Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a type of therapy that aims to help you manage your problems by changing how you think and act.
By talking about how you think about yourself, the world and other people, and how what you do affects your thoughts and feelings, CBT can help you to change how you think (‘cognitive’) and what you do (‘behaviour’). CBT focuses on the problems and difficulties you have now, rather than issues from your past. It looks for practical ways you can improve your state of mind on a daily basis. This, in turn, can help you to manage your problems and feel better.
CBT cannot remove your problems, but it can help you to manage them in a more positive way.
CBT is particularly helpful in tackling problems such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders and drug misuse. It is not for everyone, but our trained Psychologists will help you to decide if this is the best form of treatment for you.
Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) is known as one of the 'third wave’ of cognitive therapies. It combines elements of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Buddhist Philosophy and Neuroscience. The aim of the therapy is to support individuals in developing a more compassionate view of themselves in order to reduce the psychological distress they might be experiencing.
CFT works from the principal that we can become stuck in goal orientated/achievement modes and do not pay attention to the self soothing and compassionate modes that can be extremely beneficial for our own wellbeing.
The therapy teaches techniques to activate this and clients are able to find relief from an alternative way of responding to their challenges rather than feeling they themselves are faulty and need ‘fixing’.
There is a strong and growing evidence base for this therapy and a best-selling book was publish by its creator Paul Gilbert called The Compassionate Mind. The therapy is administered over a relatively short period during which specific goals are worked towards.
Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) combines elements of CBT and Psychoanalytic therapies. Where CBT is very effective at offering individuals techniques and a ‘here-and-now’ understanding of their difficulties, CAT is well suited to individuals who wish to explore some deeper patterns in their lives and development and look at aspects of how they relate to others.
It is time-limited, short to medium term therapy and can achieve fantastic results according to the supporting research. Individuals will develop a theoretical understanding of their distress and create frameworks to understand how the problems can be maintained. This will lead to developing alternative ways to respond and cope with challenges.
Mindfulness Based Therapy is another third wave cognitive therapy that places the technique of mindfulness at it centre. Mindfulness is a techniques that teaches an individual to become centred and present in their life and step out of unhelpful thinking, rumination and worry. It is a very effective way of regulating emotions that has become very popular worldwide.
Mindfulness can be adopted as part of everyday life and individuals can enjoy more peace and distance from unhelpful thinking styles. With its roots in meditation and eastern philosophies, mindfulness can be a very enriching experience. Along side the development of this technique, individuals learn to approach their challenges in a different way that can be extremely useful.