CBT is a tried and tested form of individual therapy which focuses on the 'here & now' even

though your problems may have started in the past.

If what is troubling you has started quite recently, CBT can often achieve very good results

in a short space of time. But it can take longer to become effective if your problems started

some years down the line because you will inevitably have created coping strategies and

habits (such as avoidance and safety behaviours) to manage your difficulties and regulate

your anxiety.

If you engage in a CBT programme, it will be essential for you and me to work co-operatively

and collaboratively so we can gain a shared view and understanding of the problem and commit

to an agreed a treatment plan. At times, this treatment plan will include tasks and exercises to

be undertaken at home, and you will have to be prepared to make time for this extra work on

your own between our formal sessions.

The CBT approach provides you with a framework for you to look at solutions to your problems

which are long-lasting and much more effective than the coping strategies you have developed

on your own. I usually work on eight to 20 sessions of CBT. The difficulties I work with are:

• depression
• generalised anxiety
• PTSD
• OCD
• eating disorders
• social anxiety
• phobias
• health anxiety
• panic attacks
• agoraphobia
• low self-esteem.

For more information about CBT please visit www.babcp.com (British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies).