Dr Amy Beddows

Edinburgh, UK and online therapist.

I am a fully qualified Cognitive Behavioural Therapist (CBT) and am accredited with the BABCP (the licensing and best-practice body for CBT therapists). I have twenty years’ experience working in mental health services, primarily with people who have experienced trauma such as sexual assault, domestic violence or child abuse. I have worked in a range of settings, including NHS crisis services, charities, specialist survivor-supporting organisations and Higher Education counselling services. Across my career, I have seen the many varied impacts that sexual abuse and domestic violence can have on clients, as well as the negative and blaming messages that clients often receive from friends and family, professionals, and the media. This led me to undertake a PhD research project exploring women’s experiences of victim blame, which I was awarded from the Child & Woman Abuse Studies Unit (CWASU) in 2022.

Today, I offer therapy to clients in private practice, both online and inperson in Edinburgh. As well as supporting people who are living with anxiety and depression, my areas of interest include health-related aspects of mental wellbeing which are often overlooked, especially those related to gender. These include:

  • Menopause and peri-menopause symptoms.
  • Endometriosis.
  • PMDD.
  • PCOS/PMOS.
  • Postnatal depression.
  • Chronic pain and chronic fatigue conditions.
  • The impacts of harassment, abuse, grooming, coercion and violence.
  • The impacts of porn use on sexual intimacy and self-esteem.

I strive to be an intersectional feminist therapist. I believe that it is crucial to meet clients where they are, within their different social and cultural contexts. Wellbeing, health and healing do not exist in isolation and therapy is most effective and ethical when it includes our environments, our upbringing, and the world around us.

In addition to therapy, I am an experienced CBT supervisor, a social sciences researcher, a trainer and consultant on gender-based violence, and I provide therapeutic workshops on a range of sessions. I am based in Edinburgh, Scotland and offer therapy, consultation, and training across the UK. For more information, please contact me or explore my website.