Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

The practice has a counselling service which uses many CBT techniques to help our patients. Please speak further to a GP if you would like a referral onward to this. The sessions take place at the practice and are currently on a Friday afternoon. 

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a talking therapy that can help you manage your problems by changing the way you think and behave.

It's most commonly used to treat anxiety and depression, but can be useful for other mental and physical health problems.

How CBT works

CBT is based on the concept that your thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and actions are interconnected, and that negative thoughts and feelings can trap you in a vicious cycle.

CBT aims to help you deal with overwhelming problems in a more positive way by breaking them down into smaller parts.  You're shown how to change these negative patterns to improve the way you feel.

Unlike some other talking treatments, CBT deals with your current problems, rather than focusing on issues from your past.  It looks for practical ways to improve your state of mind on a daily basis.

What happens during CBT sessions

If CBT is recommended, you'll usually have a session with a therapist once a week or once every two weeks.  The course of treatment usually lasts for between 6-8 sessions, with each session lasting 55 minutes.

During the sessions, you'll work with your therapist to break down your problems into their separate parts - such as your thoughts, physical feelings and actions.

You and your therapist will analyse these areas to work out if they're unrealistic or unhelpful and to determine the effect they have on each other and on you.  Your therapist will then be able to help you work out how to change unhelpful thoughts and behaviours.

After working out what you can change, your therapist will ask you to practice these changes in your daily life and you'll discuss how you got on during the next session.

The eventual aim of therapy is to teach you to apply the skills you've learnt during treatment to your daily life.

This should help you manage your problems and stop them having a negative impact on your life - even after your course of treatment finishes. 

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Cognitive-behavioural-therapy/Pages/Introduction.aspx