What is cognitive behavioural therapy
a brief psychological therapy (also referred to as a talking therapy)
it involves chatting about thoughts feelings and behaviours
it uses both behavioural modification techniques and cognitive restructuring to challenge unhelpful beliefs and behaviours
requires training
with who is CBT effective for
it is effective in helping children aged between 9-16 years and adults with a range of problems such as anxiety, depression and specific phobias including dental phobia
what does the 5 areas CBT model allow / do
allows people to separate their problem into 4 main elements
- negative thoughts = everything that goes on in our mind, thoughts, memories, images
ie negative thoughts contribute to our negative feelings - emotional feelings = sadness / anxiety / anger / shame / guilt
negative thoughts and feeling create changes in our physical body - physical feelings = increased HR / increased breathing / sweating / tension
negative thoughts, negative feelings and a negative body impact upon behaviour - behaviour = avoidance / distraction / disruptive behaviour
how does cbt work
by looking at thoughts, feelings and behaviours together, CBT identifies and tests unhelpful thoughts, feelings and behaviours and helps you to develop more useful ways of thinking, feeling and behaving
what are the cognitive aspects of CBT
- positive self talk
- acknowledge and analyse unhelpful thoughts and beliefs
- recognise thinking errors and negative thinking habits
- challenge their unhelpful thoughts to create a more realistic assessment of the situation
what are the behavioural aspects of CBT
- distraction techniques
- learning relaxation skills
- conducting mini experiments to test unhelpful beliefs
- systematic desensitisation
