COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY
Learn how to let go of negative, fearful thoughts that are holding you back from leading a more fulfilled life !!
CBT is growing in popularity more and more as Doctors and Psychiatrists refer their patients for CBT to help overcome a wide range of problems, often with good results.
Problems and issues such as -
*ADDICTIONS
* ANGER PROBLEMS
* ANXIETY
* CHRONIC PAIN
* PHOBIAS
* DEPRESSION
* EATING DISORDERS
* SOCIAL PHOBIA
* BODY DYSMORPHIC DISORDER
* FEARS
* POST TRAUMATIC STRESS
* CHRONIC PAIN
* RELATIONSHIP PROBLEMS
* CHRONIC FATIGUE
* PANIC DISORDER
* EATING DISORDERS
* OBSESSIVE - COMPULSIVE DISORDER
* PERSONALITY DISORDERS
* PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS
UNDERSTANDING CBT
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is a school of Psychotherapy that aims to help people to overcome their emotional problems.
COGNITIVE - The word ' Cognitive ' refers to everything that goes on in your mind including dreams, memories, thoughts and general attention to the world around you.
BEHAVIOUR - Refers to everything that you do which includes what you say, how you try to solve problems, how you act and avoidance techniques.
This behaviour refers to both active and inactive....for example, such as .... biting your tongue instead of speaking your mind - still a behaviour even though you are trying NOT to do something !!
THERAPY - is the word used to describe a systematic approach to combating a problem, illness or issue.
A central concept in CBT is that -
' You feel the way that you think !!'
CBT works on the principle that you can live more happily and productively if you're thinking in healthier ways.
A defining characteristic of CBT is that it gives you the tools to develop a more focused approach.
CBT aims to help you to move from emotional and behavioural problems towards your goal of how you would like to feel and behave.
Therefore, CBT is a goal-directed, systematic, problem-solving approach to emotional problems.
Thinking errors or faulty thinking that affects our behaviour are -
CATASTROPHISING - Making mountains out of molehills !!
RUMINATION - Thoughts going around and around in your head !!
PROCRASTINATION - Can't make final decisions !!
WORRY AND GUILT
WORRYING ABOUT OTHER'S OPINIONS
SECOND GUESSING OTHER'S THOUGHTS
REGRETS AND SELF-BLAME
RIGIDITY TO CHANGE - Usually when we keep looking for excuses or reasons why things can't change - or when we need to get out of our 'confort zone'
AVOIDANCE TECHNIQUES -Tackling mediocre tasks instead of doing something more important - in other words ' just faffing about !!'
BLACK AND WHITE THINKING - All or nothing thinking - not allowing for something in-between or some form of compromise
PAST NEGATIVITY - Negative or unhappy past experiences which have become a set belief
JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS
LEARNED HELPLESSNESS AND HOPELESSNESS
DISTORTED JUDGEMENTS
SHOULDS, SHOULDN'T, TRY AND WHAT IF'S
INABILITY TO TOLERATE - Can't do this or that or too emotional or too much out of your comfort zone !!
INNER ANGER AND DEPRESSION - When we can't express our feelings so we turn them inwards
CONFUSION ABOUT ' WANTS' RATHER THAN ' NEEDS'
INABILITY TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILTY
PROJECTION - Everbody must be thinking the same as me !!
PERFECTIONISM - Can be of yourself as well as of others
PERCEPTUA L - Similarities of experience - it happened to her or this happened last time so bound to be the same !!
I'm sure that you can add many more to this list of ' Unwanted, Irrational Negative Thoughts' that hold us back or make us behave in unhealthy ways.
CBT work is very ' Relaxed and Interactive' with on-going discussion of the issues that we need to work on, personal self-development by using simplistic forms and home assignments to help you to get the irrational thoughts out of your head and down on paper to allow you to look at them from a different angle ....this helps you to realise where you've become stuck in the habit of thinking in a certain way...... behaving in a certain way .....and realising that it simply is a ' Bad Habit ' and can be changed !!
IT CAN BE VERY EMPOWERING !!
