Peace of Mind: How CBT can help you thrive

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT as it is commonly known, is one of the most successful and widespread therapies used to treat a myriad of mental health problems. Here, Dr Hana Patel explains what CBT consists of and how it can help you to live a happier, healthier life!

What is cognitive behavioural therapy?

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is an example of a talking therapy that patients can use to manage their problems by changing the way they think and behave in particular situations.  

CBT allows you to manage your problems by making you change how you think about and behave in different situations.

What mental health conditions can it treat?

CBT is often used to treat some of the most common mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression. However, CBT can be useful for other problems such as panic disorder, specific phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psychosis for example.  CBT can also be used to help people cope better with the symptoms of long-term health conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and fibromyalgia. CBT has also proven successful in helping with sleep disorders such as insomnia.  

What is involved in the cognitive behavioural therapy process and how does it work?

A typical course of CBT involves a session with a therapist once a week or once every 2 weeks. The course of treatment usually lasts between 5 and 20 sessions, with each session lasting 30 to 60 minutes. In a CBT session you will work with your therapist to break down problems into separate parts: the thoughts, physical feelings and actions involved. Using CBT, patients are then able to work out how to change unhelpful thoughts and behaviours, and then practice these changes in their daily life. Long term CBT can help people manage their problems and stop them having a negative impact on their life.  

What are the different types of CBT?

There are different types of CBTs that cover a range of techniques and approaches that address thoughts, emotions, and behaviours. These include multimodal therapy, dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT), cognitive therapy and rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT). Each type of CBT takes a different approach that all work to address the underlying thought patterns that contribute to psychological distress. 

Is it possible to do CBT on yourself? How does that work?

CBT can be carried out online or face to face, both by oneself or with a therapist. Guided self-help CBT can involve working through a self-help workbook or computer course with the support of a therapist.

Do you have a CBT success story with a patient?

An example of how successful CBT can be is a recent client who came to see me due to their anxiety related to Covid and work. We used a bespoke CBT and mental health coaching approach to help with this specific anxiety. The approach was successful, and my client is now able to enjoy going out and being at work!

Dr Hana Patel is a GP specialising in life and mental health coaching, with over 15 years of experience. If you have any mental health concerns, please don´t hesitate to request an appointment with Dr Patel via her Top Doctors profile.