Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Thousands of research trials over the last 50 years have found Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to be helpful for broad-ranging problems, including anxiety, depression, addictions, eating disorders, insomnia, anger, and stress management, as well as many other forms of emotional and behavioural issues. CBT is also known to improve general psychological functioning and subjective well-being. It is also known to be helpful across the lifespan from children, adolescents, adults, to older adults, as well as with couples and families. CBT is the primary psychological treatment offered at our practice, as:
1. There is a robust evidence-base to support the effectiveness of this intervention
2. It is flexible, individualised and accordingly adaptable for a wide range of individuals
The premise of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is that our thoughts about a situation affect how we feel (emotionally and physically) and how we behave in that situation. CBT works to help us notice and change problematic thinking styles and/or unhelpful behavioural patterns so we can feel better. It is the understanding that it is not the situation itself which necessarily causes the distress, but the way in which we interpret (think about) it. Broadly speaking, CBT involves both ‘cognitive therapy’ and ‘behaviour therapy’.
The cognitive element of CBT refers to our thoughts self-talk and core beliefs about ourselves (“I’m not good enough”, or “I’m not okay”), other people (“they are friendly” or “they’re not to be trusted”) and the world around us (“the future is bright” or “this world is unsafe”). How our thoughts affect our feelings is as such: the more threatening our thoughts (“I’m going to be judged”), the more anxious we will feel. The more hopeless we believe the future is (“there’s no point”), the more depressed we will feel.
The behavioural element of CBT refers mostly to our unhelpful behavioural patterns in response to the problematic thinking styles. This typically comes in the form of avoidance which may feel good in the short-term. Other ways people may cope is to become overly controlling towards others or their situation, which makes them more powerful in the short-term. Ultimately these cause more difficulties in the longer term.
CBT can be seen as a collaborative, problem-solving, educational style of therapy that prioritises the present. Each cognitive-behavioural technique is taught in a simple, relatable and structured manner for the client to best understand and be able to practice new skills in the “real world” outside the therapy room.
One of the strengths of CBT is that it aims not just to help people overcome the symptoms that they are currently experiencing, but it also aims to teach the person new skills and strategies that they can apply to future problems.
Additional Information
Questions you might have
Common Thinking Errors
Thought Record
Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) is a goal-directed form of psychotherapy that focuses on coming up with solutions alongside clients in relation to their challenges. It is a short-term evidence-based therapeutic approach. SFBT is one of the leading schools of brief therapy and branched out from the field of family therapy in the 1980s. It is currently applied in individual, couples and family therapy and can be used in multiple contexts ranging from normal stressors to high-impact life events. However, SFBT is not typically used to treat specific mental disorders such as schizophrenia or major depressive disorders.
SFBT incorporates positive psychology principles, therefore eliciting positive emotions in clients by being goal-focused and future-oriented, encouraging clients to formulate, be motivated, achieve and sustain desired behavioural change.
SFBT typically involves a therapist getting a clear idea of how the client’s life would change if the challenge would resolve. Then the therapist and client would draw on the client’s existing resources, such as life experiences, to construct together a practical and sustainable solution that client is able to readily implement. This could mean identifying previous times in which a client successfully resolved previous challenges or “exceptions” where clients were not actively affected by the challenges. Therapists would guide clients to formulate a solution based on what sets the “exceptions” apart from other instances where the clients are affected by the challenges. Therapists could do so by asking questions such as coping questions: “How do you manage, in the face of such difficulty, to fulfil your daily obligations?”. This helps to identify how clients have been coping with their problems previously. Another common kind of question used is the miracle question types, where therapists encourage clients to imagine a future in which their challenges no longer affect their lives.
The strengths of SFBT lies in that it is practical, goal-driven and can be employed in short-term therapy. It is also rooted in the present. The goal of SFBT is to find and implement a solution to clients’ challenges in as minimal time as possible. SFBT is growing in popularity, and is one of the leading schools of psychotherapy in the world.
Additional Information
Motivational Interviewing (MI)
Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative, goal-oriented, evidence-based form of psychotherapy technique used that focuses on behavioural change. MI aims to strengthen personal motivation for and commitment to a specific goal. It taps on individuals’ own reasons for change while focusing on acceptance and compassion for clients. MI can be applied across a broad range of settings from health to education, and across populations regardless of age, ethnicity or sexuality. It is often used to treat addictions and management of physical health conditions like diabetes, heart disease and asthma.
MI is a style of psychotherapy that focuses on guiding clients rather than listening to clients or directing clients. MI focuses on empowering clients by assisting them in identifying intrinsic meaning, importance and ability to change. Clients are treated as an equal partner in this process and have their autonomies respected.
MI focuses on the present by getting clients to examine their current situation and possible options. It is particularly effective when clients are ambivalent about change, have low confidence levels on abilities to change, have low desire or are uncertain if they want to make a change, and when clients view the importance of change to be low.
This form of psychotherapy uses core skills or OARS: Open questions, Affirmation, Reflections, Summarising.
1. Open questions – draws on and explores clients’ personal experiences, perspectives, and ideas
2. Affirmations – affirms clients’ strengths, efforts and past successful instances of change to build on clients’ confidence
3. Reflections – repeating and rephrasing clients’ words after active listening to reflect empathy for clients
4. Summarising – reinforces key points to ensure shared understanding between client and therapist
MI is a method of communication rather than an intervention, and is sometimes used in combination with other treatment methods. The strengths of MI lies in that it works well with individuals who begin therapy unmotivated or unprepared for change. MI helps clients be accountable and prepares clients to be more receptive to therapy. MI also builds client’s confidence and elicits positive emotions by encouraging clients to focus on a better outcome after achieving behavioural changes they set out for.
Additional Information
Questions you might have
Stages of Change
Cost Benefit Analysis
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) 
Mindfulness Based Therapy (MBT) 
Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) 
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) 
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) 
Schema Therapy (ST) 