Deepen your understanding and therapeutic approach to intrusive thoughts across OCD, anxiety and trauma, transforming your confidence and clinical skills in supporting clients.
Saturday 28th November 2026.
ONLINE CPD Training for Therapists via Zoom. Can’t make the date? Watch the recording on CATCH-UP for 28 days.
Event Times: 10.00am – 4.00pm GMT (London)/ 11.00am – 5.00pm CET (Paris)/ 5.00am – 11.00am EST (New York).
Tickets: £119 or £99 (full ticketing information at the end of this listing).
*Intrusive Thoughts: A Treatment Guide*
Event Description:
This brand-new one-day workshop offers an integrative framework for understanding and working with intrusive thoughts, a frequently misunderstood and stigmatised psychological experience. It will strengthen your knowledge, skills, and confidence in supporting clients who struggle with distressing internal experiences.
During the day we will explore the main types of intrusive thoughts, including those related to harm, sexuality, blasphemy, contamination, and unwanted impulses, and how they typically appear in clinical practice. These thoughts can arise across a range of presentations, such as OCD, including Pure O, anxiety, depression, and trauma-related difficulties. We will highlight the psychological mechanisms that drive intrusive thinking and explore how early caregiving, lack of emotional containment, heightened responsibility and cultural, religious, or superstitious meaning-making can shape vulnerability.
We will explore the emotional impact of intrusive thoughts, especially the shame, fear, and confusion they evoke and the ways to normalise these experiences, reduce stigma, and support clients in reframing their self-concept. The workshop draws on multiple therapeutic approaches, including CBT, psychoeducation, mindfulness, psychodynamic ideas, grounding and distraction techniques, lifestyle strategies, metacognitive principles, and compassion-focused therapy.
We will also clarify how to distinguish intrusive thoughts from genuine intent, emphasising that these thoughts, however distressing are ego-dystonic and do not predict behaviour. Finally, we will review what tends to help or hinder progress when working with these presentations and consider which approaches might suit different client profiles whilst also holding that this is only a framework, so flexibility is key. Many clients will not have a clinical diagnosis, so you will need to use your intuition and ask the right questions, whilst also giving yourself permission to be imperfect and adopting a compassionate and grounded attitude to yourself as a therapist.
Trainer:
Vikki Scott is a psychotherapist specialising in anxiety disorders, career fatigue, relationship difficulties, and intrusive thoughts. After the early loss of her mother, she experienced debilitating intrusive thoughts, known as Pure O, and explored many therapeutic approaches, from psychoeducation and CBT to mindfulness, in search of relief. Her lived experience underpins her strong belief in the potential for healing and personal transformation.
Trailer:
PRACTICAL INFORMATION ABOUT THIS WORKSHOP
Online CPD Workshop for Counsellors & Psychotherapists: This workshop will be delivered via Zoom. Bookings close 48 hours before the start of the workshop, and joining details will be sent to all delegates on the Thursday before the workshop (between 2pm and 6pm, after bookings have closed). Please note that by booking a ticket for this workshop, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions for Zoom events, so please read through them carefully before making your purchase.
Catch-up: This workshop will be recorded. All delegates will receive instructions about accessing the recording on the Thursday AFTER the event. The recording is available to view in your own time for 28 days. Full details are included in emails sent to delegates. After this time the recording will no longer be available, so if you are planning to use the catch-up function, please ensure that you have adequate time to view the recording within this time frame.
Discounted Ticket Price – £99
Available until Sunday 1st November 2026, subject to limited availability. Pick this ticket if you are on a reduced income or a student counsellor/psychotherapist.
Standard Ticket Price – £119
Available until 11am on Thursday 26th November 2026 when bookings close. Pick this ticket if you can afford to pay this, or if all the discounted tickets have been sold.
*Please be aware there are a limited number of tickets at each price point, including where a Super Early Bird ticket price is offered*
Please note that the use of the new subscriber code is limited for each workshop and when the maximum number is reached the code will no longer work.
Ticket Payment:
Bookings must be paid for either via Paypal, Credit/debit card (via Paypal, no Paypal account required), or bank transfer. All payments via bank transfer must be made by 11am on Thursday 26th November to secure your place!
CPD Certificates:
All delegates will be supplied with a CPD Certificate. This will be available after completing a short feedback survey, the link for which will be sent out on the Thursday AFTER the workshop takes place.