What is CBT?
CBT, or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, is based initially on here-and-now experiences, which is time-limited and goal-focused. This means that CBT will focus first on figuring out exactly what it is that is going on for you right now that may be maintaining your problems. It places your goals at the forefront to ensure that it is working towards what you want to achieve, and it is time-limited so that you do not have more sessions of therapy than you need.
CBT looks at how your thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, and behaviour can all impact on each other and affect your overall emotional wellbeing. Sometimes, our way of thinking can really affect how we feel and therefore behave, and even some physical sensations we feel can make our thoughts harder to manage. At times, we may also need to look a little deeper and further into the past if this is relevant for you, but we start with the here-and-now. By gaining an understanding of what is going on right now, it is easier to decide on any positive changes that we can introduce to make a huge difference to your day-to-day life.
This type of therapy is collaborative and also an active therapy, meaning that we work together always, to unpick what is going on for you right now. You bring your knowledge of your life and your goals, your therapist brings knowledge of CBT, and together we help you to move forwards. Because of this, it is really important that you feel ready to invest in therapy and in making changes, which often includes doing things between therapy sessions to help you to progress.
Being active in helping yourself within CBT sessions and making sure we don’t have more sessions than you need, this really helps you to trust in your own abilities to cope in the future. This in itself can; ease anxiety, increase self-esteem, and lower feelings of hopelessness. Because of this, I am very keen to encourage you to think about ending our sessions together when it feels that you might be ready for this.
What can CBT help with?
An important thing to know about this type of therapy is that it can work really well.
There has been a lot of research into CBT and it has gained a large evidence-base highlighting how effective it is for a number of different issues. This is why the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends CBT for a number of different issues, including (but not limited to) the following;
- Depression/low mood
- Generalised Anxiety Disorder
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
- Panic attacks
- Postnatal Depression and Anxiety
- Sleep problems
- Low self-esteem
- Perfectionism
- Social Anxiety
- Pain management
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
CBT is helpful for a large number of difficulties, not just diagnosed mental health conditions, as you learn how to manage sometimes painful and distressing emotions and become more aware of anything that may be maintaining current difficulties. CBT then encourages positive changes to the way you think and behave to break any cycles that might be keeping that problem going. A key aspect of CBT is gaining insight into the way your mind works so this is really helpful for anyone who wants to understand themselves a little more.
CBT is helpful for a large number of difficulties, not just diagnosed mental health conditions, as you learn how to manage sometimes painful and distressing emotions and become more aware of anything that may be maintaining current difficulties. CBT then encourages positive changes to the way you think and behave to break any cycles that might be keeping that problem going. A key aspect of CBT is gaining insight into the way your mind works so this is really helpful for anyone who wants to understand themselves a little more.
It is important to note that some mental health disorders may require a multidisciplinary approach and so, as a private therapy service, we may be unable to treat these. In these cases, or if we feel that your difficulties may benefit more from a different approach to CBT, we will be honest about where may be better suited to help you.
If you are unsure whether CBT can be useful for what you need help with, please contact me and we can talk about whether this might be the best therapy for you.