What is a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist or Coach?

A Cognitive Behavioural Therapist (CBT Therapist) or Coach supports individuals to understand how their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours interact – and to find practical ways to reduce distress and feel more in control. Some professionals combine both approaches, using the structure of CBT alongside the flexibility of coaching.

These professionals may work with adults, children, or families and often support those who are neurodivergent or living with complex emotional needs.

This is what CBT therapists told us about their roles:

Depending on their training and background, their work may include:

• Helping people identify unhelpful thought patterns and build coping strategies.
• Supporting with emotional regulation, identity, and anxiety.
• Providing a space to reflect, explore goals, and make meaningful change.
• Offering tools like thought diaries, reframing exercises, or values-based planning.
• Supporting parents to understand and respond to their children’s needs.

Sessions can be collaborative and tailored to the individual’s needs.

The word “therapist” can be used by anyone. But safe therapists usually hold specialist training and have a protected title. By this we mean a title you can only use if you have a particular qualification and are registered with a regulatory body.

CBT Therapists typically have:

• A core professional qualification (e.g. in psychology, social work, or nursing).
• A Postgraduate Diploma or Certificate in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
• Registration with the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP).

Coaches may have diverse backgrounds and often complete:

• Training in coaching models (sometimes specialising in neurodivergence).
• Additional CPD in mental health, autism, PDA, or trauma.
• Registration with professional bodies such as the Association for Coaching or ICF (optional).

Some bring valuable lived experience alongside their qualifications.

CBT Therapists and Coaches who understand PDA can:

• Help explore the impact of anxiety and overwhelm in daily life.
• Work on reducing internalised shame and increasing self-understanding.
• Offer flexible strategies for navigating demands, energy, and relationships.
• Support identity formation and confidence building.
• Empower parents to support their child with compassion and insight.

They often provide a space where the PDAer feels heard and respected.

Professionals in these roles described:

• Being flexible with format (e.g. shorter sessions, creative methods, coaching style).
• Focusing on building trust first, not diving into strategies too early.
• Using a collaborative, non-directive approach that respects autonomy.
• Avoiding traditional CBT homework, and instead co-designing tasks based on interest and capacity.
• Letting the PDAer define goals, rather than imposing change from outside.
• Encouraging curiosity and self-compassion, not self-criticism.

They often challenge the idea that therapy has to look one particular way.

CBT coaches told us that for PDAers, this type of support can:

• Offer clarity and tools for navigating a demand-heavy world.
• Help reduce overwhelm and shutdowns.
• Support more effective communication and self-advocacy.
• Help parents and families break unhelpful cycles and rebuild connection.

PDAers and their families often tell us how confusing and unsettling it can be to meet new professionals – especially when it’s not clear what their job is or what good support looks like. That’s why we asked professionals themselves to tell us, in their own words, what they do. You’ll find their honest, personal answers in the ‘What professionals do’ section of our site.

This is a growing resource, so if you don’t see the role you’re looking for yet, you could ask the person you’re working with to fill in this short form.

Please note: these insights come from individual professionals, not official organisations, so you might find some variation in how people describe their roles. If you’re wondering whether a service you’ve been offered is the right fit, our guides to finding helpful support can help.