What is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)?

Two women smiling an talking to one another during a therapy session

While there are many different types of therapy available, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) stands out as one of the most effective ways to equip you with coping strategies to manage life’s challenges both now and whenever life gets difficult in future.

You might find yourself wondering, "What exactly is CBT?"

In this blog post, our therapist, Chloe, breaks down the basics, shedding light on what CBT involves and how it can support you and your wellbeing.

Firstly, let us break down what CBT stands for which is ‘Cognitive’ and ‘Behavioural.’ Cognitions are your thoughts, and behaviours are the things that you do, or do not do, to cope with how you are feeling and the two can be linked and directly impact each other. CBT is based on the concept that your behaviours, thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations are all interconnected and sometimes you can get trapped in a negative cycle.

CBT looks at your responses to certain situations and shows you more helpful ways to react in everyday scenarios to break this negative cycle.

It can be difficult to discuss your feelings and experiences, but your therapist will provide you with a safe and confidential space. Your therapist is there to guide you to identify your goals and help get you there by openly listening to you, without judgement.

During a CBT session, your therapist will break each problem you want to tackle down into separate parts and together you will work out if your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are unrealistic or unhelpful and how they affect each other. The sessions will be tailored to your specific needs and a lot of the time is dedicated to learning and practising new skills.

You may be asked to complete tasks between sessions to understand how your negative cycle plays out, get to grips with new coping skills and techniques and embed these in your daily life. As an example, your therapist may ask you to record a thought diary so you can keep track of your thoughts and spot patterns or restart a hobby that you’ve previously enjoyed doing.

Here are five ways CBT can help you:

CBT can help you deal with problems in a more manageable way by breaking them down into smaller chunks.
It teaches you how to notice when you are thinking negatively and then challenge these unhelpful thoughts.
It can teach you strategies to start dealing with things you may be avoiding or have fears around.
It is a practical way of focussing on symptoms you are experiencing in the here and now, not looking at what may have caused your problems such as traumatic events or upbringing.
Although CBT can’t cure physical symptoms of a long-term physical health condition such as diabetes, it can help you cope better with your symptoms.

If you feel you could benefit from CBT, get in touch with our friendly team by self-referring on our website (opens link in new window), by phone or by email. You can also get a referral through your or health professional.