FORTITUDE
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
CBT
CBT is a way of talking about the manner in which you think and feel about yourself, others, the world and the future. It can help you to change how you think (Cognitive) and what you do (Behaviour). These changes can help you to feel better.
CBT focuses on the “here and now” problems and difficulties. Instead of solely focussing on the causes of your distress or symptoms in the past, it looks for ways to improve your state of mind now. CBT recognises that some of our past experiences can shape how we see ourselves in the here and now so can help you notice the things which you may have learnt in life which are causing you difficulties now.
CBT helps break overwhelming problems down into smaller parts in order to help you understand them better. It helps explain how each part can impact upon the other. How you think about something can affect how you feel physically and emotionally, it can also affect how you behave.
The way you think about a situation can influence how you feel, this can lead to vicious cycles of behaviours and emotions. CBT can help break these cycles and reframe how you think about things.
You will meet with your therapist weekly or fortnightly. You may have between 5-30 sessions, depending on the issues you need to work through. Appointments will be around 60 minutes long.
Sessions will involve checking in with your mood, feedback from how you feel sessions are going, setting tasks for you to do outside session and reviewing these and working towards goals which you identify with your therapist.
CBT has been tested out and found to be an effective treatment, it is recommended by an organisation called NICE which looks at all the different research for healthcare interventions and makes recommendations about which work the best.
Symptoms can come back but CBT will give you tools to help manage this if it happens.