Choosing psychiatry as a specialty for me was an absolute no-brainer. I went into medical school wanting to do it. Left medical school wanting to do it. Completed my foundation training and wanted to do it. And so, no surprise, that's what I did. And, to this day, I do not regret it.  On the whole I've loved my psychiatry training. The range of psychiatric disorders I see and treat. The range of placements I've been exposed to. The teachings I have listened to and undertaken. The research teams I have been privileged to be part of. But, the one thing I love most of all about being a psychiatrist is the patients themselves. Indeed, psychiatry has provided me with the pleasure of building relationships with the most amazing people, and being now a CAMHS Consultant, I am given the honour of being trusted with the youngest in society. Being lucky enough to be invited into a child's subjective world, to be trusted with their vulnerabilities and difficult circumstances, and be in a position where I can offer help - there is nothing in this world I would rather be doing.        However, as I came to the end of my training, it was becoming increasingly clear that there was something missing. Something I felt that the psychiatry specialty training programme was not offering. And that was a real insight into the psychological aspects that underpin much of the psychiatric disorders that we treat. Now, I know what many will now think. But we do a short and long case. We have teachings in CBT, family therapy, psychoanalysis etc, etc.... Sure, we do, but in my experience (and largely due to logistical and time pressures) these provisions at best only scratch the surface, and at worse leave trainees feeling underwhelmed by what these amazing psychotherapies can truly ofter. This unfortunately manifests in trainees regarding such psychotherapies negatively. As Simplistic. Unscientific. Expensive. Which, given the efficacy of CBT for so many of the disorders we treat, as backed up by it being offered as first line treatment accordingly, we know that is far from the case.  ​​   ​​​ And what led me to this realisation? To be honest (and largely helped by completing a BSc in Psychology) I was convinced of most of this throughout most of my training and certainly after I had finished my psychotherapy cases expected of us. There was just no way I felt equipped to confidently undertake therapy with patients subsequently as expected of by Royal Collage competencies. And even drawing it into everyday psychiatric practice seemed a world away. But it wasn't until my yearning interest in psychotherapy was recognised by my trust who offered to sponsor me to undertake a PGDip in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy at Newcastle University did this realisation come into its own. Indeed, this programme with the expectation to complete hundreds of therapy hours, supervision records, assignments, weekly video-recording scrutiny by peers, as well as weekly intensive seminars and lectures over two years completely turned my world on its head. And it was as a consequence of this diploma that I learned that although I was far from the collaborative, patient-centred psychiatrist that I thought I was. Sure, I may be touching on these 'soft' skills in my everyday practice but it is not until you are scrutinised in delivering therapeutic practice do you realise that you have a lot to learn. And a lot of learning I did.  From building a strong therapeutic relationship and Socratic questioning, through to dealing with ruptures and repairs in a relationship and empowering a patient to manage their problems longitudinally, I learned the true power in these 'soft skills'. Skills that may even augment our more traditional psychiatry training to maximise patient relationships and offset medication adherence challenges.    And now being a Consultant with an accredited PGDip CBT diploma I believe this more than ever which is why I set up this resource. And I am offering all of the resources for free I suppose not just as a way of giving back after I was kindly sponsored by my NHS trust to undertake the diploma (something I must add has fundamentally changed my life and the way I now practice psychiatry) but also to support the championing of CBT practice throughout our field and to flag its critical importance to the way we must be perceiving our patients. As complex individuals, made up of social, emotional, and cognitive elements as well as biological, and that we should be appreciating every one of these aspects if we are to give them the best care that they deserve.  ​