Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is now recommended by NICE ( the National Institute for Clinical Excellence) as a researched and proven treatment for such problems as anxiety, depression, phobias, OCD and PTSD. It can also help with a range of eating disorders as well as substance misuse difficulties.

CBT is often perceived as a ‘quick fix’ therapy and it is true that the number of sessions an individual requires to help with their problem is generally less than with alternative therapies. However, people often have complex difficulties, ie they have more than one simple problem, and this has to be taken into account when considering how many sessions might be required by any individual.

For CBT to be successful it requires that the client and therapist work in partnership to sort out the client’s difficulties. Sessions are generally 50 minutes and the client is set tasks outside of these sessions to help them understand the problem better and experiment with changing both their thinking and behavioural responses. CBT expects change to be necessary in order for things to improve for clients and individuals who are not ready, or able to make changes, are not generally suitable for CBT.

CBT is sometimes considered an expensive therapy but practitioners train for a long time to gain their skills and have to continue with additional training and supervision on an ongoing basis.

For further information go to:-

www.babcp.org.uk

www.nice.org.uk