What is CBT?
CBT is a problem-based talking therapy that is well studied and has extensive research evidence to show it is one of the most effective treatments for low mood, anxiety and stress.
CBT involves the collaborative development of a Cognitive Behavioural formulation of your problem. This is used to identify unhelpful thoughts, difficult feelings and behavioural responses in order to better understand the links and maintenance factors between them.
CBT encompasses a range of techniques and approaches that address thought, emotions and behaviours. Once these have been identified the focus is on the use of a wide range of strategies to help you overcome them.
Self monitoring
This can help to keep track of unhelpful behaviour, habits and patterns of mood.
Goal setting
This can be an important step in recovery. I will help with values and goal identification and the monitoring of these.
Problem solving
Learning and practicing problem-solving skills can help to identify and solve problems that arise from life stressors both big and small.
Identification and management of unhelpful thoughts
It’s important to learn how these are functioning, this can lead to self discovery and awareness. New tools can help you manage these differently.
Identification and management of difficult emotions
A deeper awareness can be developed here and new tools can be taught to help you manage these in a more helpful and self compassionate way.
Practice of new skills
New coping skills can be learnt and practiced in therapy settings and in-between sessions to deal with particular situations.
The ultimate goal of CBT is to teach you that while you cannot always control every aspect of the world, you can take control of how you interpret and respond to things in your environment.
CBT involves you using the time in-between therapy sessions to try things out, record information and bring feedback to the next session. The outcome of interventions are continually monitored, evaluated and modified when required, to give the maximum effect.
This approach can be used to help anyone, irrespective of ability, culture, race, gender or sexual preference.
What is ACT?
Acceptance and Commitment therapy is a form of Cognitive Behavioural therapy. It is an empirically based psychological intervention that uses acceptance and mindfulness strategies to manage thoughts and feelings alongside commitment and behaviour change strategies to increase psychological flexibility.
Acceptance and commitment therapy is effective in treating and preventing relapse into the vicious cycles of anxiety and low mood. Often the main problem is the struggle with unhelpful thoughts and feelings, rather than the thoughts and feelings themselves. In a shift away from syndrome based diagnosis, ACT looks at a human problem in a process based way and with practice ACT tools can help clients to manage any thoughts and any feelings.
These ACT tools are plentiful and ultimately, with the right toolkit for you, your relationship with your thoughts and feelings can be changed. This means that whatever thoughts/worries/obsessions and related feelings that come along, you have a way of dealing with them.
There are 6 processes central to the effectiveness of ACT, these are;
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Diffusion (stepping back and looking AT thoughts rather than from them)
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Acceptance (making room for difficult feelings and getting out of the struggle with them)
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Attention to the present moment and what is most useful in that moment.
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Self-awareness
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Individual values to motivate and guide behaviour change
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Committed action
Instead of teaching strategies to facilitate the control of thoughts and feelings, ACT teaches clients how to develop a different relationship with their feelings and thoughts so they can notice and accept what is occurring and then step back from it, becoming present and focused on doing what matters.
ACT is empirically based on modern learning theory and Relational Frame Theory (RFT). It can help with a wide variety of disorders and problems including OCD, Anxiety, low mood, addiction, adjustments, relationships, stress, sleep.
