“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony” 

– Mahatma Gandhi

What is Cognitive Behaviour Therapy? (CBT)?

CBT is a talking therapy that has been proven to help treat a wide range of mental health problems and as such it has been recommended by the Nice guidelines https://www.nice.org.uk.

CBT focuses on 3 main areas, thoughts (cognitions), feelings and behaviours. CBT enables you to see how feelings, thoughts and behaviours are interconnected, how what you think can affect your behaviour and feelings and how your behaviour can affect how you feel and think.

How we are feeling can often be overwhelming and we can feel lost in a whirlwind of emotions that can feel unmanageable and can affect all areas of our lives. CBT can help change this by working through these emotions to find thoughts and behaviours that can be changed and modified, therefore making the whirlwind of emotions settle and become more manageable.

CBT  predominantly focuses on the “here and now”, however it can also be important to discuss the past and how this could have shaped how you feel, think and behave.

One important principle of CBT is that it requires work and commitment as there are often in between session tasks that are set. However this hard work will be rewarded when you can learn to manage your difficulties and achieve your goals.

When the therapy is complete we then create a plan for the future to help you continue to manage your difficulties and thus maintain good well-being.

Does CBT work?

There has been a great deal of research into Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and it’s effectiveness and this has been reviewed by the  National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE). CBT is recommended by NICE for the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders.
If you would like to read more about this research visit  their website  where you can download and read their reports.