Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a type of talking therapy that helps individuals identify and change unhealthy thinking and behavior patterns. It focuses on current problems and equips people with practical skills to manage challenges.

Does it mean I'm weak or have failed if I want or need coaching?

Seeking coaching is a sign of strength, not weakness. Just like athletes benefit from coaches, personal coaching helps you overcome challenges and thrive.

Do I have to talk about my past?

You have the freedom to choose what you share. In CBT, we primarily focus on current attitudes and beliefs related to present or recurring events. However, if revisiting past experiences would be beneficial, we can explore that too.

How long do sessions go for?

Regular sessions usually last up to 50 minutes. I also offer double sessions which can help super-charge the efficiency of coaching.

About Benjamin Mitchell - CBT Coach for Tech Professionals

About Benjamin

I was that kid programming Apple IIe games to win competitions in primary school, teaching himself to juggle five balls, and riding a unicycle to school (even built my own 5-foot version – because why not?).

Fast forward through a First Class Honours in Psychology, an MBA in e-commerce (remember when everything had an “e-” in front of it? e-business, e-marketing, e-toothbrush…), and 30 years in tech leadership roles from software engineer to Partner at Equal Experts and General Manager at Kevel.

I went from coding in my bedroom to having board meetings in the tallest buildings in San Francisco where my team’s monthly bills topped a million dollars. The view was spectacular, the responsibility terrifying, and the coffee surprisingly mediocre.

Then I did something that made my colleagues’ faces twitch with confusion: I engineered my exit from the corporate world.

You see, whilst they were climbing the career ladder, I’d quietly built a ladder to an entirely different building – one with passive income, time freedom, and zero meetings about meetings. Property portfolio in place, investments humming along nicely, spreadsheets colour-coded to perfection. Financial independence achieved. Cue the confused looks.

“So you’re retiring to play golf and complain about youngsters?”

Plot twist! I booked myself into CBT training instead.

Why I swapped spreadsheets for thought records

Back in the 90s, while studying psychology, I stumbled across Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. It was like finding a spell book or a cheat code for my brain. Those tools didn’t just help me understand my perfectionism, procrastination, and social anxiety – they transformed how I approached everything.

Without CBT, I wouldn’t have had the courage to speak at international conferences, lead massive digital transformation projects for HMRC and John Lewis, or even chat up my now-wife (seriously, I was that developer who “couldn’t talk to women I didn’t know”).

But here’s what haunts me: tech professionals who can solve impossible problems at work yet feel completely helpless when it comes to their own mental operating systems. They’re convinced everyone else downloaded some emotional resilience patch they somehow missed, so they suffer in silence, thinking they’re the only ones.

You can’t Google your way out of burnout or Stack Overflow your way past crippling anxiety. Trust me, I’ve tried.

Albert Ellis (the no-nonsense New Yorker who founded REBT) would have a field day with the “musts” and “shoulds” running through the average tech professional’s mind. “I MUST never make a mistake.” “I SHOULD know everything already.” Sound familiar?

From corporate strategies to TEAM-CBT therapy: Plot twist—they both involve flowcharts

I’m currently pursuing my Advanced Diploma in CBT/REBT at the College of Cognitive Behavioural Therapies (CCBT), with expected completion in mid-2026. This rigorous training programme is preparing me for full accreditation as a CBT therapist, allowing me to provide an even higher level of therapeutic support.

In the meantime, my CBT coaching combines David Burns’ brilliantly structured TEAM-CBT approach with my extensive tech industry experience – creating a uniquely effective approach for IT professionals.

The fascinating part? The methods to dismantle resistance to change work remarkably well on both balance sheets and belief systems. Testing, Empathy, Agenda setting, and Methods—it’s like the corporate project management framework I used to live by, but instead of optimising profit margins, I’m helping people optimise their lives. The ROI? Infinitely more satisfying.

What makes working with me different than your average therapist?

I’m not your typical therapist who nods politely while you explain what an API is. I’ve actually built the bloody things. I’ve dealt with terrifying public speaking fails (imagine an aircraft hangar-sized room going deadly silent as your demo crashes), navigated thorny team dynamics, and felt that sick-to-your-stomach feeling when production goes down and you can’t figure out why.

Sound familiar? That’s because I’ve lived the tech life you’re navigating now.

My superpower? Translating powerful CBT techniques into language that makes sense to analytical, problem-solving tech brains. I blend 30+ years of tech experience with:

Advanced training in CBT/REBT from the College of Cognitive Behavioural Therapies
Level 3 Advanced TEAM-CBT Therapist certification
550+ hours of crisis support through Shout UK
70+ supervised hours volunteering with Cruse Bereavement Support
Vice-chair and Facilitator of TEAM-CBT UK weekly training group

In other words, I speak both tech and therapy fluently. No need to explain what it means when the production server catches fire at 3am – I’ve been there, heart racing, Slack notifications pinging, while trying to stay calm enough to fix the problem.

What we’ll actually do together (spoiler: it’s not just nodding and saying “how does that make you feel?”)

When we work together, we’ll use the TEAM-CBT approach:

T for Testing: Understanding your current thinking patterns and measuring progress (because what gets measured gets managed, as my former corporate self would say)
E for Empathy: Creating a space where you feel genuinely understood (not just nodded at)
A for Agenda Setting: Getting crystal clear on what needs to change and what it’ll take (no vague “let’s explore this for years” nonsense)
M for Methods: 50-100 practical tools to help you break free from unhelpful patterns (like a mental Swiss Army knife)

This isn’t vague “think positive” rubbish or endless talking without action. It’s structured, evidence-based, and laser-focused on helping you feel better and perform better – often in just 6-8 sessions.

The distance between “We can’t possibly ship that by Christmas!” and “I’ll never overcome this anxiety” isn’t as great as you’d think. The difference? Now when I help someone challenge their must-have demands on life, I’m not just improving a bottom line—I’m improving a lifeline.

The human behind the credentials (or “Fun facts that wouldn’t fit on my LinkedIn”)

When I’m not helping tech professionals optimise their mental operating systems, I’m probably:

In deep conversation with AI language models that I’ve named and possibly developed inappropriate attachments to
Designing visualization tools for my therapy training hours that would make a Silicon Valley product manager weep with joy (you can take the man out of kanban, but you’ll never pry the sticky notes from my cold, dead hands)
Tending to my kombucha and kefir drinks like they’re temperamental children (they’re alive! They have needs! They get moody!)
Hosting pizza parties in the allotment where I try to maintain casual conversations while frantically tending to my Ooni oven like a Victorian steam train conductor (“More wood! She needs more heat! We’re losing temperature in the back corner!”)
Doing battle with mares tail weeds in the allotment
Walking along the Thames taking photos like I’ll one day publish a weather calendar

Financial independence was supposed to mean freedom from work. Plot twist: it actually meant freedom to choose work I’m ridiculously passionate about. So, while my FIRE community mates are posting sunset yoga photos, I’m posting about cognitive distortions and TEAM-CBT methods. To each their own brand of happiness.

Ready to debug your thinking patterns and reclaim your mental bandwidth? Book a free 25-minute discovery call and let’s chat about how I can help.