COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY (CBT)

“You cannot calm the storm so stop trying. What you can do is calm yourself. The storm will pass”

– Timber Hawkeye

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is one of the most highly endorsed talking therapies recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for common mental health issues. It is also widely offered through the NHS, if referred to a Counsellor or Psychotherapist by your GP.
CBT has been proven to be effective in the treatment of:

  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Phobias
  • Panic Disorders
  • Insomnia

In a CBT session, the main focus is on helping the client cope with issues they are facing in the present or the ‘Here and Now’. This means that past events are only explored in the sessions when looking at how certain patterns of behaviour and automatic thoughts have been established as ‘coping mechanisms’ over the client’s lifetime and through no fault of their own they may have got ‘stuck’ in a negative cycle of thoughts, behaviours and emotions.

These repeated patterns which the client may use to solve the problem can inadvertently keep it going. CBT is about finding out what keeps the client ‘stuck’ and exploring potential changes in thinking and actions in order to improve the way they feel.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is designed to break down stubborn, complicated emotional problems into their more basic parts. Therapy focuses on developing and completing smaller, more easily manageable psychological tasks, in order to bring about lasting recovery.

CBT is a concise, efficient method created to deal with difficult mental health issues. The CBT method can be simplified into 5 easy steps:

  1. Discussing Issues
  2. Identifying Negative Thinking Habits & Behaviours
  3. Learning Techniques for Altering Thinking Habits & Behaviours
  4. Implementing Revised Techniques
  5. Resulting in Altered Emotions and Behavioural Changes

CBT is a very efficient, cost-effective, shorter term form of therapy. When dealing with stubborn emotional and behavioural problems, such as phobias, anxiety, depression or insomnia, CBT can be a very helpful form of therapy, because it breaks down the lengthy, complex treatment of these disorders into more abbreviated, simpler exercises.
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CBT is such an effective form of therapy because it enables the client to apply the methods they have learnt during a therapy session to situations which they find troubling in their everyday life. In this way, CBT can bring about lasting behavioural changes, help the client improve their psychological health and increase overall happiness and fulfillment.