How it Works

CBT is based on the concept that your thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and actions are interconnected, and that negative thoughts and feelings can trap you in a vicious cycle. CBT aims to help you deal with overwhelming problems in a more positive way by breaking them down into smaller parts. You’re shown how to change these patterns to improve the way you feel". CBT brings a focus to your current problems, and "looks for practical ways to improve your state of mind on a daily basis".

"If you agree CBT is the right treatment for you, you will be expected to meet with your therapist regularly. To help your therapist to understand your difficulties, you may be asked to complete some questionnaires or worksheets. These may be repeated throughout your treatment. Your progress within treatment will be monitored and discussed with you on a regular basis, as your views are important. The therapist will help you understand your problems and help you discover ways of dealing with them. You will be encouraged to practise them outside of your therapy (for example, at school or college or at home). This means that tasks or homework will be set at the end of the meeting".

Children and Young People

According to the Royal College of Psychiatry "Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) has been found to be effective in helping young people with a wide range of problems, including:

• low self-esteem

• depression

• anxiety problems

• obsessive-compulsive disorder

• post–traumatic stress disorder

There is increasing use and evidence of CBT working well in various other problems like sleep, chronic fatigue and chronic pain".

The following information for CBT with children and young people can be found on the Royal College of Psychiatry website (https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mental-health/parents-and-young-people/young-people/cognitive-behavioural-therapy-(cbt)-for-parents-and-young-people)

Why do I have to do homework?

"Unfortunately, you cannot learn to ride a bike by reading a book. Any skill you want to learn requires practise.

CBT will help you learn:

• how to overcome negative thoughts (she doesn’t like me)

• unhelpful behaviours (not going to the party)

• difficult emotions (feeling sad)

It is important to practise the CBT skills you are taught for the following reasons:

• to be sure that you understand them;

• to check that you can use them when you need to (e.g. when you are feeling upset about something);

• so that any problems you may have in using these skills can be worked on in your therapy.

It’s not always easy to learn new skills, so you will need lots of support from your therapist, and your family/carers".

Information for parents/carers

Parents ideally should support the therapy, and the level of parental involvement will be determined by factors such as age of the young person and the presenting difficulties.