ABOUT
Dr Hilary Garraway
Holistic Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (HCBT)
Dr Hilary Garraway BSc. MSc. DClinPsy CPsychol is a consultant clinical psychologist and BABCP accredited CBT therapist, supervisor and trainer. Hilary is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and is a Chartered Psychologist accredited by The British Psychological Society (BPS).
Hilary worked full time as an adult psychology lead for secondary care services in an NHS London mental health trust and before that she worked in Early Intervention in Psychosis teams. Hilary has been a therapist for over thirty years and worked in the NHS for about twenty years as well as in a range of other settings including residential child care, youth work, primary health care and the voluntary sector. Hilary has trained in various therapy approaches and has attended a range of supervision courses as well as training in person-centred art therapy, ecotherapy, spiritual direction and creative writing. Hilary has also trained as an adult education teacher and is an honorary lecturer at University College London, University of Hertfordshire and King’s College London. Hilary has published research in peer-reviewed journals as well as developing the Holistic CBT therapy model which is described in the books she has written.
Hilary has been a trustee for various charities and is currently a trustee for two charities which develop whole person health care. She is the former chair of the National Spirituality and Mental Health Forum and former British Psychological Society spirituality lead. Hilary has a special interest in psychospiritual development and integrating spirituality into therapy and she describes her own spirituality as Celtic and Contemplative within the Christian tradition. Together with her husband, she set up a charity in Grenada which is in the process of establishing a therapeutic retreat house in Grenada. She has two adult children and a labradoodle dog.
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HCBT develops the standard CBT model by including the concept of the human spirit at the centre of the CBT model. HCBT recognises the interaction between body, mind and spirit and seeks to address the physical and spiritual as well as the psychological in a whole-person approach. HCBT encourages clients to interpret the concept of spirit according to their own spiritual or philosophical views and to use their preferred term such as higher self, essence or true identity. By including the human spirit in the CBT model, this offers a way of connecting to an inner source of potential and a still centre that can be a resource and strength.
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HCBT focuses on the importance of healthy relationships as part of wellbeing and explores how a person relates to their wider context. Along with acknowledging the impact of a person's past, HCBT also recognises other contextual influences such as environmental, cultural, spiritual and social influences and explores what is helpful and unhelpful within these influences.
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HCBT is about developing the person and not just solving a problem. Time is given to understanding someone's natural interests, values and strengths and explores how someone can develop a healthier version of themselves. Within therapy, the client and therapist identify cycles of unhelpful thinking and behaviour as in standard CBT but this is in relation to what is limiting the client's personal growth and potential.
HCBT draws from many sources such as positive psychology, ecotherapy (the therapeutic value of connecting with nature) mindfulness, and third wave as well as standard CBT. HCBT also seeks to make therapy interactive and creative and so encourages different modalities according to client preferences such as the use of art, movement and creative writing within therapy.