Understanding Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a form of talk therapy, based on the idea that the way we think (our thoughts) affect the way we feel (our emotions), which in turn affects the way we act (our behaviours).

What is CBT?

CBT aims to help people cope with issues in their life by identifying negative or unhelpful thinking patterns and changing them. The aim is to teach you how to think less negatively about yourself and your world, and to teach practical self-help strategies that can be used in your everyday life.

What does a CBT treatment plan involve?

CBT can be used for many different mental health problems and has lots of evidence to back it up. Treatment with CBT can vary from person to person, but a typical treatment plan would usually involve:

A comprehensive intake to gain information on your problem, the ways in which it is affecting your life, and to pinpoint the symptoms which are most distressing to you.
Education on your personal problem (eg. Anxiety) to help you understand what it is and how it works. This allows you to gain more insight into your own issues and helps set the scene for further treatment.
Goal setting. Your practitioner will work with you to elicit what you want to get out of therapy, and work out strategies to help to you reach these goals.
Practice of certain strategies in session with your practitioner. This can look like role-playing, discussion and more. This ensures you are equipped with what you need to practice on our own outside of sessions.
Homework! Homework is an important part of therapy, as you are only usually in the room with the practitioner for approximately 1 hour every week or two, so the bulk of the work should be happening outside of session. This may look like you practicing the new skills you have learnt, or keeping a form of diary to report things back to your practitioner.