Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is a short term, evidence based talking therapy.
We provide CBT Therapy online (Skype, Zoom and FaceTime) and telephone to help adults recover from depression, anxiety and low self esteem.
Who it helps
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy helps people with many difficulties. Including depression, anxiety, stress, low self esteem, post traumatic stress disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder.
Where it started
CBT is a type of talking therapy first developed by Professor Aaron Beck in the 1960s to help people experiencing depression. It has since been adapted for use with most anxiety disorders, sleeping problems and the impact of some physical health problems.
How it works
CBT works on the idea that the way you think and what you do affects the way you feel.
Thoughts, behaviours, emotions and physical sensations are all connected and influenced by the situation we are in, as shown in the diagram on the right.
As a CBT Therapist I will help you make small changes to your thoughts and behaviours, which in turn will affect your emotions. Changing one area will lead to a change in the other areas.
What happens in treatment
A key aim of treatment in CBT is to teach you to become your own therapist and independently maintain your wellbeing.
We will do this by working together to understanding the links between your thoughts, feelings and behaviours. We will agree changes you can make to improve your mood.
We will plan tasks for you to do between the sessions. Such as writing down your thoughts, testing your fears and trying out new things to work towards your goals.
If you were learning to play the piano and had weekly lessons, you would be asked to practice your skills between lessons.
CBT is similar in that you are training your brain to think differently. Expect to be doing something in relation to your therapy most days a week.
How it is different
CBT is different from some traditional forms of talking therapies in a few ways.
In CBT we will focus on the here and now, to see what is keeping your problems going. While we will talk about the past, this will be used to understand how it is influencing your current problems.
If you had fallen into a hole it would be better to first get out of the hole rather than to spend your time analysing how you got down there. Once you are out of the hole you can work on not falling in again. This is the approach we take in CBT, first work on feeling better, then plan how to stay well.
Starting therapy
Your first session will be a chance for us to discuss your current difficulties and your expectations for treatment. I may also ask you to complete some questionnaires to help us measure the symptoms you are experiencing.
Together we will use this information to develop a formulation. This is a shared understanding of where your problems started and most importantly what keeps the problems going. Then we will use this formulation and your goals as a road map, to accurately plan interventions and tailor treatment to you as an individual.
Making changes
In each appointment we will discuss steps you can take to feel better by changing the thoughts and behaviours that keep your problems going.
Treatment is usually between 6 and 20 sessions, at first this will be weekly then spread out to fortnightly then monthly as needed.
In your final sessions we will develop a plan so you can continue to maintain the benefits of therapy.
DIY Therapy
Self help books and online resources can be used in the treatment of depression and anxiety. Research shows this works best when supported by a professional. I will often recommend specific CBT based self help books for you to use alongside your treatment.
Finding out more
More information about CBT is available online but the best way to understand CBT is to experience it for yourself.
Try it for yourself
If you would like to try CBT contact us and arrange a free initial telephone consultation.
Recommended CBT Websites
Self help guides from Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Trust on a variety of problems can be found here.
Get Self Help for information about problems including depression, anxiety, self esteem, OCD and PTSD. There are also dozens of free printable worksheets you can use alone or as part of therapy
Psychology Tools self help resources
Top Recommendations of CBT Books
to speed up your recovery
Mind Over Mood: Change the way you feel by changing the way you think, 2nd Edition, by Dennis Greenberger and Christine Padesky
Overcoming Perfectionism: A self help guide using Cognitive Behaioural Techniques by Roz Shafran, Sarah Egan and Tracey Wade
Overcoming Low Self Esteem: A self help guide using Cognitive Behaioural Techniques by Melanie Fennell
Break free from OCD: Overcoming Obsessive Compulsive Disorder with CBT by Fiona Challacombe, Victoria Oldfield and Paul Salkovskis
Online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Online CBT therapy using video conferencing such as Skype, Zoom and FaceTime allows people across the whole UK to access Cognitive Behavioural Therapy from CBT Reflections.
This can be particularly helpful if you are unable to attend sessions in person but speaking on the telephone feels too impersonal.
Does online CBT Therapy work?
There is good research evidence on the effectiveness of providing CBT using video conferencing, so the quality of your treatment will not be effected.
Video conferencing treatment sessions usually last 60 minutes but this can be adapted depending on your stage in therapy.
Benefits of video conferencing partly overlap with those of telephone sessions and include:
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Not needing to travel to a clinic
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Being able to see a therapist experienced in treating your difficulties even if they do not live close to you
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Physical disability or long term health problem interfering with travel to the clinic
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Feeling more comfortable talking on Skype about sensitive difficulties
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Convenience of times offered
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The ability to continue having weekly sessions, even while travelling for business
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Starting with Skype sessions until they are able to trust the therapist enough to meet in person
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Having a follow up session after the end of a course of therapy
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Lower cost per session than face to face sessions.
Additional benefits include:
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Being able to see your therapist and them being able to see you, making communication easier
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Available if you are travelling for work or leisure, so you can continue to keep the pace of therapy
The format of video conferencing sessions would mirror face to face sessions, so you would still get the high quality service but in a more convenient way.
Availability
We currently have evening availability for Skype, Zoom and FaceTime sessions of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Treatment can be bespoke to suit your needs and include sessions which are either entirely using video conferencing or a mixture of video conferencing and telephone.
Therapy is only available to adults based in the UK.
Booking information
Everyone is offered a free initial 15-20 minute telephone consultation to discuss whether CBT would be beneficial for them and whether they would like to book a full assessment. Contact us by email or this website to get started with CBT online.