Adam Dawes – Psychology in Midsomer Norton
Advanced Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner providing calm and unbiased a confidential environment to voice opinions without fear of repercussions
Adam Dawes is an Advanced Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner providing calm and unbiased a confidential environment to voice opinions without fear of repercussions based in Midsomer Norton, United Kingdom. They offer Psychology (18 years of experience), Behavioural Therapy (18 years of experience), and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) (18 years of experience). Topics include Bereavement Or Loss Of A Loved One, Dealing With Addiction And Dependency, Dealing With Anxiety, Dealing With Depression, Insomnia And Sleep Deprivation, and Overcoming Negative Habits. Languages: English.
Psychology
18 years of experience
Enhance Wellbeing with CBT and Mindfulness Therapy
Video transcript
Hi, my name's Adam Dawes. This is a short ad just to make you aware of what I can provide. So some of my history and quite a lot of the work I do is based around cognitive behavioural therapy principles, which means it's a very structured way of working and allows you to gain a deeper insight to what's going on for you and what cycles keep you moving forward with tools and interventions to help you manage these in the future. The other big part to my work is around motivational work and around sort of getting you to change and in the right place to change with the underlying thing through all my therapy is around kind of mindfulness and being aware of that serenity of taking a moment of time each day to breathe, to allow yourself to focus, which we can then work around and build on as we go forward.
My main outcomes from therapy would be providing tools and techniques to help you manage not only in the here and now but also for the future and ultimately turn yourself into your own therapist. Using an array of different modalities catering to individual differences.
Behavioural Therapy
18 years of experience
Improve Your Sleep: Expert Tips for Better Rest and Health
Video transcript
Hi, my name's Adam Dawes and this is a short video around how I can manage to improve your sleep full stop. This comes from years and years of working with people with sleep concerns from not being able to sleep, sleeping too much and everywhere in between. The majority of ways that I work would be around gaining an idea of your sleep patterns, looking at sleep hygiene, what dreams come up, what other things come up that impact your sleep, getting you into a positive routine and cementing that with changes to your behaviors, changes to your cognitions, which will help you maintain a good quality sleep full stop. I would also think about changing some of the myths around sleep. We don't always get a good night's sleep. We are humans after all, rather than consistently needing perfect night's sleep. This is a good opportunity for people to understand how to change sleep now and improve it for the future and an opportunity to ensure that you do sleep well. Sleep is a fundamental aspect of healthy living. Reimagining the way that you sleep and putting it in a different perspective will improve every other area of your life and it's time to make that change now for your benefit and for the benefit of the people around you.
Hi my name is Adam Dawes. Within these sessions I aim to start by identifying sleeping patterns and the outcome being improving quality of sleep. This is done within a cognitive behavioural framework and builds on session by session from the last. It is time to sleep better.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
18 years of experience
Managing Anxiety: Step-by-Step Approach for Long-Term Change
Video transcript
Hi, my name's Adam Dawes and this is a short video around how I can help you move forward with your anxiety. Everyone has anxiety from time to time and it's important to recognise that that's normal. When these are amplified and having an impact on your day to day life, that's where I can help. Quite often people can get to the point where it is overwhelming. and anxiety is too much. And that's where we can look at on a step-by-step basis how to manage the anxiety, how to not allow it to run away with us and run into different negative automatic thoughts. We'd also look around how to identify what those thoughts are and also give you tools and techniques to help you manage those. I would also have a think around looking at the physiological responses, our behavioural responses and what we can do to ensure that anxiety is at a decent level. I work with honesty. We can't and we don't want to get rid of all of your anxiety as it is a natural thing that happens. But for you to be in control, for you to allow yourself to the knowledge that you are the person who is in control of your emotions, not the other way round is a huge step forward in the right direction to make a change within your anxiety, to ensure that you do have a better future where you can utilize that energy, that worry, that concern. And we can then identify that and ensure that we have a better way of coping. This is all done on a step-by-step basis, building on sessions before working from the lowest branch of the tree and working our way up to ensure that it is a long-term permanent change.
Using cognitive behavioural techniques my ideal outcome would be turning you into your own therapist so you cannot only engage and improve your anxiety now but it is a long term permanent change. Using mindful techniques as well as behavioural changes to improve your future.
Videos
Introduction video
Video transcript
Hi, my name's Adam Dawes. I'm one of the experts on this platform. I've been working within the field of therapy and psychotherapy for almost 20 years now, starting within the world of addictions, moving on to various forms of different modalities from cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance, commitment therapy and motivational enhancement therapy. What I've been learning over the years is a lot of the therapeutic process is how well you get on with it with the person in front of you. And I try to sort of allow that to happen by creating a safe, open space for people to speak, bring in some of the mindful work that I've done and allow people to acknowledge their own thoughts and feelings and come to their own decisions around where they want to go forward with their lives and what they want to get out of these sessions. It is under their rule. It can be quite structured in my sessions, but I guess my ultimate goal would be to allow that person to become their own therapist. So ideally they don't have to come back in to help, but I'm also a realist in terms of We all need help at some times and that's OK if we're all more honest with each other. Therapy would be better. We would be better with each other and the world would be a better place.
Bio
Everyone requires support and a confidential environment to voice opinions without fear of consequences. It's vital to foster a setting where individuals can openly express their feelings without judgment, which is fundamental for well-being. Understanding the manner in which you communicate with yourself can enhance how you interact with others. Such provision is a crucial component of an excellent therapeutic alliance, enabling the therapeutic process to be effective.
Having worked in the field for many years and employed various modalities from ACT to CBT to MET, the foundational principle for all therapies is confidence in the process and gradual progress in the necessary direction.
Beginning my professional journey in the field of addiction, I gained knowledge about motivation and various change models. This provided me with insights into individual behaviors as well as the broader aspects of social interactions and dynamics that constitute the entire person. It cultivated a belief in the recognition of a holistic approach over an individualistic one.
Through my work in addiction, I have spent time employing a counseling approach that has enabled me to develop skills in communication, empathetic listening, understanding, and acknowledging others' feelings. These are fundamental components of all therapeutic practices.
My subsequent learning focused on the principles of cognitive behavioral therapy and the interplay between cognitions, thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. This understanding sheds light on various situations and individual reactions to them. This knowledge has shaped my therapeutic approach, offering profound insights from underlying assumptions to core beliefs.
I have continued to expand therapeutically, incorporating elements of coaching into my care provision. I hold the belief that learning new methods and modalities of therapy is crucial, not only for my own development but also for enhancing the therapeutic environment I offer to others.
Throughout my journey, consistent supervision has provided deeper insights into my abilities, fostering reflection and understanding of my thoughts and behaviors. This reinforces my commitment to lifelong learning. In line with this, I practice what I preach; for instance, I incorporate exercise, which I engage in daily, into my practice and advocate for it.
Lately, my knowledge has expanded to encompass a philosophical framework, from the Stoics through Spinoza to Hegel, and into the contemporary philosophical foundations of psychology. This broadened perspective has enriched the conversations and deepened the understanding both for myself and for those I counsel.
Experience
Deputy Chair for the Accreditation Programme for Psychological Therapies Services (APPTS) APPTS is a service development, quality improvement and accreditation network for services providing psychological therapy to adults in the UK. The Royal College Of Psychiatrists (Psychological Therapies | Royal College of Psychiatrists (rcpsych.ac.uk))
Committee member for the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) Equity, Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity - A programme of work to embed EDI principles throughout the organisational culture and in our behaviour, working practices and organisational policies and to ensure that this paradigm shift paves the way for a better future.
I am a key member of the Psychological Professions Network - a regional network for all Psychological Professionals working in NHS commissioned healthcare or training providers in Kent, Surrey and Sussex, and associated stakeholders. This also includes raising awareness of psychological wellbeing practitioners and our inaugural conference in 2020. (PPN - Home)
CQI NHS training for leadership and team building 2020 IAPT supervisor accredited training course – 2020
Psychedelic Practitioner Foundations Programme Successful completion / pass - foundation for the development of any intervention, or system of interventions with psychedelic treatments, within a regulated healthcare setting. 30 hours of self-directed, asynchronous lectures and interviews, along with comprehension & reflection questions and a final exam. 2024 Clerkenwell Health
Ongoing - PgCert Psychedelics: Mind, Medicine and Culture Exeter University - practical and theoretical sides of contemporary psychedelic research from leading researchers in the field
Ongoing - Working with Exeter University on IAPT protocols and various research projects, inclusive of audits evaluation of new interventions and Evaluation Method Determining Recommendations for Written Low-Intensity CBT Interventions:
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy - 2022, a mindfulness-based behavioural therapy that challenges the ground rules of most Western psychology. Training with Oliva
Edward Jenner NHSX management online programme 2020
CQI NHS training for leadership and team building 2020
IAPT supervisor accredited training course – University of Essex - Post Graduate, IAPT supervisor course 2020
Canterbury Christ Church University - High intensity CBT –2015 – 2017 (90 / 180 credits gained).
University of Essex - Post Graduate, Psychological well-being practitioner 2010 – 2011
Diploma, Mental health awareness, 2010 – 2011 Pass with Distinction
Diploma, Motivational work, 2010 – 2011 Pass with Distinction
Diploma, Cognitive behavioural therapy, 2010 – 2011 Pass with Distinction
Leeds Metropolitan University BSC hons, applied psychology, 2005 – 2008 - 2.1
Publications: Farrand, P., Dawes, A., Doughty, M., Phull, S., Saines, S., Winter, S., & Roth, A. (2022). Development and application of criteria to evaluate written CBT self-help interventions adopted by Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services. The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, 15, E28. doi:10.1017/S1754470X22000241
Qualifications
Academic Qualifications
MSc Psychedelics: Mind, Medicine, and Culture (Ongoing) – University of Exeter (Online) Focus: Clinical applications of psychedelics, psychotherapeutic integration, neurobiology of altered states, ethical and metaphysical dimensions, cultural anthropology, and sociopolitical influences on psychedelic research.
BSc (Hons) Applied Psychology – Leeds Metropolitan University (2005–2008) – 2:1
Postgraduate Certificate, Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner – University of Essex (2010–2011)
High-Intensity CBT Training – Canterbury Christ Church University (2015–2017; 90/180 credits)
Diplomas (Mental Health Awareness, Motivational Work, CBT) – Distinction (2010–2011)
Professional Training & Certifications
Psychedelic Practitioner Foundations Programme – Clerkenwell Health (Completed July 2024) Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) – Oliva (2021–2022) IAPT Supervisor Accreditation – University of Essex (2020) Edward Jenner NHSX Leadership Programme – Online (2020) CQI NHS Leadership & Team Building Training – (2020)
Professional Roles & Affiliations
Deputy Chair, Accreditation Programme for Psychological Therapies Services (APPTS) – Royal College of Psychiatrists Supporting service development, quality improvement, and accreditation of adult psychological therapy services across the UK.
Committee Member, Equity, Equality, Diversity & Inclusivity – British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) Driving organisational change through embedding EDI principles in policy, practice, and culture.
Member, Psychological Professions Network (Kent, Surrey, Sussex) Promoting awareness of psychological wellbeing practitioners and contributing to regional initiatives, including the inaugural conference in 2020.
THRIVE Mentor, University of Reading Mentoring second-year psychology undergraduates in career planning and professional development.
NHS App Ambassador & Mental Health Matters Campaign Contributor – Health Education England Supporting digital health engagement and mental health awareness initiatives.
Active Participant, NHS England Mental Health Team Webinars Engaging with national updates and best practices in psychological service delivery.
Research & Publications
Peer-Reviewed Article Farrand, P., Dawes, A., et al. (2022). Development and application of criteria to evaluate written CBT self-help interventions adopted by Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services. The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, 15, E28. Cambridge Core
Key Contributor Quality Standards for Psychological Therapies Services – Fifth Edition Accreditation Programme for Psychological Therapies Services, Royal College of Psychiatrists (CCQI420, October 2024)
Contributor
Patient-facing materials for MyNurva (worksheets, information booklets) Guided self-help resources for MIND, including introductory workshops and public-facing guidance
Reviews
Adam was very kind and a great listener. He made me feel very comfortable throughout the whole assessment and made me feel like I made a step in the right direction. Thank you.
It was my first time connecting with any mental health services and it was overall a very positive experience. Adam was great in making me feel comfortable which made it easy to share what I am seeking help with.
A very reassuring and effective conversation. I really appreciated the clinician's manner and their obvious expertise.
A great experience; very efficient and executed in a friendly yet highly professional manner. I highly recommend working with Adam.
Adam was incredibly kind, understanding and easy to talk to. I had been nervous about the call but was immediately put at ease by his manner and how he asked questions.
Adam was very supportive, he listened clearly and created a nice relationship between himself and me which made me feel comfortable to open up. He did not judge and was super friendly, thanks Adam!
Adam was patient, friendly, kind and reassuring - he made the whole process really calm and straight forward - makes such a difference to have a empathetic human to speak to -thank you so much