The common question people ask themselves; Why does this keep happening to me ?
This question can cause individuals distress which may lead them to think that they are abnormal in some way.
A good Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist will work jointly with you to discover how problems keep repeating themselves. This is achieved through a trusting relationship with your therapist who is appropriately trained and accredited.
What is CBT ? Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is recommended in guidelines for treatment of a range of emotional disorders including anxiety disorders and depression. The Department of Health requires that the NHS delivers ‘evidence-based’ treatments and the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) www.nice.org.uk has consistently recommended CBT in some cases before taking anti-depressant or anti-anxiety medication.
Contrary to some of the myths about CBT being only about thinking, we will be working together exploring not only your thoughts but also your feelings which may be causing you great distress.
The CBT approach aims to help people change patterns of thinking or behaviour that are causing them problems. Changing how we think and behave also changes how we feel. It is a structured approach – we agree what your goals for therapy might be and work together to enable you to work towards these goals.
Sessions are usually weekly and last for an hour (90 minutes for couples). Depending on your problem the average number of sessions is 6-20. The first one or two meetings should involve you and I getting to know each other and deciding if we can work together. I strongly encourage questions about how your therapy is progressing.The more information you have about what to expect, the less likely you are to be disappointed.
Therapists have a duty to keep personal information about you confidential. All BABCP, and BACP accredited psychotherapists adhere to their respective Guidelines for Good Practice and will not discuss what occurs in your therapy except in professional supervision or if they believe that you or others may be at risk.