CBTs WA was established in 2015 by Dr Lisa Saulsman, Clinical Psychologist. Lisa had worked in public mental health at the Centre for Clinical Interventions (CCI) in Perth Western Australia for 13 years, providing individual and group CBT to adults with complex and enduring depressive and anxiety disorders, and training mental health professionals in the delivery of CBT.
Using CBT when working with people with complex mental health problems was very rewarding, but Lisa was motivated by wanting the potential benefits of CBT to reach a wider audience. Making CBT more accessible for those seeking treatment for mental health problems remains an important focus, but Lisa also saw the potential for CBT not to just be used as a treatment when people were unwell, but as a means of improving anyone’s mental health and possibly preventing mental health problems. It was with this purpose in mind that CBTs WA was created.