What can I expect from a CBT session?

CBT sessions are structured, collaborative in nature and goal oriented with sessions lasting approximately 50 minutes.

In your first session with me, we will focus on an assessment of your present situation, the challenges that you are experiencing and what you hope to achieve by working with me in therapy.

In between sessions, often, there will be tasks/exercises to carry out to reinforce the techniques/learnings identified in session. These exercises will be collaboratively negotiated, planned and tailored to the your specific situation.

In CBT, you and I will work together to better understand your difficulties in terms of the relationship between your thoughts, feelings, bodily responses (physical) and behaviours. Likewise, we will work together to break the vicious circle of unhelpful, self-defeating thinking and patterns and behaviours that are not serving you. All in all, you and I will work together to learn more useful ways of thinking and coping.

The CBT process typically involves 6-20 sessions. However, the number of sessions can vary depending on the individual’s specific needs, the severity and complexity of their condition, and how quickly they make progress.

The client works with the therapist to understand each problem and break it down into its component parts. This helps identify individual patterns of thoughts, emotions, bodily feelings and actions which are causing distress and we can then trace the underlying beliefs that maintain them. After identifying and agreeing collaboratively what beliefs the client might change, the therapist may recommend ‘homework’ assignments the client can complete and practice outside the sessions to counter or disprove these beliefs. To assist in this process the therapist may invite the client to keep a log or a diary. The strength of CBT is that the client can continue to practice and develop their skills even after the sessions have finished, making it less likely that symptoms or problems will return. CBT can be used exclusively or it can be integrated with other therapeutic approaches such as humanistic or psychodynamic depending on the needs and requirements of the client.