Motivation & time management

• There is no magical bullet. We don’t have the answers of what to do with your life and we cannot do the work for you. Our work is a collaborative and active process based on the guided self-help model. We can guide you to get deeper insights into your situation based on psychological science, and, together, we identify strategies and tools that can help. It does require you going away and putting them into practice to make a real change.

• We are a confidential service with the exceptions if there are concerns about your safety, or the safety of others.

• We are not a crisis service. Please contact these services if you need immediate mental health support.

• We are not able to offer you a formal mental health diagnosis.

• We are not trained to support you to manage certain mental health conditions. If we cannot offer support, we will try our best to signpost you to other services that better suit your needs.

• We cannot offer support while you are receiving other therapies.

• We have zero tolerance for aggressive, violent or abusive behaviour.

We would never want money to restrict you from accessing support for your mental wellbeing. Please get in touch if you need to discuss a payment plan or a reduced fee option. We offer low-cost support individuals with financial difficulties. Families and friends can purchase gift vouchers to support your loved ones to access our service. You will only be charged if the voucher is used.

Renee — Adult Mental Health Practitioner & Study Skills Support

Renee is a Hong Kong Registered Nurse and a UK-qualified Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP). She provides Low-Intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for mild to moderate anxiety, depression, and stress-related difficulties, and has additional training in insomnia, OCD, health anxiety, long-term conditions, and working with interpreters.

Renee supports secondary school students, university students, and adults with psychologically-informed study skills, academic and career planning, and personal development based on Cognitive and Positive Psychology.

She is fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English, and is currently completing Stage 1 Health Psychology training in the UK.

Amy Wong — Child & Adolescent Mental Health Practitioner & Supervisor

Amy is a UK-based Mental Health Practitioner registered with the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP). She works full-time in the NHS as a Clinical Supervisor in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), and part-time in a charity supporting young people affected by domestic abuse and sexual harm. She is also completing a Master’s degree in Forensic Psychology.

Amy provides assessment and intervention for children and adolescents with a wide range of mental health needs, including parenting interventions, school-based mental health guidance, policy audits, and staff training. She is also an accredited Sleep Counsellor supporting families with sleep-related difficulties.

She is fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English, and previously worked as an English teacher in Hong Kong.

We offer support through online platforms. You will need the Internet and a device such as a computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone.

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a talking therapy that helps you manage your problems by changing the way you think and behave. CBT does not remove your problems, but helps you manage them in a more effective way. It encourages you to examine how your actions and thoughts can affect how you feel.

CBT is an active therapy and you will be expected to work on your problems between sessions, trying out different ways of thinking and acting, as agreed with your therapist. The aim is for you to develop the skills to become your own therapist.

CBT is usually a short-term treatment. For example, a traditional course of CBT may consist of between 6-12 sessions.

CBT differs from other types of psychotherapies because it is:

• pragmatic – it helps identify specific problems and tries to solve them

• highly structured – rather than talking freely about your life, you and your therapist will discuss specific problems and set goals for you to achieve

• focused on current problems – it is mainly concerned with how you think and act now rather than attempting to resolve past issues

• collaborative – your therapist will not tell you what to do; they will work with you to find solutions to your current difficulties

Counselling is another type of talking therapy that allows a person to talk about their problems and feelings in a confidential environment. It helps individuals who want to understand issues causing their distress. It can provide a safe and regular space for you to talk and explore difficult feelings. This approach encourages reflection and exploration of underlying conflicts, as well as providing a listening, supportive and containing experience.

Counselling can help you to:

• cope with a bereavement or relationship breakdown

• cope with redundancy or work-related stress

• explore issues such as sexual identity

• deal with issues that are preventing you from achieving your ambitions

• deal with feelings of depression or sadness, and have a more positive outlook on life

• understand yourself and your problems better

• feel more confident

• develop a better understanding of other people's points of view