Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

The focus of CBT is to understand how thoughts, feelings, behaviours and our physiology are interconnected. CBT allows us to identify unhelpful thinking patterns that have developed early in life or due to difficult life experiences. Identifying and challenging these unhelpful thinking patterns from our past can have a positive impact on how we feel and act in the present. We can use this insight to help us to adopt more helpful thinking patterns for the future. The underlying principle of CBT is that it is our interpretations of events, rather than the events themselves, which shape our emotional responses and behaviour. 

Guidelines produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommend CBT as a first-line treatment for a range of mental health difficulties, including Depression, Anxiety Disorders (Generalised Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Social Anxiety, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). However, CBT is not the right fit for everyone. Some people find that CBT does not respond adequately to the complexity of their experience. For many, integrating aspects of CBT with other therapeutic approaches can be incredibly beneficial.