I first started my CBT sessions with Dr Taylor-Kerr last year, 2011, in August following my conversation with AnxietyUK who referred me to her. I suffered from social phobia since my teenage years and found it difficult to talk to anyone about it. She listened to me intently which is probably what I needed at first without judging or ridiculing and as the sessions progressed we talked things through about homework and how to complete it. She made me realize through writing down my feelings what was holding me back,dragging me down all the time to make me so anxious that I could not talk to people or work or make and keep friends. We started talking about medication for social phobia which I had no intention of taking, but at a later stage it was the combination of both the medication - Sertraline and the CBT which helped me get back into doing everyday things like the school run,shopping, socializing, without feeling so anxious all the time. Now, a few months on I feel very relaxed in social situations and actually enjoy being around people,something I never thought I could ever do having suffered from social phobia since my teens. I would say to anyone suffering from this anxiety disorder to definitely have a go at CBT and with time you will see an improvement and in my case I have seen a major improvement. For people who are uneasy at the idea of taking medication, I was the same, afraid of side effects and also the possibility of taking a number of medicines before having found the right one. I was lucky enough to start taking Sertraline which gave me absolutely no side effects and started working for me within a couple of weeks. I have seen a major improvement in my self confidence my self acceptance and in turn quality of life. A very big thank you to Dr Taylor-Kerr who I really couldn't have achieved all this without.Ill always be grateful to her. F.A. 16th June 2012