Elizabeth Barley

Elizabeth is a Health Psychologist and Acceptance and Commitment Therapist with lots of experience in helping adults with problems related to weight, health, body image, work or relationships.

I am an HCPC registered psychologist and Registered General Nurse with a long career as an academic studying mental health and health behaviour change.This ensures that my approach to therapy is up to date and based on sound evidence.I have experience as a therapist helping adults to cope with anxiety, depression, illness, eating and body image problems, work and other life stresses.

My Approach

In therapy, I use a personalized approach, tailored to your needs. My core training is in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (pronounced ‘act’ to emphasise the intention to change). In an ACT session, we will work together to understand what is troubling you, including working out what can be changed and what cannot. This can be surprisingly difficult to do on our own. We will find ways to help you to stop struggling with your thoughts and feelings and instead focus on taking action to move towards the life you want. This may include using mindfulness techniques to help with difficult emotions and working to clarify what you value most in life.

The breadth of my experience and training means that I am also able to draw on a range of approaches such mindfulness, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), health behaviour change and problem solving. As a qualified nurse, I can offer a holist approach as I can understand what is happening in your body, the effects of treatments and the impact of these on your life.

I provide a non-judgemental and compassionate space to help you to:

• manage troublesome emotions such as depression, anxiety or stress
• explore the emotional impact of life changes such as illness, disability or loss
• cope with difficult symptoms, such as fatigue, pain, breathlessness, palpitations, menopause
• adjust to living with illness, including cancer, long term conditions or health conditions without a clear medical diagnosis
• make, and stick with, healthy life choices such as eating healthily, exercising and reducing alcohol intake
• manage your time, work or studies better
• explore what matters and how to change things for the better

• 2021
• Mindfulness Teacher Training, Mindfulness Now
• 2016
• Acceptance & Commitment Therapy: intensive course, Mindfulness Training Ltd
• 2004
• PhD Health Psychology, St George’s University of London (HCPC & BPS registered)
• 1990
• Registered General Nurse, NW Thames College of Nursing (NMC registered)

• Monthly one to one supervision with a clinical psychologist
• Monthly ACT peer group supervision
• Weight Matters group supervision and participation in training events
• Regular short course attendance, reading and reviewing of research articles

• 2023
• Safeguarding Adults, Level 3, Caredemy
• 2022
• The impact of psychological trauma on the brain, British Psychological Society
• 2021
• Physiological and behavioural adaptations to weight loss and their importance for weight loss maintenance, Association for the Study of Obesity
• Non-weight focused approaches within Bariatric Services, British Obesity & Metabolic Surgery Society
• ACT/Psychological Flexibility for Chronic Pain, Professor Lance McCracken
• Functional Analytic Psychotherapy, Contextual Consulting
• 2020
• Brief Interventions in ACT for Trauma, Russ Harris
• 2015
• Introduction to ACT, British Psychological Society
• Introduction to ACT for Long Term Conditions, British Psychological Society
• 2014
• CBT: introductory course (Oxford Cognitive Therapy Centre)
• CBT for cancer – Cantalk (South London and Maudsley Trust)
• 2009
• Behaviour change interventions: design and evaluation, British Psychological Society
• 2008
• Motivational interviewing, Division of Health Psychology, Psychological Society
• 2007
• NHS Level 2 training in Smoking Cessation, Lambeth PCT
• Primary Certificates in Relaxation Skills, Health Coaching, Stress Management, Centre for Stress Management