What is :

CBT (Cognitive Behavioural)  Therapy?

CBT (Cognitive behavioural) Therapy is  recognised by the NHS as an effective short-term  TALKING THERAPY  for resolving a range of psychological  problems.

Your therapist in partnership with you (plus the involvement of your GP where medication is required)  teaches you the skills and techniques to help you return to good mental well-being, and how to avoid future relapses.

CBT Therapy is helpful in resolving a range of mental health difficulties,  such as worry, phobias, OCD (obsessive Complusive Disorder, Anger etc) but is particularly successful with :

Depression & Anxiety

Depression exists at different  emotional and behavioural levels.  As an initial guide the  therapist finds clues from the negative way you talk about yourself, other people and your future.

If your low mood persists for more than 2 weeks, you are probably experiencing Depression.  Sometimes it’s hard to pinpoint  when the normal  feeling of …being low …stressed …and trying to negotiate  life’s daily obstacles, switches from being  tolerable to disabling.

( Please see CBT Therapy leaflet for symptoms &  assesss   your  current experiences )

CBT Therapy  Sessions

The CBT Therapist  makes an initial assessment ( over approx. 2-3 sessions),  followed by  further   appointments over a further 5+ sessions.  Severe depression can involve 3-4 months of therapy.

Weekly  sessions  involve :

  • Using  diagnostic questionnaires  to monitor and track  the intensity of symptoms
  • Talking about your goals for therapeutic success
  • How your problem developed and what triggered it (brief history of childhood etc)
  • Working  out what maintains your depressive cycle
  • Your specific negative  thinking style (thinking errors which feel like fact), and how it
  • contributes to your depression
  • Then reaching a therapeutic solution is called a “Treatment Plan”

The Treatment Plan

…is a clear guideline (informed by clinical evidence-based research ) that helps you back on the road to recovery, using a variety of  cognitive and  behavioural techniques.  But most importantly, helping you understand that  depression is not solely caused  by your experiences in life,   but by your NEGATIVE AUTOMATIC THOUGHTS  and your  interpretation of events. The therapist may also explore deep-held (unconscious) values & beliefs at the root  of   your depressogenic thinking.

 

What Will You Achieve  From CBT Therapy?

Once therapy is completed,  the therapist will discuss a RELAPSE PLAN to help you confidently  deal with any future  depressive symptoms; with or without professional input.

You will have acquired the skills  and awareness to :

  • Identify  the cyclical relationship between thoughts,  feelings,  and behaviours
  • Identify negative automatic thoughts and beliefs
  • Be aware of self monitoring /  questionnaires & thought records
  • Use psycho-educational knowledge, from notes given by the therapist or Self-Help books
  • Learn  coping strategies using CBT techniques

CBT  take a holistic approach  to mental well-being, and also recommends  diet & nutrition advice, exercise, breathing &  relaxation  techniques, and visualisation / imagery techniques.

 

 NHS: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy : Treatment of Choice