HOW CBT THERAPY HELPS ANXIETY & STRESS

An introduction to CBT therapy

If you haven’t already come across the term CBT, it stands for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, which is one of the core areas of psychotherapy, a technique commonly practiced by psychology professionals. This method of treatment is becoming more and more popular with both practitioners and clients, partly because of its effectiveness and simplicity, and partly because it gives clients a sense of being able to regulate and manage their own pace during the treatment process. CBT is recommended by The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines, due to positive clinical trial results.

What can CBT treat?

In the past, CBT was mainly used to treat depression. But today, CBT is used to treat many things, as my CBT overview infographic here shows. As more advancements in the therapy have been made, and as the expertise of practitioners has evolved, cognitive behavioural therapy is used to help people overcome a number of different psychological problems and disorders, including abnormal mood fluctuations, addictions, eating disorders, stress related conditions, and many other mental health and behavioural issues, such as OCD and trauma. You may need multiple sessions of CBT therapy, but this will depend on your condition and its severity, and what an initial consultation reveals.

How effective is CBT for anxiety?

Along with the conditions and issues mentioned above, CBT can be extremely helpful for treating generalised anxiety. It has also proved to be a very effective social anxiety treatment, ranging from fear of social situations to public speaking anxiety, if used in the right way. It is no secret that the crowded, polluted, fast-paced and highly achievement orientated environment of a large city like London take their toll on the hardiest among us, leading to anxiety in many forms. The scientifically based steps taken in CBT, such as challenging and reframing negative or distorted thoughts, and learning gradual exposure strategies to tackle a variety of phobias and compulsive disorders, have made CBT the go to choice for many people wishing to overcome the consequences of stressful city living.

Why is cognitive behavioural therapy So effective?

One of the core reasons why CBT works so well, is that it addresses problems on the level of our thought process in everyday life. Our perceptions about things, people, and events around us, make a huge impact on how we interpret and react to them. They then play an important role in the manifestation of our overall behaviour. Cognitive behavioural therapy works by restructuring or transforming those negative thoughts that cause us problems, into thoughts that are much less likely to cause harm to ourselves and people around us. It could be said that CBT is a psychotherapy that is capable of taking a client on a journey from the darkest recesses of negativity, fear, and distress, to the bright horizon of a positive outlook and constructive, confident practical action.