Psychotherapy - Nature of CBT
CBT is a scientific and collaborative approach to psychotherapy. It is based upon the understanding that people’s thoughts will affect how they feel and act. The effectiveness of CBT in assisting clients to deal with a broad spectrum of psychological difficulties has been demonstrated by numerous carefully conducted experiments. These are summarised in the NICE guidelines which confirm the superior efficacy of CBT in the treatment of a wide range of psychological problems. In CBT, clients are encouraged to participate actively in the therapeutic process and to provide their own independent assessment of its effectiveness. CBT serves to empower clients by enhancing their independence and developing objective problem solving skills. This engenders resilience when meeting life’s challenges - both during and after treatment. CBT sessions begin with the client and psychotherapist agreeing upon a series of positive goals. Then, based upon the evidence, a shared awareness is developed, both of the present difficulties and of how these patterns may have been produced and maintained. Identifying unhelpful thoughts, feelings and behaviours is an important part of this. |
Subsequently, a progressive series of straightforward strategies are devised jointly. The client then begins to try out some new techniques in their daily life, which are refined in successive sessions. They are designed to achieve the agreed goals, and result in improvements in how the person feels and functions in their day-to-day life. Over the course of the programme, CBT also serves to foster increasingly positive and realistic attitudes. While treatment usually takes the form of hourly sessions in a consulting room, some problems may benefit from supplementary field-based treatments. This can be beneficial when a person is experiencing difficulties in a specific setting. The appropriate number of sessions depends upon the nature of the difficulties experienced, but will naturally be determined by the client. In recent years the demand for CBT has grown substantially. Nevertheless currently there are only around 250 accredited cognitive behavioural therapists on the UK CBT register to service the whole of Greater London. |
