Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
What is CBT?
CBT, cognitive behavioural therapy is a form of therapy that sees problems we have in our living can be maintained by how we think and how we act. So by changing how we think and act, we can change our problems.
There are different styles of CBT (also known as waves). The earlier wave of CBT looks to change unhelpful thoughts by looking for evidence for other more helpful thoughts. A later wave of CBT looks to change your relationship with your thoughts, as it argues there is no delete button in the brain for unhelpful thoughts. This latter form is ACT, acceptance and commitment therapy, which I am very influenced by.
How does CBT work?
How CBT works is that to start off with your clinician might start by assessing your problem, to answer the key questions of “What keeps this problem going”. They might ask what the effects are of what you think, and how you act. As the problem is understood in detail then this opens up the ability to do something about it.
Whilst there are a wide range of things that can be done for problems in CBT, some interventions can be to use mindfulness, to change your relationship with your thoughts and emotions. Some interventions can use compassion so that you are kinder to yourself, maybe less critical. Some interventions can look to see how you are acting, and what you are doing too much of, or too little of. Some interventions may be to find better ways to cope with your emotions.
There are quite a range of interventions, but the bottom line is to change your thoughts and behaviours, which in turn changes your emotions.
