ABC Coaching and Counselling Services, for Integrative REBT/TA/Zen/CENT Therapy Worldwide!
Integrative counsellor in Hebden Bridge and Halifax, UK
Jim Byrne Doctor of Counselling (candidate) For highly effective counselling, coaching and psychotherapy
Ten years experience of helping people like you to think straighter, feel better, and behave more effectively in their lives generally: at home and at work
"Solve your problems fast With Jim's skilful help"
Out of office hours, try 843 629 (with the appropriate prefix).
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Hello and Welcome!
If you are looking for help with counselling, coaching or psychotherapy services, then that is one of the services you will find on this website.
This is the website of Jim Byrne, the creator of Cognitive Emotive Narrative Therapy (CENT), which is a derivative of pre-existing Rational and Cognitive therapies (REBT/CBT); combined with psychodynamic and narrative therapies. This is the leading edge of Integrative therapies, designed to be maximally helpful for you. CENT is not a "listening therapy". It is an active-directive form of philosophical coaching, designed to produce profound change for you, based on your agenda.
"People come and see me three or four times, and they go away with the solution to their problems. This normally happens much quicker than they expect. And they often write back to me to tell me how much they appreciate what they got from our work together". Jim Byrne, August 2008. (See the Clients' Testimonials Page).
CLARIFICATION OF WHAT IS ON OFFER HERE Because there are several different forms of counselling, coaching and therapy, I want to clarify for you what I offer.
About a week ago a client came to me for his third session. (A session lasts about 45 minutes, and normally occurs once per week). Let us call this client 'Jack', to protect his identity. (Confidentiality, or protection of the client's identity, and keeping secret what they tell us, is a standard part of all systems of counselling).
Anyway, Jack was very happy. He'd driven from (a place which will remain nameless, but let's assume it was in West Yorkshire somewhere). During that lengthy drive, he'd been thinking about what he's got from his first two counselling sessions with me.
"My life is transformed", said Jack. "Not only have I got over my anxiety with people at work, who used to stress me out; but my wife is now relating to me differently - in response to the improved way I relate to her. And I have been offered several new contracts; and people tell me I look so much better than I did..."
Jack was delighted with the changes he was producing in his life, with my help. But what exactly did I do to help him; and what could I do to help you?
Well, basically, I teach people that their overly-upset emotions and unhelpful behaviours come from not thinking straight. So I teach people how to think straighter than they currently do, so that they can have less extreme emotions (like anger, anxiety, depression). Then, when they get their emotions within a reasonable range, they find they can behave more sensibly, and more self-helpingly, in all areas of their lives.
Of course, I do also teach them the kinds of behaviours that will tend to produce the best results in their relationships, and in their pursuit of their goals. For example, I commonly teach people to stop 'beating themselves up' (verbally), or attacking those people in their lives on whom they depend.
Those individuals who take my help seriously get very much better lives than they had when they first came to see me.
To set up an appointment to discuss one or more of your problems, or to learn to think straighter about how you are managing some aspect of your life, then please telephone me on:
There are also other services described on this site: such as training in counselling skills; books on coaching, counselling and psychotherapy; a supervision service for counsellors; information on REBT therapy and research; information about happiness coaching and success coaching; and so on. These can be found in the 'Main Services' section which follows further down this page; or you can use the links in the top left hand corner of this page, or the links on the bottom row of this page.
If you are experiencing the emotional pain of anger, anxiety, depression, guilt, shame, stress, lack of confidence, or couple conflict, then I can help you: at a distance; or: face-to-face in Halifax or Hebden Bridge.
If you want Cognitive Behavioural (CBT/REBT/CENT) therapy help, with problems of daily living, then I can help you.
On this site you will find coaching, counselling and therapy services to suit your needs, whether you live in Hebden Bridge or Halifax, West Yorkshire, UK; or anywhere else on the globe (apart from the state of California); you can consult me about your issues to do with anger, anxiety, depression, stress, self confidence, self esteem, relationship problems, career problems, commnication difficulties, or life planning issues.
If you are distressed, or you feel suicidal, and you need to talk to somebody at once, and cannot wait to set up a counselling appointment, then please contact the following for listening support:
If you are outside UK, then please visit: Befrienders.
Here's a new video clip by Mac Anderson, on Finding Joy. Some of these quotes may move you, and hopefully inform you of possibilities... Finding Joy and Happiness.
CONTACT DETAILS
You can consult me face-to-face if you live near Hebden Bridge or Halifax, West Yorkshire, UK; or you can consult me over the telphone system; or by email; or over the internet - if you live further afield.
You will also find information on this website about REBT/CBT books, training courses, REBT research, and so on.
For further information, or to find out about potential appointments:
Hi, In the next few days, I intend to make a little video clip of myself singing three of Albert Ellis's 'Rational Humorous Songs'. Those songs are highly effective therapy, but they are not 'top of the pops' winners from a pure 'aesthetic' perspective. Therefore, before I venture to set myself up for a vigorous leg pulling by two billion people, I want you to know that I do know the difference between harmonious sounds and a cacophonous racket. As proof of that claim, here are some flavours of some of the songs and music I have loved over the years:
Abert Ellis's Rational Humorous Songs
The first of my three songs is called Love Me, Love Me, Only Me!, and is clearly a childlike sentiment, not uncommonly found in adults of mature years. The punch line is that, if you don't love me, I'll hate you: which has to be the very opposite of love! The song is a debunking of the irrational belief that: "I must be loved and approved by all significant others, all of the time; and it I'm not, it's AWFUL, it's TERRIBLE. I can't stand this kind of situation, and I think I'll kill myself!" (Think I'm exaggerating when I say that many allegedly mature humans hold such nutty beliefs? Think again!)
"The foundation of all of my work is Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT/CBT): combined with Transactional Analysis (TA) and Zen; and other modern narrative therapies: to produce Cognitive Emotive Narrative Therapy (CENT). If I can be said to specialize in anything, then I specialize in happiness coaching. However, I do this by helping people with all kinds of emotional, behavioural and relationship problems to become more effective at managing their lives". Jim Byrne, September 2007.
So if you want to be happier, or to learn how to help others to be happier, then please email Jim Byrne, at ABC Coaching. Or phone me on 01422 843 629 (from inside the UK), or 44 1422 843 629 (from outside the UK).
Jim Byrne, Cognitive Emotive Narrative Therapist (REBT/CBT/CENT).
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ABOUT JIM BYRNE
My name is Jim Byrne and I am a trained, experienced, registered and accredited Counselling Psychologist/Psychotherapist. I am in my tenth year in private practice, in Hebden Bridge and Halifax, West Yorkshire; and worldwide over the Internet and the telephone system. I use Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT/CBT), combined with elements of Transactional Analysis, Zen philosophy, and other modern narrative therapies, in my therapeutic work with clients and trainees. This new therapy is called Cognitive Emotive Narrative Therapy. To find out more about me, please go here:
Rational-Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) is the original form of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT); originated in 1955 by Albert Ellis PhD, a New York based clinical psychologist.
Albert Ellis gives one of his final lectures on REBT - from a hospital trolley:,
Dr Ellis had trained as a clinical psychologist when person-centred ideas were prevalent; but then retrained as a neoFreudian psychoanalyst and did that for about six years, until he discovered that this approach went into "every philosophic irrelevancy", and missed all the philosophic relevancies. So Dr Ellis went back to the philosophers, not the psychologists, and reviewed them: from the ancient Chinese; Greeks; Romans and up to modern Europeans and some of the American pragmatists. Out of this mixture, he fashioned REBT.
The Guide to Rational Living
Albert Ellis is the grand-daddy of modern psychology, and this book is the classic. While many psychologists and authors focus on one or several "pet techniques," Ellis and this book show you how to adapt an integrated set of rational (cognitive), emotive, and behavioral tools to your personal situations. And Ellis writes this and many of his other books for us non-psychologists...not just for "professionals."
The book starts by briefly summarizing the results of Ellis' ground-breaking work on what we do that causes us to feel and behave differently than we want. The author then teaches his general cognitive system...which includes very specific instructions...on how to change these feelings, behaviors, and thoughts.
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Get on track with your health commitments. If you cannot discipline your 'emotional brain', you will never succeed with diet and exercise commitments. Phone Jim on 44 1422 847 882 (from outside the UK), or 01422 847 882 (from inside the UK).
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ABOUT COGNITIVE-EMOTIVE NARRATIVE THERAPY (CENT)
Cognitive-Emotive Narrative Therapy (CENT) is a new integration of therapies, including REBT, CBT, TA, Narrative therapy, Zen therapy, and others. It is currently under development by Jim Byrne.
What is Coaching? It is a one-to-one encounter in which your personal and/or professional goals are the main focus. It is an opportunity for you to get some training and facilitation in how to set goals; how to function intelligently towards your goals; what to do to keep yourself motivated; and how to cope with frustrations, distractions and setbacks. Without goals, and a strategy to pursue them, you are like a boat without a rudder.
More information can be found on the Coaching Page.
And there is also a range of excellent books on coaching, including some of the best there is on personal, business and performance coaching, here, at The ABC Coaching Bookstore.
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A PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE
Some people think of philosophy as airy-fairy waffle that is of no interest to anybody but academics and pretentious buffoons. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is nothing more practical and useful than a good philosophy of life. Each of us lives our life from an unconscious philosophy of life - a blueprint that we follow like Pavlov's dogs. Unless and until we make that philosophy conscious, and change it so that it serves us instead of defeating us, we will be the pawns of those who trained our current philosophy of life into us.
On this website you will find elements of philsophy which can begin the process of liberating you from the chains of an excessively restrictive philosophy of life. Increasingly in the future, you will also find elements of philosophy that are designed to tackle the post-liberation event with guidance on how to live a productive pro-social life, in harmony with others, and in just institutions, without which there cannot be a harmonious society.
Success! What does that mean to you? For some people it means a bigger car. A bigger house. More cash to blow on empty calories. More conspicuous consumption. That, of course, is a possible way to be. But it is not success! It is not a form of 'right livelihood'. And it has nothing to do with the road to happiness or completion as a human being.
Indeed there seem to be more 'failures' among the super-rich today than among the moderately poor. ('Affluenza', by Oliver James, psychologist and author).
There are many different ways of defining and approaching personal and professional success, and success in life in general. My dictionary defines success as: "1. the accomplishment of an aim or purpose. 2. the gaining of fame, wealth, or social status..." And I would say that while number one is an important part of my definition of success, number two quite definitely is not. If you do what you love in life, and love the people in your life, you will gain all the acclaim and joyful success that any person could reasonably want.
HOW TO CONTROL YOUR ANXIETY, by Jim Byrne, Coaching and Counselling Psychologist/Philosopher
If you’re currently experiencing anxiety or panic, or other symptoms of stress, then Jim Byrne can help you.
In this manual, I set out to do two things: (1) To present a basic understanding of the Rational-Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) approach to dealing with anxiety; and (2) To provide a set of exercises for you to do so that you can learn how to analyze your problems with anxiety; identify solutions; and implement those solutions so as to eliminate your anxiety. In that way, you can become your own “counsellor”, in the area of anxiety and fear, because you can learn to fix your own emotional and behavioural problems.
Once you learn how to control your anxiety, the world of possibilities opens up before you. You can now do things that you would have dreaded before; to take risks in business and romance, at home and in your community. You will learn to enjoy the challenges of life, instead of running away from them.
If you would like to get a copy of this easy-to-read and apply forty-page pamphlet, then please click here:
Over a period of more than nine years I have helped more than 450 individuals, including many couples, to overcome their emotional, behavioural and relationship problems; and to become much happier than they had ever been before. To see some testimonials from satisfied customers, please take a look at the Client Testimonials page.
If you are looking for help with an emotional, behavioural or relationship problem, but you do not live within commuting distance of Hebden Bridge or Halifax, West Yorkshire, then please take a look at the Online (including Telephone) Coaching page.
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THE PSYCHOLOGY OF HAPPINESS
My dictionary of psychology does not contain a definition of the word 'happiness', mainly because, historically, psychology was concerned more with human misery and malfunction than with human thriving.
My English dictionary defines 'happiness' as "...feeling or showing pleasure..." But is that what we normally mean by the word happiness? I suspect that this is sometimes what we mean, but that we often mean something much calmer, and less dramatic, such as feeling calm and serene; feeling centred and grounded; feeling bliss; feeling comfortable and at peace; and so on.
Indeed, in my model of human emotions, and how they relate to bodily (or physiological) arousal, the word 'happiness' refers to an aroused positive state which occurs at a similar level of cardiovascular and visceral arousal as the 'healthy negative emotions' of concern and irritation. That is to say that happiness thus defined is a reasonable level of positive emotion, with a reasonable level of physiological arousal. Above that level of arousal we get mania, or overly-aroused positive emotion, with excessive physical activity and a generally negative effect upon others who are present and having to witness this manic behaviour.
For a range of books on how to improve your level of happiness, please go here: Books about Happiness!
Using this system of definition, we can say that many people are seeking happiness as just defined, but that it can only be achieved by encountering a 'positive stimulus', such as getting a pleasant surprise, gaining something that was desired or sought, escaping from something that was experienced negatively, and so on. Thus, in this definitional schema, happiness is contingent upon the external environment for its presence. If there are no external positive stimuli, then there is no internal state of positive arousal, called 'happiness'. Thus, in this schema, if you want to be happy, you absolutely need to get things, and experience events, that have a positive meaning for you. But that cannot always be arranged, as life tends to have good and bad elements. So that approach to 'happiness' would often, if not normally, be counterproductive. For example, when you experience loss or failure, how are you going to experience any happiness at all?
Another definition of 'happiness' could be this: 'To experience peace of mind; to be calm; to be contented; regardless of external circumstances'. This is closer to the Buddhist concept of 'detachment from desire'; or the Greek (Aristotelian) concept of 'Eudaimonia', which flows from living a virtuous life, rather than receiving anything from outside yourself.
Since you cannot always get what you want; and life can be very difficult, frustrating and sometimes downright painful, I strongly advise my clients to seek the second type of 'happiness' - namely 'contentment; detachment; eudaimonia; serenity; acceptance of your lot'. With this approach, you stay with the difficulties in your life; complete your experience of them; embrace them; and feel the sadness, irritation, concern, and so on that these situations evoke in us. What we find with this approach is that, after a certain amount of healthy negative emotion, such as sadness, the sun comes out, and happiness returns, without any need to receive anything (much) from outside of ourselves. Thus the psychology of success, for me, becomes the psychology of acceptance of what is so; detachment from excessive desiring of the unattainable; the living of a virtuous life, with and for others; and so on. In this way we can be 'happy' even when the rain pours in through our leaking roof, or the money runs out of our bank accounts too quickly!
Two other elements are also important:
(1) Firstly, it is important to focus your mind upon the mildly positive things in your life, in order to notice them, and feel happy that they are there. Otherwise, your attention will tend to focus upon the mildly negative things in your life, and you are likely to make yourself miserable about them. So managing your attention is crucial.
(2) Secondly, it is good to have long-range goals. But if all your goals are long range you will always be putting off pleasure to some dim, distant future which may never come. But if you only have short-term goals, you may fail to achieve all that may have been possible if you had thought of the long term, planned for it, saved for it, trained for it, and so on. So what you need is a good balance of long-term and short-terms goals, with daily, weekly and monthly rituals to extract what happiness you can from your life as it proceeds.
But now let us take a look at some of the findings of happiness researchers:
The psychology of happiness indicates that material assets are not prime factors in promoting happiness, once subsistence level has been reached. The more important factors include:
(1) Being involved in engrossing activities that are meaningful for you;
(2) Having a purpose in life that is much bigger than yourself;
(3) Having at least one major relationship involving trust and intimacy;
(4) Working intelligently towards your own goals;
(5) Learning to distinguish between what you can and cannot control; and "when it rains, just letting it rain!"
(6) Learning to practice gratitude for what you have in your life, instead of always focusing on what you do not have!
And so on.
Jim Byrne, July 2007
POSTSCRIPT
If you are habitually unhappy, and want to learn how to be happier, then call Jim Byrne on 01422 847882 (from inside the UK) or 44 1422 847882 (from outside the UK). Or email me on ABC Coaching and Counselling Services.
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OTHER SERVICES
If you do live within commuting distance of Hebden Bridge or Halifax, which are about half-way between Leeds and Manchester, on the M62 motorway, and the trans-Pennine rail link, then please take a look at the Face-to-face Therapy page.
I also offer a downloadable, online Information Pack for individuals who want face-to-face counselling/therapy; or I can send you a copy if you email me. Among other things, the Information Pack contains details of my availability, locations and my sliding scale of fees.
I offer Distance Learning (or Home Study) courses in Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT), at Primary Certificate level, Advanced Certificate level, and Diploma level, for professional counsellors/therapists. I offer supervision of REBT therapists for individuals with less than five years post-qualifying experience, in accordance with the rules of the ISPC. And I offer occasional public seminars for members of the public; and face-to-face training events for both the public and professionals. See the Training in REBT page.
Enquiries about this website, or any of the services describe within, can be sent to:
Jim Byrne
Coaching and Counselling Psychologist/Philosopher
ABC Coaching and Counselling Services
27 Wood End
Keighley Road
Hebden Bridge
West Yorkshire
HX7 8HJ, UK
Telephone: 01422 847 882 (from inside the UK); or 44 1422 847882 (from outside the UK).
Email: ABC Coaching and Counselling Services.
