Avy Joseph is an experienced Cognitive Behavioural Therapist and co-founder of the companies, CityMinds and the College of Cognitive Behavioural Therapies. He is a registered and accredited therapist with the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) and a board member of The Association of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapists (AREBT).
Avy believes that an action oriented and compassionate approach to emotional problems, personal development and growth is important when working with clients. A person’s potential is often blocked by old patterns of thinking and behaviours which are learned either in childhood; or in later life, but usually maintained with or without awareness, in the present. Such beliefs and patterns are at the heart of emotions like: anxiety, depression, guilt, hurt, jealousy, anger, embarrassment and envy as well as unhelpful behaviours, thoughts and symptoms.
Avy began working as a counsellor in 1992, developing and running workshops on Relationship Problems, Phobias, Hypnosis in Dentistry, Panic Disorders as well as Goal Achievement. It was when lecturing both nationally and internationally that his interest in evidence based cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) grew. In 2001 he gained a Masters degree in rational-emotive behavioural therapy from Goldsmiths College, University of London (one of the main schools of cognitive and behavioural therapy).
After completing his Master’s degree dissertation, in combining CBT and Hypnosis, he changed his approach to Hypnotherapy, noticing the combination of CBT and Hypnosis was a very effective therapeutic intervention that resonated with his clients. This culminated in the development of cognitive behavioural therapy coursesm, hypnotherapy courses and then the launch of The College of Cognitive Behavioural Therapies.
He has recently published Confidence and Success with CBT and Visual CBT with Maggie Chapman, Co-Founder of the College. Other published works include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy - your route out of perfectionism, self sabotage and other every day habits.