Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) - Overview

CBT is a brief, time-limited therapy which helps to change the way that you think, feel, and behave. It focuses on looking at problems in the “here and now”, rather than spending a lot of time focussing on the causes of your distress/symptoms in the past. It has been found to be helpful for a number of different problems, such as anxiety, depression, stress, low-self-esteem, panic, phobias, trauma, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and some physical health problems.

Depending on the problem being treated, your therapist may focus more on the cognitive (thinking) side or the behavioural side of therapy. In depression for example, there may be more emphasis on unhelpful thinking patterns, and in obsessive compulsive disorder there may be more emphasis on breaking unhelpful behaviours such as patterns of repetitive, compulsive behaviours. With long-standing problems there may be more focus on looking at your underlying beliefs about yourself, the world and other people; where these beliefs came from (i.e. your past history); and how this affects your thoughts and behaviours in the present day.

 
Sessions
Generally the first two sessions are focussed on developing a shared understanding of the problem with your therapist. Goals are then set for treatment, including how many sessions will be needed. A typical course of CBT would be 8-12 sessions although this will vary according to the nature and severity of the problem. Each session generally last between 50-60 minutes every other week, although some variation in frequency is usual depending on the problem being addressed.

CBT is an action-orientated therapy and so you may be asked to do various tasks between therapies. This may include keeping a diary, or trying out different behaviours to help overcome your difficulties.

CBT is a collaborative therapy and so you will work jointly with your therapist to set the pace and decide what you are ready to change. One of the positives about CBT is that it will give you a number of skills that you can continue to put into practise when the therapy has finished.

Further Considerations
Like any therapy, one size does not fit all and it may be that other types of talking treatment might work better for you, such as counselling therapies. CBT does not work so well for some types of problems, for example if you are feeling very depressed it may be that you will need medication from your GP for a while before beginning talking therapy.

Sometimes your CBT therapist may combine CBT with other therapies depending on their therapeutic orientation and the nature of the presenting problem if he/she thinks it may be helpful for you.