BABCP-accredited CBT · Gosforth, Newcastle & online UK-wide
Make more room for life, with less fear deciding what you do.
A sudden surge of panic can feel terrifying. When fear of another attack begins to shape your choices, you may avoid places, stay close to exits or rely on familiar routines to get through the day.
CBT offers a practical, step-by-step way to understand the panic cycle, test fearful predictions and gradually rebuild confidence in situations you’ve been avoiding.
- BABCP-accredited CBT therapist
- Practical, collaborative CBT
- Nearly 20 years’ mental health experience
- £90 · 50 minutes · Adults
Recognising the pattern
Does this sound like you?
Panic can involve intense physical sensations. Worry about another attack can then become a difficulty in its own right, affecting everyday choices.
Sudden physical surges
A racing heart, sweating, trembling, dizziness, breathlessness or feeling detached from yourself or your surroundings.
Frightening interpretations
Worrying that sensations mean you will faint, lose control, become seriously unwell or embarrass yourself.
Quiet avoidance
Skipping supermarkets, public transport, driving, social events or meetings because leaving might feel difficult.
Routines that feel essential
Needing to sit near an exit, be accompanied by a particular person or repeatedly check your body before feeling able to continue.
Fear of fear
Scanning for the smallest physical change and worrying about what it means, which can increase anxiety and keep your attention fixed on sensations.
Physical symptoms can have other causes. New, unexplained or changed symptoms need appropriate medical assessment rather than being assumed to be panic. Therapy takes your physical health and medical advice into account.
Understanding the cycle
Why avoidance can keep panic going
Leaving a situation or avoiding it altogether may bring immediate relief. Over time, it can also make it harder to discover what would happen if you stayed or approached it differently.
- The danger prediction goes untested. You may conclude that you coped only because you escaped or followed a particular routine.
- Confidence has less room to grow. You get fewer chances to learn that you can respond to anxiety without relying on the same habits.
- Choices become narrower. The list of places and activities that feel manageable may gradually shrink.
We’ll distinguish anxiety-driven safety habits from sensible precautions, access needs and medically necessary support. Prescribed medication and medical advice are not things to discard as an exposure exercise.
How CBT can help
Build confidence through manageable steps.
CBT is recommended by NICE for panic disorder. We’ll assess your needs, agree goals and use a collaborative plan rather than simply asking you to “calm down”.
Understand the physical alarm
Explore the body’s anxiety response and the meanings you attach to sensations. We’ll develop a clearer picture of your own panic cycle.
Work with feared sensations
Where appropriate, carefully planned exercises may help you test fears about body sensations. These are agreed together after considering your health and any medical advice; they are not self-directed challenges.
Approach everyday situations
Build an agreed plan for situations you’ve been avoiding, working gradually and reviewing what you learn. We’ll reduce unhelpful safety habits where suitable, without removing genuine safeguards.
Test frightening predictions
Explore thoughts such as “I won’t cope” and compare them with what actually happens during manageable experiments. The aim is greater flexibility and confidence, even when some anxiety is present.
Outcomes and treatment length vary. We’ll review progress together and adapt the plan, including discussing other support if needed.
Support that fits your life
Gosforth clinic or online across the UK.
Online video appointments
Join from a private space while you are in the UK. Where appropriate, online sessions can support planned activities in your own surroundings. We’ll agree how to work safely and what to do if the connection drops.
Gosforth, Newcastle
Meet at The Grainger Suite, Dobson House, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3 3PF. Free parking is available. Please ask about any access requirements before visiting.
£90 per 50-minute session, online or in person.
I’m Amanda Hodgson, a BABCP-accredited CBT therapist and HCPC-registered occupational therapist with nearly 20 years of mental health experience. We’ll work at a manageable pace, with clear goals and regular reviews.
A manageable first step
You don’t have to keep organising your life around fear.
Book a free 15-minute introductory call to talk briefly about what you’re looking for, or book an assessment so we can explore your difficulties and agree practical next steps.