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Site
updated: 15thMarch 2008
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| Cognitive
Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is a form of therapy which is...
• short
term
• problem
orientated
• structured
• pro-active
• scientific
• based
on psychological methods |
CBT is actually a
combination of two forms of therapy - cognitive
and behavioural. Cognitive therapy
focuses on the role of thinking (cognition) in determining how
we feel and what we do. Therefore if we have unwanted feelings
and behaviours, CBT explains these in terms of unhelpful thinking
patterns, sometimes called Negative Automatic Thoughts (NATs).
Behaviour therapy is the second component of
CBT, and is based on theories of learning derived from research
on classical conditioning carried out by Ivan Pavlov and others,
and from the work of such American behaviourists as John B. Watson
and B.F. Skinner. Behaviour therapy brings about change by focusing
mainly on the problem behaviour itself. |
| CBT is based on a scientific
approach to therapy, drawing in various theories about how the brain
learns, stores and processes information. Although this sounds complex,
ultimately it comes down to the fact that we have thoughts, feelings
and behaviours, and that these interact with each other in ways
which can be more or less functional. When the way the thoughts,
feelings and behaviours interact get seriously out of kilter we
get dysfunctional patterns or disorders. |
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To illustrate this,
think of an anxiety disorder such as fear of cats. When we fear
something (feelings) we avoid
it (behaviour). The act of avoiding
cats reinforces our belief that they are dangerous (thoughts),
which in turn increases fear. We may spend increasing amounts
of time worrying about the possibility of encountering a cat (thoughts)
and have to take ever more drastic measures to avoid them (behaviour).
To take a different example from depression, this is often associated
with negative thoughts, such
as "I'm useless", "nothing I do will ever succeed".
Thoughts like this directly affect our body chemistry, making
us feel down (feelings), and
because we are down we tend to do less, avoiding activities that
could help us to feel better (behaviour).
The reduced activity has a negative impact on both thoughts and
feelings, setting up a "vicious circle" or downward
spiral.
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| Because
of it's scientific approach CBT may not appeal to everyone, but
it has proven valuable in dealing with a range of common problems
such as the ones listed opposite.
It can also form an important part of the treatment
of other disorders such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder,
eating disorders, addictions, stress and relationship difficulties |
Conditions
treated by CBT
- Phobias
and fears
- Agoraphobia
- Animal phobias
- Panic attacks
- Social phobia
- Anger management
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
- Generalised anxiety disorder
- Habit disorders
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| Other articles on
CBT
Articles on specific problem areas
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The
Hope Street Centre
is an independent
centre dedicated to counselling,
psychotherapy,
holistic
and complementary therapies. It is located in the attractive
rural market town of Sandbach in South Cheshire, with easy access
to the M6 motorway and the railway network at Crewe. The centre
is home to over ten qualified professional therapists, who offer
a range of high-quality therapies and services. We can work with
individuals, couples, families, groups, businesses and organisations.The
centre is readily accessible from the neighbouring towns of Congleton,
Alsager, Middlewich, Holmes Chapel, Knutsford, Crewe, Kidsgrove,
Winsford, Northwich, Warrington and Stoke on Trent. |
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