CBT Therapy
If anxiety, stress, overthinking, burnout or other psychological difficulties are affecting your life, we can work together to understand what’s keeping the problem going and make practical changes.
About Chris Finn
I’m Chris, a BABCP-accredited CBT psychotherapist, life coach and author of A Clear Mind.
My working life has taken me from corporate leadership into psychology, the NHS, university teaching, psychotherapy and coaching.
What connects it all is a fascination with a simple question: what helps people change?
That question is personal for me, too. Working with a life coach changed the direction of my own life — and ultimately led me to the work I do today.
My Story
I wasn’t born privileged. Life was pretty rough growing up. I just about survived childhood, with little money, little support and a lot of barriers in my way.
I worked hard for what I achieved, following my passions and interests. By my early twenties, I had become a successful leader in the corporate world.
Working closely with people and their development sparked my interest in psychology, coaching and human performance.
Then, at 26, I met a life coach.
That was when I woke up. Until then, it felt like I’d been drifting through life.
That coach had the single biggest impact on the direction of my life. He helped me see past my fears and self-doubt, and become clearer about my purpose, my passions and what I wanted to do.
From that moment on, I wanted to do for other people what he had done for me.
I wanted to study psychology and become the first person in my family to go to university.
But when I applied, I was turned down.
But I had a fire in my belly. I knew this was what I wanted to do.
I called the university and explained that I had never been more sure of anything in my life. I told them I would be top of their class and their best student.
They heard me. And they let me on the programme.
I went on to graduate with a first-class degree in psychology.
Experience & Qualifications
I spent 14 years working in the NHS, including as a Senior Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist, and five years as a Senior Lecturer teaching CBT at university.
I also offer individual CBT supervision online across the UK, supporting therapists with their clinical development and wellbeing.
Across my clinical and coaching work, I’ve worked with more than 6,000 people — from people struggling with anxiety and confidence to professionals, leaders and business owners wanting to perform at their best.
The part that has always interested me most is working things out with the person in front of me: what is happening, what is getting in the way, and what might help.
I also give talks and workshops exploring wellbeing, clearer thinking and performance, bringing psychological ideas to life for teams and wider audiences.
My qualifications and training include:
- BABCP-accredited Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist
- First-class BSc (Hons) in Psychology
- Postgraduate Certificate in Psychological Therapies
- Postgraduate Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Mindfulness teacher training
- Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) training
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) training
- Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) training
- Certified Transformative Coach
- Executive and Leadership Coaching training
What It’s Like to Work With Me
My approach is warm, straightforward and collaborative. I’ll take what you’re experiencing seriously, but I won’t make it more complicated than it needs to be.
You don’t need to arrive with everything neatly worked out. There’s room to think out loud, ask questions and make sense of what’s happening.
I’ll help you look at things from different angles and challenge your assumptions where that’s useful. We’ll keep connecting what we discuss to your actual life and the things that matter to you.
The aim is for our conversations to make a difference beyond the time we spend together.
A Clear Mind
My book, A Clear Mind: The Less Is More Mindset to Wellbeing & Performance, explores an idea that runs through much of my work: we often function better when we understand what we can stop doing.
Less overthinking. Less unnecessary pressure. Less getting caught up in every doubtful or critical thought.
It brings together my interest in helping people feel better, think more clearly and perform at their best.
Sometimes the most useful question is: what am I not seeing that I need to see?
How I Can Help
My work today centres around CBT therapy and life coaching. I offer both in person in Ferndown, Dorset, and online across the UK.
Life Coaching
If you’re functioning reasonably well but feel stuck, lack direction or want greater clarity, confidence and fulfilment, coaching may be a good fit.
We can explore what matters to you, what’s getting in the way and what you’d like to change in your work or life.
Let’s Talk
If you think I might be able to help, we can start with a free 20-minute introductory call.
It’s a chance to tell me a little about what’s going on, ask questions and get a feel for whether working together would be right for you.
You don’t need to decide whether you want therapy or coaching beforehand. We can talk that through together.
There’s no obligation to continue.