Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is the recommended first line of approach in therapy for many conditions including many types of anxiety, depression and trauma as outlined by the organisation NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence).

Most people think that situations cause us to feel a certain way but CBT suggests that this isn’t actually the case. If it was we would all react the same way in a situation and yet we don’t. According to CBT, how we emotionally react is based on how we think about or interpret situations (and this is influenced by our unique experiences). CBT also recognises that how we react or behave in the situation can also affect the way we feel. For example, if I am invited to a party and I feel anxious, my thoughts are much more likely to be threat focused “I won’t know anyone, I’ll stand in a corner by myself all night, no one will like me”. If I do go then I might engage in behaviours to protect myself like offer to help out in the kitchen, stand in the darkest corner and only answer briefly if talked but these behaviours while seeming to protect me, are actually more likely to reinforce my anxiety as my thoughts end up coming true.

CBT is therefore about the therapist and client working together to identify any unhelpful thinking and behaviour that might be reinforcing or maintaining the symptoms that cause distress. It is a structured short term therapy (6-20 sessions) which is usually aimed at a particular problem or goal.