CBT

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

We try to understand why we think and behave the way we do, and we explore where things could be changed and then look at practical psychological tools that could help. In order to get the most out of therapy, you will often be assigned homework exercises to practice skills and apply them in real-life situations.

This is a therapy that has been extensively researched as effective in treating various mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), social anxiety and insomnia.

CBT can include techniques such as:

1. Behavioral Activation: A way to improve motivation and mood. This can include scheduling enjoyable activities, setting achievable goals, and gradually exposing yourself to situations you fear in order to overcome anxiety or avoidance behaviors.

2. Cognitive Restructuring: Learning to change the way you think. Individuals learn to challenge and modify unhelpful beliefs and attitudes that contribute to their emotional difficulties.

3. Exposure Therapy: This technique is particularly useful for anxiety disorders and involves gradually exposing yourself to the situations or stimuli that trigger their anxiety. This is done in a sensitive, controlled way to ensure anxiety is better managed when approaching things you fear.

How many sessions will I need?

CBT is a time-limited, structured therapy with clear goals. Each session is usually 60 minutes. Depending on the difficulty we work on, session numbers can range from 8-20.

How often are sessions?

The recommendation is to have one session a week, or one session every fortnight. Larger gaps are not usually considered helpful during treatment as attending regular sessions and consistently practicing the tools you are learning is proven to the best way to get the most from therapy.