Kat Lech Psychotherapy

Evidence-based therapy, tailored to you

There isn't one approach to therapy that works for everyone.

My role is to understand what you're experiencing, what you'd like to change and what may be keeping you stuck. We can then choose an approach that fits your needs and goals.

I specialise in trauma, anxiety and ADHD, and draw on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and adapted CBT for ADHD.

Sometimes one approach is the right fit. Other times we'll draw on more than one.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Understanding the connection between your thoughts, feelings and behaviours

CBT is an evidence-based psychological therapy that focuses on the relationship between the way we think, how we feel and what we do.

When we're struggling with anxiety or other difficulties, it can be easy to get caught in patterns that keep the problem going. For example, you might worry about something, avoid it because it feels uncomfortable, experience temporary relief, and then find that the anxiety becomes stronger the next time.

CBT helps you understand these patterns and develop different ways of responding. Rather than simply talking about your difficulties, CBT is usually structured, collaborative and practical. You'll learn skills that you can continue to use after therapy has finished.

How does CBT work?

  1. Understand what's happening

    We'll explore what brought you to therapy and develop an understanding of your difficulties. Together, we'll identify patterns in your thoughts, emotions, behaviours and physical responses.

  2. Identify patterns and make changes

    We'll look at unhelpful thinking patterns and behaviours that may be maintaining your difficulties. Depending on your goals, this might include cognitive restructuring, behavioural experiments, exposure, behavioural activation or problem-solving.

  3. Practise and build new skills

    CBT isn't just something that happens during your session. You'll have opportunities to practise new skills between sessions and apply them to situations in your everyday life.

    Over time, the aim is to help you feel more confident managing difficulties independently.

CBT can be particularly helpful for:

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)

Processing experiences that still feel present

Sometimes something that happened in the past can continue to impact how you feel in the present. You may understand logically that an experience is over, but still experience strong emotional or physical reactions when something reminds you of it.

EMDR is a specialist trauma therapy that can help you process distressing experiences and memories that remain unresolved. I am an Accredited EMDR practitioner and specialise in using EMDR as part of my work with trauma.

EMDR doesn't require you to repeatedly tell the story of what happened. Instead, it uses bilateral stimulation, such as guided eye movements or tapping, while you briefly focus on aspects of a distressing memory.

How does EMDR work?

  1. Preparation and safety

    Before processing memories, we'll make sure you have the resources and stability needed for the work. We'll develop strategies to help you manage difficult emotions and feel grounded during and between sessions.

  2. Identify what needs processing

    We'll identify experiences, memories or situations that are contributing to your current difficulties. This can include specific traumatic events as well as experiences that have impacted how you see yourself or the world.

  3. Processing with bilateral stimulation

    When you're ready, I'll guide you through the EMDR process. You'll briefly focus on aspects of the experience while engaging in bilateral stimulation, such as eye movements or tapping.

    The aim is to help your brain process the experience in a way that reduces its emotional intensity and allows you to develop more helpful perspectives.

  4. Integration and moving forward

    As the memories become less distressing, we'll work towards strengthening more adaptive beliefs and responses, helping you feel safer and more able to respond to situations in the present.

EMDR is always paced according to your individual needs. You remain in control throughout the process.

EMDR can be helpful for:

  • PTSD
  • Single-incident trauma
  • Complex or repeated trauma
  • Childhood experiences
  • Relationship trauma
  • Workplace trauma
  • Anxiety linked to past experiences
  • Distressing memories

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Learning to live alongside difficult thoughts and feelings

ACT is a form of behavioural therapy that focuses less on trying to eliminate difficult thoughts and feelings and more on changing your relationship with them.

Sometimes, the more we try to control, suppress or avoid uncomfortable thoughts and emotions, the more they can dominate our lives. ACT helps you develop psychological flexibility. This means learning to make room for difficult thoughts and feelings while still taking action towards the things that matter to you.

ACT may be particularly helpful if you've tried CBT before but found yourself getting stuck trying to change or challenge your thoughts. Rather than focusing on getting rid of difficult thoughts or replacing them with more positive ones, ACT helps you learn to respond to them differently, so they have less control over your life.

Together, we can explore what matters to you, develop greater acceptance of difficult experiences and take meaningful steps towards the life you want, even when difficult thoughts and feelings are still present.

How does ACT work?

  1. Notice

    We'll begin to identify patterns in your thoughts, emotions and behaviours, including the things you may do to avoid or control uncomfortable experiences.

  2. Make space

    You'll learn skills such as mindfulness and cognitive defusion to notice thoughts and feelings without automatically treating them as facts or needing to act on them.

    The goal isn't to get rid of difficult thoughts. It's to create more space around them.

  3. Identify what matters

    We'll explore your values, the qualities and directions that matter to you in areas such as relationships, work, health and personal growth.

  4. Take meaningful action

    We'll identify small, realistic steps that move you towards the life you want, even when difficult thoughts or feelings are present.

ACT can be particularly helpful for:

Adapted CBT for ADHD

Working with how your brain actually operates

ADHD can impact far more than attention. You may struggle with procrastination, time management, organisation, motivation, emotional regulation or simply getting started on tasks.

You may also have spent years being told that you're “lazy”, “disorganised”, “forgetful” or “not living up to your potential”. Repeated criticism and experiences of feeling like you're falling short can take a real toll on your confidence and self-esteem. For some people, receiving an ADHD diagnosis later in life can help make sense of these experiences and provide a different way of understanding themselves.

I provide adapted CBT for adults with ADHD, using evidence-based strategies that take the specific challenges associated with ADHD into account.

The aim isn't to make you become a different person. It's to help you understand how your ADHD impacts you, develop greater self-awareness and self-acceptance, and find systems and strategies that actually fit your life.

How does adapted CBT for ADHD work?

  1. Understand your ADHD

    We'll explore the ways ADHD shows up for you personally, including attention, motivation, impulsivity, emotional regulation, time management and organisation. We'll also look at how these difficulties may have impacted your confidence, relationships, work and everyday life.

  2. Identify your biggest challenges

    Rather than trying to change everything at once, we'll identify the areas that are having the biggest impact on your life. We'll work out what is getting in the way and where small, realistic changes could make the biggest difference.

  3. Build practical strategies

    We'll develop practical strategies and systems to help with the areas you're struggling with. This might include managing time, getting started on tasks, reducing procrastination, improving organisation, managing distractions or regulating emotions.

  4. Test what works for you

    ADHD strategies aren't one-size-fits-all. We'll try different approaches, look at what works and what doesn't, and adapt them to fit your life. The aim is to develop tools that are realistic enough to use beyond therapy.

Depending on your needs, this may include strategies for:

  • Time management and time blindness
  • Organisation and planning
  • Prioritising tasks
  • Procrastination
  • Getting started
  • Managing distractions
  • Emotional regulation
  • Managing overwhelm
  • Developing sustainable routines