Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a form of psychological treatment that focuses on how our thoughts affect our feelings. If you feel worried about something, you are likely to dwell on and exacerbate the negative feelings. CBT is about identifying these problematic thinking patterns and changing your perspective.
This does not necessarily mean ‘fixing’ these patterns, as CBT is about understanding our beliefs and why we have them. By offering different perspectives, therapists can help patients to better understand themselves, which can help combat negative spiralling.
As an example, OCD patients are often ashamed of their intrusive thoughts and suppress them. Therapists will help patients understand that intrusive thoughts happen to everyone and can be a sign of care and responsibility. This perspective does not fix or erase the negative thoughts; instead, it reveals cognitive biases and why you consider the thoughts negative. Our interpretation determines our mood.
Another example is a promotion at work. This can be interpreted as good (talent being rewarded) or bad (impostor syndrome).
The treatment is not black and white, and it requires professional training to specialise in the area. Anyone seeking mental health training courses Newport will find a range of specialists, such as tidaltraining.co.uk/mental-health-training-courses/newport.
Who can benefit?
Anyone can benefit from CBT – from children to the elderly – provided they can actively engage in the therapy. CBT has been proven to help those suffering from mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression, and can even be used to help patients deal with physical forms of pain. With anxiety, where fear can outweigh positive emotions, understanding this interpretation can help.
The NHS provides some self-help CBT tips for anyone unable to seek therapy.
What are the benefits?
Compared to usual treatments for anxiety and depression, CBT patients see huge improvements in their conditions and thoughts, with symptoms being far better by the end of the therapy process.
CBT can be just as effective as medicines in treating problems such as lower back pain and is typically completed much faster than other forms of talk therapy.