Cognitive behavioural therapy, commonly known as CBT, is a type of talking therapy used to treat a range of common mental health problems – from how we manage stress, anxiety and depression, to overcoming panic attacks, phobias and anger.

CBT is one of a range of free talking therapies available through the NHS. As an Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) service, Therapy For You can help people in North East Essex and South East Essex develop effective coping skills that will guide them on the journey to feeling better.

The principle of CBT is a simple one: our thoughts, feelings and behaviours are interconnected. What we think naturally influences how we act, which in turn affects how we feel. As a result, if a negative thought enters the cycle, it can then lead to unhelpful behaviours and pessimistic feelings, that become ingrained in our day-to-day.

For example, imagine you’re walking down the street and someone you know passes you by. You wave to them, but they don’t respond, and simply carry on walking. There are numerous ways you could react to this:

• You may be angry with the person for ignoring you, causing you to purposely avoid them the next time you see them;
• You may be anxious that you’ve done something to upset them, and become stressed over what you did wrong;
• You may feel like the person doesn’t remember you or doesn’t want to associate with you, affecting your self-worth and confidence;
• Or you may simply believe that they didn’t see you, and experience no change in mood whatsoever

Fundamentally, CBT acknowledges that it is not an event itself that causes our emotions to change – it is how we perceive the event that affects the way we think, behave and feel.

Consider another example – you burn your dinner in the oven one evening. This event triggers a negative cycle, which could look like the following:

THINK
You say to yourself “Why do I bother trying? Nothing ever goes the way I plan it to”, and criticise your perceived inability to cook

BEHAVE
You don’t eat that evening because you are upset with the outcome, or you eat junk food to make yourself feel better in the short term

FEEL
You feel upset about how things turned out, and angry about your poor cooking skills

This can foster a vicious cycle of behaviour where you don’t cook, or immediately switch to junk food, in order to avoid another negative reaction. This can feel good in the moment, but over time this pattern will often cause you to feel even worse, creating an even more harmful cycle in your life.

If you believe you are trapped in one of these vicious cycles, it doesn’t have to be this way forever. Free CBT therapy can help you break these patterns and take positive steps towards a more fulfilling life.

Cognitive behavioural therapy is designed to break the negative cycles we can form between our thoughts, feelings and behaviours.

This is achieved by introducing exercises and coping strategies that change the way we think (cognitive) and the way we act (behavioural) in the long term, to make a positive difference to the way we feel. These techniques will be different for every person as individuals will respond to different triggers in a variety of ways.

CBT is a practical, exercise-driven approach to therapy. Whilst CBT primarily targets your current problems, presenting effective ways to improve your state of mind one step at a time, it may also explore your past to understand where these thought patterns were established.

By taking small, positive steps CBT collectively promotes ideas and methods to change the way you think and act. Eventually you’ll be armed with the tools you need to become your own therapist and break your vicious cycle once and for all. However, much like a course of antibiotics, CBT is only effective if you see it all the way through, from start to finish.

There are many different ways to approach CBT. At Therapy For You, we offer several ways to get help:

• One-to-one therapy with our trained mental health professionals
• Group therapy sessions with people who feel a similar way to you
• CBT sessions conducted over the phone
• Confidential video calls
• Secure online chat sessions delivered through IESO
• Online CBT therapy delivered through a range of self-help video courses

Each service is completely free to access, and you can either receive a referral from your GP, or refer yourself for treatment.

If you would like to learn more about how CBT works, you can read one of our patient’s life-changing experiences in therapy on our blog.

Cognitive behavioural therapy is part of the NICE guidelines for certain presentations and is used to help people manage and overcome a wide range of mental health problems, including:

• Excessive stress
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Panic attacks
• Phobias
• Trouble sleeping
• Eating disorders
• Anger
• Coping with loss
• Low self-esteem or confidence
• Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)

CBT is also effective at improving the mental health of people at different ages and stages of life. Managing stress in parenthood. Adjusting to difficulties later in life. Coming to terms with adulthood. It is an approach that can apply to practically anyone.

You may also be referred for specific forms of CBT. For example, you may be offered trauma-focused CBT (TF-CBT) to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Similarly, exposure therapy can be beneficial for those with phobias or OCD.

51.4% of people who accessed IAPT services in 2020-21 moved to recovery by the end of their course of treatment (NHS Digital)

In many circumstances, CBT will be the first treatment a GP offers you if you are struggling with mental health problems. If this doesn’t prove to be effective at resolving your problems, you may be redirected to another talking therapy, counselling or another mental health service based on what is troubling you.

Here are 4 important details to help you assess whether CBT is right for you:

1. CBT is often short-term. It is common for patients to undergo 6-10 sessions as part of a treatment course. However, if your mental health problems are complex or deep-rooted, you may require a more long-term approach to resolve them.
2. CBT is practical. At the end of a face-to-face or online therapy session, you will be given tasks to complete ahead of your next appointment, and materials to complete to support your recovery, such as thought diaries and activity schedules.
3. CBT is highly structured. Rather than a more open discussion about your life and experiences, sessions typically focus on specific, current-day problems and the goals you hope to achieve.
4. CBT is collaborative. Your therapist will not instruct you on what to do, but will work with you to find the most appropriate solution for you.

At Therapy For You, CBT is just one of several taking therapies we can offer to help you resolve your mental health difficulties. We understand that CBT is not the right choice for everyone, and can adapt to support you in the most suitable manner.

Get in touch with our team if you have any questions about CBT and whether it’s the right treatment for your circumstances.

Your first session with a CBT therapist will primarily focus on establishing a relationship between you both, outlining your goals and determining whether this approach is right for your situation. It can be nerve-wracking at first to talk about your feelings with a stranger, which is why our therapists always try to make the first session as comfortable and relaxing as possible.

Initially, you should aim to speak to your therapist about the problems you are struggling with, and what you hope to achieve from these sessions. This will give your therapist a foundation to structure your treatment around, so your future appointments will be tailored around you and your progress.

If CBT seems appropriate, your therapist will let you know what to expect from a course of treatment.

However, if you feel uncomfortable speaking to a therapist, you can receive CBT online through our dedicated video courses.

It is possible to do CBT on your own through self-help courses. However, it is important that these are provided by reputable, trusted organisations. Our online courses are completely free to access and delivered by NHS therapists, helping you to understand your problems and build on the coping skills you use. We do highly recommend using the individual telephone support offered to you whilst on these courses, to help get the most out of the content.

For many, our online courses help people reach a full recovery from the problems they were struggling with. For others, it acts as a useful gateway to understanding CBT and the problems they are facing, before progressing to speaking to a therapist one-on-one.

There are several benefits to conducting CBT therapy online, and some of these include:

Our online courses are accessible on any device – desktop, laptop, tablet, smartphone. As long as you have an internet connection, you can go through each video session.

Some courses will encourage you to use a pen/pencil and a piece of paper for some of the exercises. It may be a good idea to have those handy before you get started, or you can download and print resources directly from your course.

Each of our online CBT courses has a different number of sessions and course length:

• Bereavement – 3 sessions, 44 minutes course length
• Mindfulness – 5 sessions, 37 minutes course length
• Understanding Self-Esteem – 5 sessions, 82 minutes course length
• Managing Stress in Parenthood – 4 sessions, 65 minutes course length
• Postnatal Depression – 4 sessions, 72 minutes course length
• Depression – 4 sessions, 65 minutes course length
• Stress & Anxiety – 4 sessions, 42 minutes course length
• Panic Attacks – 3 sessions, 35 minutes course length

Between each session there is a 4-day window before you can access the next session. The purpose of these breaks is to give you time to really digest all the information you're given, re-familiarise yourself with the content as much as you need to, and give you an opportunity to complete any tasks to the best of your ability.

Plus, we are always just a phone call away if you need help understanding aspects of a course or putting what you’ve learned into practice. Support calls with our trained mental health professionals are offered throughout your course, arranged at a time to suit you.

Research suggests that people gain more from online treatments by engaging with short support calls along the way, so we actively recommend reaching out to get the absolute most from your course.

Online self-help courses will not be suitable for everyone – sometimes directly engaging with a therapist, either face-to-face or remotely, delivers better results.

However, because our online CBT courses are completely free to access, you don’t lose anything by trying it out. It could help you recover completely, or at least offer valuable insight ahead of future sessions.

If online CBT doesn’t meet your requirements, we offer a range of alternative treatment paths:

• Face-to-face, one-on-one therapy
• Group therapy
• Phone therapy
• Video calls
• Online therapy (IESO)

For more information on our treatment options and how we can help you access CBT in a way that suits you, get in touch with our team today.