Siamak Diba
Cognitive Behavioural Therapist in London

Hi, I'm Siamak Diba,
I'm qualified in contemporary psychotherapy & am a master Neuro-Linguistic-Programming practitioner. I have worked with over 1200 people as a keyworker/therapist at ARC rehab and in private practice.
I'm also an accredited Life Coach.
I've been in recovery from addiction for 17 years.
I offer face to face online & in person therapy sessions.
I was a founding member of a drug & alcohol residential rehab (ARC) in 2006.
I became the Care Quality Commission Registered Manager of the rehab for 12 years until 2019.


The directions I've chosen in life are learning through ongoing studies, and constant improvement of my skills and expertise as a psychotherapist. Family is important to me and I enjoy the time I spend with my 12-year-old son. I'm passionate about travelling and football, watching and playing together with friends and my son.
Anxiety:
Waking up worried or something during the day triggering your worries which sometimes is vague & sometimes specific,
A feeling of dread or impending calamity which sometimes is mild & sometimes almost unbearable,
Thinking about future scenarios & almost always imagining the worst,
Doubt, suspicion, hypersensitivity, physically unpleasant sensations,
your relationships being affected by this.....
Anxiety has its roots in the past but it is always about the future.
let me tell you this also: anxiety is normal, it is part of life. The problem occurs when your fears, worries & anxieties seem to take over and become your whole life.
You can break free!
You might have tried some ways of controlling, avoiding, suppressing, distracting, changing your thinking... talking yourself out of your fears, worries & anxieties. You might have even tried counselling to get help with doing some of the above.
Coping strategies might work short term but in the long run...?
I'm here to tell you that freedom, management of ALL your states & having the life that you want is possible.
In order to do this we become 'present'.
In order to become present, we might have to go on a journey into the past & the future but ultimately you arrive at your most capable, resourceful, connected, 'present' self.
To achieve this, we will use a few psychotherapeutic tools. These include:
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy:
.Self Observation, identifying your internal language
. Staring a new internal language

Acceptance & Commitment Therapy:
. Pausing & Noticing, evaluating your experiences. Let me describe this with a short story:
A native American grandfather was talking to his grandson about how he felt. He said: " I feel as if I have two wolves fighting in my heart. One wolf is angry, vengeful, scared & violent one, the other wolf is a loving, compassionate one." The grandson asked him: "which wolf will win the fight in your heart?" The grandfather answered: " The one I feed the most!"
. Setting 'What's Important, Living Directions (WILD), & moving towards them.


Inner Child work:
. Identifying wounds of the past and any trauma you might have experienced
. Healing the wounds by connecting to the child of long ago and 'reclaiming her/him' & 'reparenting her/him'.
To do inner child work we will also have to use psychodynamic exploration & Neuro Linguistic Programming techniques.
I am happy to discuss these with you in our introductory initial session. I offer an initial introductory session on Zoom or in Person for £10 . The reason for the nominal charge is to avoid 'no-shows' when I've booked my time out.

I'm sure other therapeutic tools will come in handy during our work as I'm sure other areas of concern might arise when we start this journey together. We will use those tools & we will address those areas as needed.

So, regarding Anxiety & any of the problems you are struggling with, let me give you an analogy:
"I'm sure you know what Poison Ivy is. Poison Ivy is a plant that is a strong skin irritant. Most people try to avoid touching the plant because they know what they'll get: a nasty, red, blistering rash that itches like hell. If you've ever touched one, you know what it's like. you've got a strong urge to scratch, & when you do that, you make matters worse. You might end up with open sores on your skin. And if you haven't washed the plant oils from your hands & exposed area, you may spread the allergic reaction to other parts of your body. No amount of scratching will cure the inflammation. You need to stop the scratching & allow your body to heal itself.
The anxiety itch is like this too. The discomfort rages through your head & your body & you have a strong urge to get relief. So you avoid. you struggle. The problem is that you can't avoid exposure to anxiety the way you can avoid a poison ivy plant.
Anxiety can show up anywhere or anytime. When you scratch your anxiety itch with avoidance and struggle, it makes the anxiety worse- The anxiety grows and spreads to infect most of your life. Also, all the struggle pulls you out of your life too".

Relationships:
Almost all relationships I have worked with have had a few commonalities in their issues:
Unhealthy communication
Loss of trust/respect/interest/goodwill
Disorder of desire
Resentment & Alienation

There's some more but I'll stop there for now. Each of the above need to be examined & addressed & worked with,
Also,
There's always each person & their processes; What I mean is that there are issues that each person brings to the relationship & how those issues impact the relationship.
So usually, the work involves a combination of "individual" and "couple work".

My experience of working with couples has shown me that the best results are achieved when each person is up for personal discovery, healing & growth, as well as being willing to work on the relationship dynamics.

In terms of relationship dynamics, some of the "buzzwords" to consider might be: "for granted- Stale- Resentment- entrenched- Mistrust- projection"... There are of course more,& the important skill is to be able to move from 'generalisation' into 'specifics' & then the big one: Communication!
Conflicted communication which moves & keeps a person in 'ego-defence' is often the mechanism of a relationship dysfunction. You can, with guidance, navigate your way through; If 'goodwill' still exists between you.

For all this to become possible, there are 2 requirements:
1- that there is "goodwill" left between you two &
2- that each of you are willing to have "personal change" , to "look inside".

If these requirements are there, then we can do some good work.

Through our work you will break free, achieve 'Presence' & move mindfully & fast towards the life you want.
We will meet on Zoom, or we will meet in person at one of 2 locations I work from. The sessions are 50 minutes long.
There's a lot to say, contact me & let's start. Call or email me to set up your initial session.

Background & Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Qualifications

I had been working at The ARC since 2006 and was the CQC Registered Manager until 2019. Alongside therapy and being consultant and trainer at The ARC I was also involved in the development of the treatment modules for ARC's secondary treatment workshops.
Recently I left to focus on my private practice & to develop training courses & workshops.
Qualifications:
Master Practitioner in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)
Contemporary Psychotherapy (UKCP)
NVQ Level 4 in Leadership & Management in Health & Social Care
Psychopathology (UKCP)
Sexuality & Human Development (UKCP)
Ethical Practice in Psychotherapy (UKCP)
Working with Addiction & Recovery- (Addiction specialist)
Mindfulness Life Coaching (APC)

My Specialisms

Original Pain/Inner Child work:
. Identifying wounds of the past and any trauma you might have experienced
. Healing the wounds by connecting to the child of long ago and 'reclaiming her/him' & 'reparenting her/him'.
To do inner child work we will use, amongst other models of therapy, Transactional Analysis, psychodynamic exploration & Neuro Linguistic Programming techniques,

Anxiety:
Waking up worried or something during the day triggering your worries which sometimes is vague & sometimes specific,
A feeling of dread or impending calamity which sometimes is mild & sometimes almost unbearable,
Thinking about future scenarios & almost always imagining the worst,
Doubt, suspicion, hypersensitivity, physically unpleasant sensations,
your relationships being affected by this.....
Anxiety has its roots in the past but it is always about the future.
let me tell you this also: anxiety is normal, it is part of life. The problem occurs when your fears, worries & anxieties seem to take over and become your whole life.
You can break free!
You might have tried some ways of controlling, avoiding, suppressing, distracting, changing your thinking... talking yourself out of your fears, worries & anxieties. You might have even tried counselling to get help with doing some of the above.
Coping strategies might work short term but in the long run...?
I'm here to tell you that freedom, management of ALL your states & having the life that you want is possible.
In order to do this we become 'present'.
In order to become present, we might have to go on a journey into the past & the future but ultimately you arrive at your most capable, resourceful, connected, 'present' self.
To achieve this, we will use a few psychotherapeutic tools.

So, regarding Anxiety & any of the problems you are struggling with, let me give you an analogy:
"I'm sure you know what Poison Ivy is. Poison Ivy is a plant that is a strong skin irritant. Most people try to avoid touching the plant because they know what they'll get: a nasty, red, blistering rash that itches like hell. If you've ever touched one, you know what it's like. you've got a strong urge to scratch, & when you do that, you make matters worse. You might end up with open sores on your skin. And if you haven't washed the plant oils from your hands & exposed area, you may spread the allergic reaction to other parts of your body. No amount of scratching will cure the inflammation. You need to stop the scratching & allow your body to heal itself.
The anxiety itch is like this too. The discomfort rages through your head & your body & you have a strong urge to get relief. So you avoid. you struggle. The problem is that you can't avoid exposure to anxiety the way you can avoid a poison ivy plant.
Anxiety can show up anywhere or anytime. When you scratch your anxiety itch with avoidance and struggle, it makes the anxiety worse- The anxiety grows and spreads to infect most of your life. Also, all the struggle pulls you out of your life too".


Relationships:
Almost all relationships I have worked with have had a few commonalities in their issues:
Unhealthy communication
Loss of trust/respect/interest/goodwill
Disorder of desire
Resentment & Alienation

There's some more but I'll stop there for now. Each of the above need to be examined & addressed & worked with,
Also,
There's always each person & their processes; What I mean is that there are issues that each person brings to the relationship & how those issues impact the relationship.
So usually, the work involves a combination of "individual" and "couple work".

My experience of working with couples has shown me that the best results are achieved when each person is up for personal discovery, healing & growth, as well as being willing to work on the relationship dynamics.

In terms of relationship dynamics, some of the "buzzwords" to consider might be: "for granted- Stale- Resentment- entrenched- Mistrust- projection"... There are of course more,& the important skill is to be able to move from 'generalisation' into 'specifics' & then the big one: Communication!
Conflicted communication which moves & keeps a person in 'ego-defence' is often the mechanism of a relationship dysfunction. You can, with guidance, navigate your way through; If 'goodwill' still exists between you.

For all this to become possible, there are 2 requirements:
1- that there is "goodwill" left between you two &
2- that each of you are willing to have "personal change" , to "look inside".

Addiction:
I have learned that if you have experienced alcohol/drug problems then you will have been in situations where you have:
• Become obsessed and preoccupied
• Have had to get into secrecy and lies
• Have had to tell more lies to protect the original lie
• Have neglected things and people to serve the obsession
• The behaviours have become riskier and riskier
• The threat of devastating consequences could not stop you
& possibly more…
& I know you have:
• Felt like you have been living a parallel life
• felt anxiety and even mini-panics when you've been at risk of being found out
• reacted defensively and aggressively when questioned
• felt deep shame inside yet were unable to stop
& definitely more…

Maybe a crisis has brought you here and maybe you also feel not much hope is present, or maybe a combination of events and situations have made things feel overwhelming, but you need to hear this:
You will be ok! you CAN learn to handle this & you CAN break free and have the best life that you want!

Approach to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy & How I Work

The following is some of the "Hows" of my work:

So I have researched therapies and therapists & have looked at what they offer & some of them are pretty good…But There Can Be Much More, There's so much missing & so many "holes" in most of their limited approaches.
We will do much more! We will fill those "holes" with our approach! We will be HOLISTIC & you WILL enjoy your BECOMING!
I work in an OUTCOME BASED & SOLUTION ORIENTED way and want to see results working almost immediately in your life, rather than dragging this out for years & years.

Through therapy sessions I will provide the space and the tools for you to:
1. Understand
2. Accept
3. Heal
4. Change
5. Thrive
In the sessions we will work on your thinking, feelings, behaviour & we will explore the background of where your beliefs come from and we will change the attitudes that don't serve you.
Once your perception has changed, your experience of life will be different!

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy:
.Self Observation, identifying your internal language
. Starting a new internal language
Very simply put, we look at your thoughts, behaviours & the consequences of those behaviours. We then then practice new ways...

Acceptance & Commitment Therapy:
. Pausing & Noticing, evaluating your experiences. Let me describe this with a short story:
A native American grandfather was talking to his grandson about how he felt. He said: " I feel as if I have two wolves fighting in my heart. One wolf is angry, vengeful, scared & violent one, the other wolf is a loving, compassionate one." The grandson asked him: "which wolf will win the fight in your heart?" The grandfather answered: " The one I feed the most!"
. Setting 'What's Important, Living Directions (WILD), & moving towards them.

I'm sure other therapeutic tools will come in handy during our work as I'm sure other areas of concern might arise when we start this journey together. We will use those tools & we will address those areas as needed.

Confidentiality is of utmost importance to me in my therapy practice. I recognise that
building trust and maintaining the privacy of my clients is essential in creating a safe and
secure environment for you to work through personal issues.

By upholding a strong ethical code of practice, I'm able to provide an empathic and
non-judgmental environment for you to work through your challenges and achieve
your goals.

I offers both in-person and online zoom sessions, and invite you to book
an initial consultation sessio to make nsure we can work well together.

Therapies & Rates

Please note the rates detailed below are there to give you an idea of the therapists standard rates, we strongly advise you contact the therapist for more detailed rates and any offers they may have.

Therapy	Appointment Type	Rate
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy	In Person	Please Call
NLP	In Person	Please Call
Life Coaching	In Person	Please Call
Relationship Therapy	In Person	Please Call

Additional Rate Information

I offer in-person sessions from a clinic near Wimbledon, & also see clients face to face online using Zoom or Skype. I work in an OUTCOME BASED & SOLUTION ORIENTED way and want to see results working almost immediately in your life, rather than dragging this out for years & years. I charge £130 per session & offer a 6-session package for £720. 12-session block fees are £1320. Each session is 50 minutes long and we can achieve a lot in 6 sessions but I will also send you information, reading material and various worksheets and exercises in between our sessions for you to complete. As it's important to discuss the start of this journey and to know that we can work well together, I ask that you call me on 07950299143 for a chat & to go through your various options. If I don't answer, I will call you back once I'm free.