How does CBT work?

CBT recognises that difficulties can be influenced by a number of things, rather than simply being caused by what is happening around us.

​

The way we interpret situations, what we do in response, what we notice physically and what we have experienced can all affect how we feel. These can then interact and create patterns that become difficult to break.

​

Sometimes the things we do to cope can actually keep a difficulty going. Avoiding something, checking, seeking reassurance, withdrawing, overthinking or trying to prevent things from going wrong can all make sense as ways of coping. However, they can sometimes provide short-term relief while making the problem more difficult in the longer term.

​

CBT looks at these patterns and asks what is happening, what might be keeping the difficulty going, and where change is possible.

​

Different CBT approaches and techniques are then used depending on the difficulty being treated.

​

CBT isn't about “thinking positively”

CBT is sometimes described as a therapy that helps you “think positively”. That's not really what CBT is about.

​

It isn't about replacing every negative thought with a positive one or pretending that difficult things aren't difficult.

Instead, CBT looks at how we interpret situations and asks whether our thoughts and beliefs are accurate, balanced and useful.

​

Sometimes a more helpful way of thinking will be more positive. Sometimes it won't. It may simply be more realistic, flexible or helpful.

​

The aim isn't to think differently for the sake of it. It's to understand whether the way we are interpreting something is contributing to how we feel, and whether there might be another way of looking at it.​