therapist working with us, whether fully qualified, in training, or working towards accreditation, must hold an enhanced DBS check before seeing clients. All therapists-in-training work under the close clinical supervision of Dr Nicola Walker, BABCP-accredited, who reviews their work and is available to support decisions around risk and safeguarding at every stage.
Safeguarding training is mandatory for every therapist and is refreshed regularly, in line with BABCP guidance. This covers recognising signs of abuse or neglect, responding appropriately to disclosures, and understanding when and how to escalate concern.
How concerns are handled
If a therapist becomes aware of a safeguarding concern, whether about a client’s safety or someone else’s, they will raise it with our Designated Safeguarding Lead (Dr Nicola Walker) without delay. Where appropriate, this may involve contacting the relevant local authority safeguarding team, the police, or other statutory services.
We take a person-centred approach to any safeguarding concern. Where possible, we will discuss what’s happening with the person concerned, and support will continue regardless of the outcome of any investigation or referral.
Record keeping
We keep accurate, contemporaneous records of any safeguarding concern raised during therapy, in line with professional standards for clinical record-keeping.
Raising a concern
If you have a safeguarding concern about your own safety, someone else’s, or something you’ve experienced during therapy, you can contact us via email at nicola@lowcostcbt.com or via text message on 07501 401 912. If you believe someone is in immediate danger, please contact the police on 999.
