Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is perhaps one of the most well-known, well-researched of the psychological treatments. It can help with many difficulties, including depression, feeling overwhelmed or stuck, anxiety, panic, stress, phobias, obsessive thoughts and behaviours.
CBT combines cognitive therapy how you think, with behavioural therapy, how you act or respond. A central part of CBT is the understanding that your thoughts, feelings and behaviours are all connected. The way you interpret a situation shapes how you feel about it and those feelings influence what you do next. In other words, it’s not the situation itself that creates distress, it’s the meaning you attach to it. Two people can go through the same experience but feel completely differently because their interpretation is different. Our thoughts and beliefs act like a lens or filter, colouring how we see things and guiding our response.
CBT helps you notice these patterns and understand how certain thoughts or behaviours might be keeping you stuck. Sometimes our interpretations are inaccurate or based on old beliefs that no longer serve us. CBT focuses on gently challenging these thoughts and trying out new behaviours that can improve mood, confidence and wellbeing. I use CBT to support people who are searching for answers to everyday struggles, things like why do I feel anxious all the time, how do I stop overthinking, or why do small things make me panic.
CBT often uses simple, relatable examples. For instance, imagine you see a friend on the street and they walk past without acknowledging you. How you feel in that moment depends entirely on what you think the reason is:
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If you think I’ve upset them, you might feel sad or guilty.
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If you think they’re being rude, you might feel irritated or annoyed.
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If you think they simply didn’t see me, you might feel fine and carry on with your day.
Whatever your interpretation then influences how you behave and feel. However our interpretations and our behaviour can be incorrect, unhelpful and make us feel stuck. Treatment using a CBT approach focusses on challenging thoughts and behaviours. CBT can help to identify and challenge negative thoughts and look at ways to change behaviours, which will then impact on mood.
Like many therapies, CBT requires work between appointments. You will work be set tasks for you to work on inbetween appointments in order for you to make progress and to enable your recovery.
