About CBT
What Is CBT?
Cognitive-Behavioural therapy (CBT) is a highly effective, evidence-based talking therapy that helps people to overcome emotional problems like depression and anxiety.
CBT is a psychological therapy which focuses mainly on the “here and now”, rather than on the past. Unlike other talking therapies that focus mainly on the past, CBT is more present-focused, and is more concerned with what keeps your current problems going. Of course, there are times when your early childhood experiences might negatively affect you today, specifically affecting how you think about yourself, how you feel and how you behave. We have all grown up having acquired messages passed down to us from our parents/carers/teachers-some of these messages may have been negative, i.e., “you are fat”; “you are stupid”; “you are worthless”. As children, we grow up believing these messages because when we are young, we trust the sources of these messages. However, now that you are an adult, CBT can help you to re-evaluate the messages that you were taught when young and to stand back and really question the messages that you were taught. It can sometimes feel difficult to “shake” the beliefs that we have grown up with. One of the main principles of CBT is that the beliefs people have of themselves have been acquired through early learning; the premise is that any behaviour that is acquired through learning can also be “unlearned”. That is good news because it means that you can learn to think differently about yourself.
CBT is based on the idea that the way a person thinks (Cognitive) about their situation, influences how they feel and behave (Behavioural). Our thoughts have a powerful effect on the way we feel, and they also influence how we behave towards ourselves and others.
Let’s take a look at an example using the ABC model of emotional problems:
- A=activating event (trigger)
- B=beliefs and thoughts
- C=consequences (emotional and behavioural)
Example: Mike and Sam have both lost their jobs. Let’s call “loss of job” the “activating event” or “Trigger”. Now let’s look at how they both think about and respond to, this activating event.
Mike
| A(Activating Event/Trigger) | Beliefs (Thoughts) | Consequences (emotional and behavioural) |
|---|---|---|
| Loss of job | “I’ll never find a good job again; this was the ideal job; what if I can’t find another job”. | Depression, worry, withdrawal from people, stay in bed far too long each day, avoid getting on with tasks. |
Sam
| A(Activating Event/Trigger) | Beliefs (Thoughts) | Consequences (emotional and behavioural) |
|---|---|---|
| Loss of job | “It’s too bad I lost this job, I really enjoyed it and liked my colleagues but it’s not the end of the world; I know I am employable so I’ll just spend some time putting my CV together and send it out to prospective employers.” | Upset, not depressed, takes proactive steps to finding new job |
Can you spot any differences in the way these two people think? How about how they each coped with their thoughts? Did you notice that Mike behaved in a “depressed” way whilst Sam responded in a more proactive way to the same situation?
CBT will help you to identify and evaluate the validity of your negative thoughts; negative thoughts are the thoughts that prevent you from taking steps to help yourself feel better and achieve your goals.