About CBT Therapy
What is CBT?
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a well-established, widely respected, evidence-based therapeutic approach that focuses on the connections of thoughts, emotions, and behaviours.
Sometimes, negative thoughts can lead to difficult emotions and unhelpful actions. CBT focuses on exploring situations and experiences and identifying unhelpful patterns of thinking and changing these to develop healthier ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving.
CBT therapy will involve exploring your belief systems and can include how life experiences and past events might have influenced your thinking and behaviour. It is about understanding what is maintaining your difficulties and working with a therapist to develop insight and make lasting changes.
CBT is a practical therapy and has a goal-oriented approach. It will often involve experimenting with behaviours to explore their helpfulness, supporting you to make changes to be able to live the life you want to live.
CBT is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) because it has been proven to be highly effective for a wide range of mental health challenges. NICE is a trusted organisation that provides guidance on the most effective treatments, and they recommend CBT because research shows it can help people feel better, develop coping skills, and manage difficulties more effectively.
CBT is effective for:
Specific problems:
- Anxiety
- Burnout
- Depression
- Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) 'worry'
- Health anxiety
- Low self-esteem or confidence issues
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Panic attacks
- Perfectionism
- Phobias
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) & Trauma
- Sleep problems (e.g., insomnia)
- Social anxiety
- Stress and work-related stress
Symptoms that could indicate a psychological problem:
- Breathing difficulties (shortness of breath, hyperventilation)
- Digestive issues (stomach ache, nausea, IBS)
- Fatigue and low energy
- Headaches
- Heart palpitations
- Muscle tension
- Overwhelmed mind
- Poor appetite or overeating
- Poor concentration
- Shaking and trembling
- Sweating
- Nightmares and flashbacks
CBT for long-term health conditions
Adapted Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a form of therapy specifically tailored for individuals dealing with long-term health conditions, such as chronic pain, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, or other ongoing illnesses. Chronic health conditions can often lead to feelings of frustration, anxiety, depression, or helplessness, which can, in turn, impact a person’s ability to manage their health effectively. Adapted CBT focuses on helping individuals cope with the emotional and psychological challenges that come with managing a long-term condition.
This version of CBT focuses on building skills to manage symptoms, reduce stress, and improve quality of life. It might include techniques for stress reduction, pain management, improving self-care routines, and addressing negative thinking patterns related to the illness.
The goal of adapted CBT is to empower you to take control of both the emotional and practical aspects of living with a long-term condition, promoting resilience, improving coping strategies, and helping you feel more in control of your health.
The process
Booking
For many people, starting therapy can be a daunting process. You may not know if CBT is right for you, or you may have questions you want to ask before starting.
A complimentary 15-minute consultation is available to briefly discuss your needs, answer any questions, and determine if CBT is the right fit for you.
To book this, or to start therapy please contact me.
We will then arrange for a suitable time to meet to complete an assessment.
Assessment
Therapy will start with an in-depth assessment; this is so that Amy can get to know you as an individual and understand what has brought you to therapy.
As an example, she will ask about your difficulties, how long they have been going on for, and how this impacts your life. She will want to know about your life experiences, background, and current circumstances. Alongside your goals and expectations for treatment.
The aim is for you both to have a shared understanding of the problem and for a bespoke treatment plan to be developed.
Treatment
Traditional CBT often starts with creating a diagram to understand what might have led to the problem developing and what is maintaining it. This is usually a very insightful phase of CBT, empowering people to understand why they are experiencing difficulties and to develop a deeper understanding of themselves.
In the following sessions you will work with Amy exploring CBT techniques and approaches to help you in challenging the unhelpful thinking and behaviour linked to the problem you are experiencing. You will through this process develop new, more helpful coping strategies, and tools to support lasting change.
Availability and prices:
Therapy sessions are available face-to-face in Weybridge and online from the comfort of your own home. Sessions are available Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Limited weekend availability that is online only.
For more information or to book an appointment:
