You can learn all the theory in the world, but until you behaviourally break free from protective patterns, nothing changes. Why action is essential.

Do you have a harsh inner voice that won't stop criticising you? A part that catastrophises and tells you to avoid everything? Or a logical fixer that analyses endlessly but never resolves anything? In this article, Manchester-based CBT and ACT therapist Jack Brown introduces the brain management team metaphor, a way of understanding the internal characters that drive our automatic reactions. Learn how to spot these parts in action and begin changing your relationship with them.

Is anxiety holding you back from the life you want to live? This metaphor might help you gather the courage you need, to break some of those unhelpful patterns.