Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
What is it?
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) teaches us that it is the way we think about situations and events and not the actual situations or events themselves that colour our vision. CBT teaches how to eradicate negative thoughts and replace them with more positive thoughts leading to positive feelings, emotions and behaviour. It teaches that we cannot always change the situation or event but we can change the way we think about them.
How many sessions will I need?
CBT is considered among the most rapid in terms of results obtained. The average number of sessions will vary, but on average to achieve success, most clients need between 6 to 10 sessions. If you think of most new skills or new situations that you wish to acquire or find yourself in, it generally takes about 6 weeks before you take on these new skills or situations. The commitment is part of the therapy, once a client has decided to make this commitment/investment to therapy to make changes it follows on that it helps them achieve their goals. CBT is not an open-ended form of therapy, a timeframe will be discussed with the client at the beginning of therapy when a rough estimate of how long therapy may last.
What is the Therapist's role?
The therapists job is to learn from the client what it is they want to change (their goals) and how it is best to go about achieving these, to listen and encourage their growth. CBT is not about telling the client what they want or should tolerate, it is about helping the client realise what these goals are for themselves and then to become independent of the therapist, become their own therapist.
Monitoring and recording therapy
Manageable tasks, to promote progress, will be agreed with the client, these may be carried out in between sessions (in real life) so that they will build up confidence working towards the client's end goal. Rehearsal will be carried out with hypnosis if the client requires this, visualising themselves performing relevant tasks and succeeding. During therapy records will be kept of how the client felt performing these tasks which enables the client to monitor and measure their own progress.
Clients actively commit and take part in this form of therapy. There is no magic wand! If you want to become good at something then you must PRACTICE!
