Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a talking therapy proven to be an effective treatment for many emotional and psychological difficulties. It can help people solve problems, and improve the way they think and feel.

It is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidance Network (SIGN) in the treatment of depression and moderate to severe anxiety disorders.

The basic principle of CBT is that our thoughts (cognitions) are connected to our beliefs, moods, behaviours, physical responses and to situations or events in our lives. It is how we perceive these situations that affect our emotional, behavioural and physical responses to specific situations.

The focus of therapy is on identifying unhelpful and unrealistic thinking, which can undermine our self-esteem and cause psychological difficulties such as anxiety and depression. The aim is to challenge these unhelpful thoughts and learn new ways of coping, decision making and problem solving which can be used for the rest of our lives.

Other areas where CBT has been shown to be effective:

Anger management

Sleep difficulties

Physical symptoms without a medical diagnosis

Chronic fatigue

Chronic pain

The process of CBT

CBT is delivered by Mindset Therapy in individual sessions lasting 50 minutes. It is recommended that sessions are weekly, at least at first. Therapy usually takes place between 3 and 20 sessions; the number of sessions will depend on the problem or difficulty you need help with.

We will discuss your situation and specific difficulties, and work together to set goals for you to achieve. Your therapist will never tell you what to do, but help you decide what to work on to improve your situation and how to incorporate CBT techniques into your daily life. While changes can be achieved very quickly, CBT is not a quick fix and requires you to put in effort between sessions.