Simona Stokes is an experienced counselling psychologist who uses CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) to help people with stress, depression and anxiety. After 20 years working in the NHS and voluntary sector, she then founded her own clinic in Birmingham, and has developed an interest and specialist knowledge in helping women with the emotional and psychological challenges of the peri/menopause. Simona’s personal experience of hormonal changes hit her hard and this led her to develop and successfully implement the psychological tools she had at her disposal to support her own journey and made her realise many women need help to understand the impact their hormones have on their moods, thoughts and emotions.
In discussion with Dr Louise Newson, Simona explains the power of estrogen as our primary fuel and the problems that can arise when estrogen falls. She explains the difference in perimenopausal depression compared to general depression, what CBT is and how it can help women at this time of life that can often be a pinch-point on our emotions. Simona advises how to look after yourself and your emotions and elaborates on why so many women feel a sense of loss of one’s role, of identity, and loss of purpose at this time.
Simona’s advice for women experiencing emotional challenges:
Simona’s clinic and website details can be found here.
The ‘Meno D’ rating scale to detect depression that Simona refers to can be found here.
If you would like to access psychological therapies via the NHS explore your options here.
You can find Simona on her social media pages a:
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/menopausecbtclinic/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ThrivingBeyond40
178 - My story of ‘treatment resistant depression’, ketamine and HRT
177 - Families, relationships and the power of connection with Julia Samuel
176 - Introducing new Chief Medical Director, Dr Magnus Harrison
175 - Mood, mental health and hormones with Dr Clair Crockett
174 - World Menopause Day Special with Dr Louise Newson
173 - The challenges of accessing menopause treatment as a young woman
172 - Learning to make empowered choices after cancer with Dani Binnington
171 - Finding hope with hormones after 20 years of struggling with my mental health
170 - Recognising and reversing osteoporosis with Dr Taher Mahmud
169 - The unfair choice for elite female athletes with Janet Birkmyre
168 - The facts and fiction about menopausal skin with Dr Sajjad Rajpar
167 - The benefits of yoga (revisited) with Lucy Holtom
166 - Researching suicide in perimenopause and menopause with Dr Pooja Saini
165 - When menopausal symptoms persist, with Dr Anna Chiles
164 - When ADHD collides with perimenopause with Margaret Reed Roberts
163 - When night sweats are not the menopause with Dr Susanna Crowe
162 - Divorce, perimenopause and menopause with Farhana Shahzady
161 - Jill’s experience of heart attacks and hormones
160 - Thinking hormones in psychiatric consultations with Dr Devika Patel
159 - Raising awareness of HRT in the community in Ireland with Pharmacist, Victoria Jones
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