COGNITIVE BEHAVIOUR THERAPY (CBT)
You may have heard of this type of counselling from your GP or read about it. CBT is the preferred treatment in the NHS for most psychological difficulties. This is because there has been a lot of research to show that it can be very effective at helping with problems such as depression and anxiety.
I use CBT to help people to change things that are causing problems in their lives. CBT theory says that our thoughts, feelings and behaviours are connected up in a cycle - so when we change one of these three things, it automatically leads to a change in the others. By looking at the connections between thoughts, feelings and behaviours, CBT helps us to understand how people can spiral into negative feelings such as depression, or develop negative behaviour patterns such as problem drinking. By learning how to make small changes in one part of the cycle, CBT can empower people to learn new, more positive ways of thinking, feeling and behaving, and change their lives for the better.