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| Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
The cognitive behavioural (CB) approach assumes that anyone may develop mental health difficulties if the meanings people give to events are sufficiently upsetting. When a person knows that something very pleasant is about to happen to them they usually feel happy. However, if a person attaches distressing meanings to any events then they are just as likely to experience distressing emotions. Distressing meanings and emotions are then likely to affect the way that they behave. For example, someone who feels continually sad and believes that life holds no future happiness will be much more likely to avoid doing activities which actually used to be pleasurable. Linking thoughts and emotions with behaviour can keep people suffering with mental health difficulties stuck in a 'vicious circle'; what they do is a consequence of and also serves to confirm what they believe.
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| Some people may also interpret some
events as more threatening or personally harmful than they really are
because of deeply ingrained beliefs and rules of living learned from the
past. In quite a 'silent' way these beliefs influence how individuals
make sense of their day-to-day experiences, the world and other people. | | CBT provides an empowering,
person-centred and structured framework for collaborative working
between therapists and clients. CBT aims to enable individuals with
mental health difficulties to make better sense of their difficulties through personal discovery and considering more useful ways of dealing
with those difficulties. Clients are assisted in making clear both the
problems they want help with and the goals they want to work towards. | |
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There's plenty of evidence to show that CBT helps people with mental health difficulties. CBT has been found to be helpful for anxiety-based problems and depression, and severe and enduring psychosis.1. Department of Health (2001). Treatment Choice in Psychological Therapies and Counselling: Evidence Based Clinical Practice Guideline. London, Department of Health
2. Gamble, C, and Brennan, G (eds) (2000). Working with Serious Mental Illness: A Manual for Clinical Practice. London: Balliere Tindall in association with the Royal College of Nursing, Harcourt
3. Grant, A, Mills J, Mulhern R & Short, N (2006). Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in Mental Health Care. London: Sage Publications
4. Greenberger, D & Padesky, C A (1995). Mind over Mood: A Cognitive Therapy Treatment Manual for Clients. New York: Guilford Press
5. Hawton, K, Salkovskis, P M, Kirk, J & Clark, D M (eds) (1989). Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Psychiatric Problems: A Practical Guide. New York: Oxford University Press
6. Jones, C, Cormac, I, Mota, J & Campbell, C (2000). "Cognitive behaviour therapy for schizophrenia (Cochrane review)", in The Cochrane Library, Issue 3. Exford: Update Software
7. Leahy, R L & Holland, S J (2000). Treatment Plans and Interventions for Depression and Anxiety Disorders. New York: Guilford Press
8. NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (August 2000). "Psychosocial interventions for schizophrenia", Effective Health Care bulletin on the effectiveness of health service interventions for decisionmakers, 6, p3
9. Persons, J (1989). Cognitive Therapy in Practice: A Case Formulation Approach. New York: Norton
10. Wells, A (1997). Cognitive Therapy of Anxiety Disorders: A Practice Manual and conceptual Guide. Chichester: John Wiley
"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." Albert Einstein (1879-1955) | |
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