Private therapy sessions in Essex and London
Private therapy sessions with Ryan Hegarty follow a clear, structured process: from a free discovery call through to evidence-based CBT and EMDR work, with the goal of leaving you with tools that last long after sessions end.
Private therapy sessions that are structured, practical and built around results
Most people arrive not knowing what to expect. They have either never tried therapy before, or they have tried something that felt directionless and unproductive.
Private CBT and EMDR therapy sessions at Slán Therapy are neither of those things. Every session has a structure, every technique has an evidence base, and from the first appointment, there is a clear direction of travel. You will always know what we are doing and why.
CBT and EMDR are not alternative or complementary therapies. Both are recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as first-line treatments. CBT for anxiety and depression, EMDR for post-traumatic stress disorder. That matters when you are choosing who to work with.
Online therapy sessions and home visits across Essex and London
Online Therapy Sessions
Most of my clients work with me online. Sessions run by video, from wherever you are. Same structure, same method, same results as sitting together in a room. Flexible enough to fit around a demanding schedule without sacrificing an hour to the commute.
Home Visit Therapy
For clients who prefer it, or for whom getting somewhere is genuinely difficult, I come to you. Home visit sessions cover Essex, London and Cambridge. Cost depends on your location and is always confirmed before anything is booked.
Private CBT and EMDR therapy sessions in Essex and London with a BABCP-accredited therapist
I am Ryan Hegarty, a BABCP-accredited CBT and EMDR therapist based in Essex. Before private practice, I worked as a mental health nurse in high-secure settings, including Broadmoor Hospital, through NHS services and into primary care, before training as a cognitive behavioural therapist. I now work part-time as a mental health adviser at the University of Cambridge alongside Slán Therapy.
My accreditations are publicly verifiable via the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies and the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
I work with professionals, executives and entrepreneurs who are high-functioning on the outside and running on empty underneath. My approach is direct and evidence-based. There is a method. It works. When we are done, you will have a framework that lasts.
Every session is with me directly.
What happens in private therapy sessions with Ryan Hegarty
Book a Discovery Call
We start with a conversation about what has brought you here, what you want to change, and whether I am the right therapist to help you do that. It is free, 20 minutes, and there is no obligation to continue.
Get Into Sessions
This is where the work happens. We look at the mechanics: thoughts, behaviours, memories and patterns that are not helping you. Then we build different responses. CBT works with how you think and what you do. EMDR works with experiences that have not resolved on their own. Sometimes both.
Need Me Less
The point is not to keep you in therapy indefinitely. Over time, you will feel more confident applying the tools you have learned without my help. That is what success looks like.
Don't take my word for it
Hear from some of my clients.
Can’t recommend highly enough!!!
Ryan was an exceptional trauma-informed CBT therapist and I can’t recommend him highly enough. From the very first session, he immediately made me feel relaxed, safe, and comfortable enough to open up about what was going on. He explained things in a way that was easy to understand and always made the techniques feel relevant and personal to my situation.
My time working with Ryan was very helpful and productive. I’ve had several counsellors over the years, and elements of Ryan’s approach were quite different and very suited to me. His manner is relaxed and empathetic. Whilst the time was taken to aid my understanding of myself, he also provided real tools and tactics that enabled me to put the changes I wanted to make into practice. This has often been the gap in the past that prevented me from making meaningful change. I’m doing well now, but wouldn’t hesitate to go back to Ryan, for a top up, or to work through another issue on the future. Thank you, Ryan.
Life Changing.
Ryan has been incredible throughout. His pragmatic approach and tools have helped me overcome a number of challenges which have built up over time.
His clear communication style and clarity ensured I was able to understand everything in the first instance and the awareness I developed with his help has significantly improved my view on many things and helped me be more accepting in certain situations which would have previously snow balled and got out of control.
Without question or doubt, I’d highly recommend Ryan. Thank you Ryan.
I couldn’t recommend Ryan more.
Ryan is a highly trained therapist, who you feel at ease with after just your first meeting. He speaks to you like you’re a real person and creates an environment that you feel that you can open up in. Ryan has real life applicable techniques which are easy to integrate into your day to day life. He genuinely has changed my life and way of thinking.
I have tried NHS and a few other therapy services. Slan Therapy was the one that stuck. Ryan is patient and lets you go at your own pace whilst also making sure you are progressing. He made me feel so at ease and I looked forward to the sessions instead of dreading them (like all the ones before). My life is now brighter since working with him. 100% recommend, his Irish self won’t let you down!
Ryan is a phenomenal practitioner of pyschotherapy and CBT. I started working with him on a personal recommendation and within a few sessions he had helped me not only understand (for the first time) what was going on for me, but also started equipping me with practical work that made a real difference.
Ryan is a highly trained therapist, who you feel at ease with after just your first meeting. He speaks to you like you’re a real person and creates an environment that you feel that you can open up in. Ryan has real life applicable techniques which are easy to integrate into your day to day life. He genuinely has changed my life and way of thinking.
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Questions about how private therapy sessions work
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What happens in a private therapy session?
At Slán Therapy, private therapy sessions with Ryan Hegarty are structured around a clear agenda. Each session builds on the last. Ryan will work with you to identify what is maintaining the problem, whether that is a pattern of thinking, a behaviour, or an unresolved experience, and apply evidence-based techniques to change it.
Sessions run 50 minutes. You will not just talk. You will leave each session with something concrete to take away and apply.
What happens in my first therapy session?
Your first session is an assessment appointment where you and Ryan Hegarty will talk through what has brought you here, your history, and what you want to get from therapy. It is a two-way conversation, not an interrogation.
By the end of the session, you will have a clearer picture of what the work looks like and how long it is likely to take. At Slán Therapy, the first session is also a chance to make sure this is the right fit before committing to anything further.
How is an EMDR session different from a CBT session?
A CBT session focuses on identifying and changing the thoughts and behaviours that are keeping a problem going.
An EMDR session works differently, it uses bilateral stimulation to help the brain reprocess memories or experiences that are still causing distress long after the event itself.
Both are evidence-based approaches available at Slán Therapy. Ryan Hegarty is trained in both and will recommend whichever makes most sense for what you are working through, sometimes a combination of the two.
Do I need to prepare anything before my first session?
No. You do not need to arrive with notes, a summary of your history, or a clear idea of what is wrong. Ryan Hegarty will guide the first session. If anything comes to mind beforehand that feels relevant, bring it, but there is no preparation required. Turning up is enough.
Can I switch between online and in-person sessions?
Yes. Some clients start online and move to home visits, or alternate depending on their schedule and circumstances. The structure and approach remain exactly the same regardless of how we meet. Flexibility is built in from the start.
Ready to book your first private therapy session?
Start with a free 20-minute discovery call. No clinical assessment, no obligation. Just a conversation about what has brought you here and whether this is the right fit.
If it resonates, we crack on. If not, that is fine too.