Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a talking therapy that can help you manage your problems by altering the method you act and believe.
It’s most typically used to deal with anxiety and anxiety, however can be useful for other mental and physical health problems.
How CBT works.
CBT is based on the principle that your ideas, sensations, physical feelings and actions are interconnected, which negative thoughts and feelings can trap you in a vicious circle.
CBT intends to assist you deal with frustrating issues in a more positive way by breaking them down into smaller parts.
You’re shown how to change these unfavorable patterns to improve the way you feel.
Unlike some other talking treatments, CBT handles your existing problems, instead of focusing on issues from your past.
It searches for practical ways to improve your mindset daily.
Utilizes for CBT.
CBT has been revealed to be a reliable method of dealing with a number of different psychological health conditions.
In addition to depression or anxiety disorders, CBT can also assist people with:.
- bipolar disorder.
- borderline personality disorder.
- eating conditions– such as anorexia and bulimia.
- obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
- panic disorder.
- phobias.
- trauma (PTSD).
- psychosis.
- schizophrenia.
- sleep problems– such as insomnia.
- issues associated with alcohol abuse.
CBT is also sometimes utilized to deal with individuals with long-lasting health conditions, such as:.
- irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
- fatigue syndrome (CFS).
- fibromyalgia.
CBT can not cure the physical symptoms of these conditions, it can assist individuals cope much better with their signs.
What takes place throughout CBT sessions.
If CBT is advised, you’ll generally have a session with a therapist once a week or when every 2 weeks.
The course of treatment normally lasts for between 5 and 20 sessions, with each session long lasting 30 to 60 minutes.
During the sessions, you’ll deal with your therapist to break down your issues into their different parts, such as your ideas, physical sensations and actions.
You and your therapist will evaluate these areas to exercise if they’re unrealistic or unhelpful, and to determine the result they have on each other and on you.
Your therapist will then be able to help you work out how to alter unhelpful thoughts and behaviours.
After working out what you can change, your therapist will ask you to practise these changes in your daily life and you’ll go over how you got on throughout the next session.
The ultimate goal of therapy is to teach you to apply the abilities you have discovered throughout treatment to your daily life.
This ought to assist you handle your problems and stop them having an unfavorable impact on your life, even after your course of treatment surfaces.
Advantages and disadvantages of CBT.
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can be as effective as medicine in treating some mental illness, but it may not be successful or appropriate for everyone.
Some of the benefits of CBT include:.
- it may be practical in cases where medication alone has actually not worked.
- it can be finished in a relatively brief period of time compared with other talking therapies.
- the extremely structured nature of CBT indicates it can be provided in various formats, consisting of in groups, self-help books and apps (you can discover psychological health apps and tools in the NHS apps library).
- it teaches you useful and useful methods that can be utilized in everyday life, even after the treatment has actually ended up.
Some of the disadvantages of CBT to consider consist of:.
- you require to commit yourself to the procedure to get the most from it– a therapist can help and encourage you, but they require your co-operation.
- attending regular CBT sessions and carrying out any additional work between sessions can take up a great deal of your time.
- it might not appropriate for people with more complex psychological health requirements or learning troubles, as it needs structured sessions.
- it involves challenging your anxieties and emotions– you might experience initial periods where you’re emotionally uneasy or distressed.
- it focuses on the individual’s capacity to alter themselves (their behaviours, ideas and feelings)– this does not deal with any wider problems in systems or households that typically have a substantial effect on someone’s health and wellbeing.
Some critics likewise argue that because CBT just attends to current problems and focuses on particular problems, it does not address the possible underlying causes of mental health conditions, such as an unhappy youth.
How to find a CBT therapist.
You can get mental therapies, consisting of CBT, on the NHS.
You can refer yourself directly to an NHS mental therapies service (IAPT) without a referral from a GP.
Discover an NHS mental therapies service (IAPT).
If you prefer, or your GP can refer you.
You can pick to pay for your therapy privately if you can manage it. The cost of private therapy sessions differs, but it’s generally ₤ 40 to ₤ 100 per session.
The British Association for Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) keeps a register of all accredited therapists in the UK and The British Psychological Society (BPS) has a directory of chartered psychologists, some of whom specialise in CBT.
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