Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is a form of Psychotherapy based on two approaches:

1. Cognitive therapy, which is designed to change people’s thoughts, beliefs, attitudes and expectations.
2. Behavioural therapy, which is designed to change how people act.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is usually a short-term therapy around 6 sessions, which focuses on the present rather than the past. It is often used for those with depression, anxiety, eating disorders, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorders, bereavement and many more emotional and behavioral problems. CBT is based on the assumption that emotional distress is caused by the way we think, and that changing our way of thinking alleviates worry, anxiety and emotional distress. There are two elements to this approach:

1. How you think about yourself, the world and other people and how this influences your thoughts.
2. How what you do (behaviour) affects your thoughts and feelings

In CBT, the way a person thinks underpins feelings and behaviour. The therapist helps the individual to examine their self-beliefs, perceptions and thinking patterns, and identify how this impact on their emotional wellbeing, and actions. Setting homework between sessions is a key part of CBT, which may consist of journal and diary keeping, as well experiments to test out new ways of thinking and responding. TCM mediators apply CBT approaches in our mediation practice. In particular we assist the parties adjust their cognitive distortions (perceptions of a threat or harm) by engaging them in a process of future focused and needs based questioning. Party – “I don’t want my manager to shout at me” TCM Mediator – “How do you want your manager to communicate with you?”

Further reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_behavioral_therapy

References www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Cognitive-behavioural-therapy/Pages/Introduction.aspx?url=Pages/what-is-it.aspx http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_behavioral_therapy