WHAT IS CBT?

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a form of talking therapy that can help you change unhelpful thinking patterns (the ‘cognitive’ bit) and unhelpful actions (the ‘behavioural’ bit).

CBT acknowledges that the way you think about things and the actions you take can often maintain your problems, therefore therapists work with you to help you understand your thoughts and behaviours and to learn practical skills to help you break vicious cycles and become unstuck. Unlike some other talking treatments, it focuses on problems in the here and now instead of focusing on the causes of your distress in the past, thereby enabling you to identify areas for change.

​

As a therapy it is most helpful for people who are motivated and ready to go about learning the skills they need to make positive changes for life. There is an emphasis on practicing the skills learnt in-between sessions but don’t let that put you off! This will always be agreed collaboratively with you first and is valuable because change happens in real life not just in therapy appointments.

​