This blog aims to help you decide if Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) could be right for you. In the previous posts I have asked you to think about what you want from therapy, if the CBT model makes sense to you and described the main elements of the CBT structure. Finally, we’ll consider the evidence of what works for different problems.

1. What are you hoping to get from therapy?
2. Does the CBT model make sense to you?
3. Does the way CBT works suit you? and –
4. Can CBT help with the type of problem/s you are experiencing?

Evidence for the Effectiveness of CBT:

CBT has gathered an impressive amount of evidence for being effective. You can find more information about this here:

https://babcp.com/What-is-CBT/Cognitive-Behavioural-Therapy-Whats-the-Evidence.

NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) therefore recommends CBT as the main, or one of the main, therapeutic approaches for anxiety disorders and depression.

Anxiety disorders include panic and agoraphobia, social anxiety, health anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), worry problems (i.e. generalised anxiety disorder) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The fact that CBT focusses not only on the thoughts and feelings but also on what you do, or don’t do, makes it particularly helpful with anxiety and depression.

Furthermore, it has also been recognised that CBT can be helpful with chronic fatigue, medically unexplained symptoms, chronic pain conditions and other presentations. Please see the following link for further information: https://babcp.com/What-is-CBT/CBT-for-Specific-Problems, and also go to the page ‘What is CBT for?’ on this website.

Choice:

For certain presentations NICE has recommended CBT as well as other approaches. For example, depression can be treated with CBT, but also counselling and other types of therapy depending on what the main factors are which contribute to depression. Also, for the treatment of PTSD, trauma-focussed CBT as well as EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) are recommended.

Different CBT Approaches:

CBT has evolved over the past decades and different approaches have emerged such as compassion-focussed therapy, ACT (or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) and Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). Each of these have begun to gather evidence for their effectiveness in relation to particular presentations. Different Cognitive Behaviour Therapists may have trained and in one or more of these approaches and may offer these as and when appropriate. ACT for example has been proven useful in helping people with chronic physical health conditions and MBCT is very helpful in the prevention of relapse in recurrent depression. I have found the integration of what is sometimes referred to as ‘Third-Wave CBT’-elements very helpful in my own practice, and my experience of using EMDR has also shaped my approach.

How to Decide:

As you can see, there are a number of options and of course, different therapists will have their own personal styles even if they use the same therapeutic approach. You can contact different practitioners to find out what therapy with them would involve. Also, speaking to the therapist and meeting them will help you decide if you feel comfortable with them and if you think you can engage in therapy with them. This is really important in helping you choose not only the right therapeutic approach but also the right person because having a good therapy relationship is an important pre-condition for CBT as it is for other forms of psychological therapy.