CBT is often a treatment selected for those suffering from any level of depression and anxiety. When choosing a CBT specialist as your chosen therapy specialist in helping you to heal from depression it is likely you have questions about what to expect. You may have some apprehension if using therapy is new to you.
We at Seek a Therapy want to help answer your questions and concerns surrounding CBT in order to help you select the right therapist for your needs. On this page, we have included some of the most common questions a person may have before treatment.
What is CBT?
CBT looks at how we think about a situation and how this affects the way we act. In turn, our actions can affect how we think and feel. The way our body feels is linked to our emotions and our thoughts.
CBT, or sometimes known as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, is a talking therapy that has proven to help treat depression and emotional health conditions in adults, young people, and children. CBT looks at how we think about a situation and how this affects the way we act. In turn, our actions can affect how we think and feel. The way our body feels is linked to our emotions and our thoughts.
There is a great deal of research evidence to show that CBT works effectively in treating depression. This research has been carefully reviewed by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).
What Should I Expect From CBT Therapy?
CBT is offered either in individual sessions with a therapist or as part of a group depending upon your requirements.
The number of CBT sessions you need depends on the difficulty you need help with and whether or not you get help via the NHS or decide to go private. Often, there will be a minimum of five sessions and 20 weekly sessions lasting between 30 and 60 minutes each. CBT is focused upon on how you think and act now, instead of looking at and getting help with difficulties in your past.
You and your therapist will discuss your specific difficulties and set goals for you to achieve.
CBT is not a quick fix. It involves hard work during and between sessions. Your therapist will not tell you what to do. Instead, they will help you decide what difficulties you want to work on in order to help you improve your situation.
Your therapist will be able to advise you on how to continue using CBT techniques in your daily life after your treatment ends as there is an emphasis on helping you develop strategies rather than relying on a therapist for your solution.
A more in-depth explanation of CBT Therapy?
How Can CBT Help Me?
CBT can help with common mental health challenges such as depression, anxiety and ptsd because it helps you to identify your thinking and your feelings. As well as learned behaviors. All whilst keeping you actively engaged. and life issues surrounding it. The focus of cognitive behavioral therapy sets it apart from other talk therapies :
- CBT is based on two specific tasks: cognitive restructuring, in which the therapist and patient work together to change thinking patterns, and behavioral activation — in which patients learn to overcome obstacles to participating in enjoyable activities. CBT focuses on the immediate present: what and how a person thinks more than why a person thinks that way.
- CBT focuses on specific problems. In individual or group sessions, problem behaviors and problem thinking are identified, prioritized, and specifically addressed.
- CBT is goal-oriented. Patients working with their therapists are asked to define goals for each session as well as longer-term goals. Longer-term goals may take several weeks or months to achieve. Some goals may even be targeted for completion after the sessions come to an end.
- The approach of CBT is educational. The therapist uses structured learning experiences that teach patients to monitor and write down their negative thoughts and mental images. The goal is to recognize how those ideas affect their mood, behavior, and physical condition. Therapists also teach important coping skills, such as problem-solving and scheduling pleasurable experiences.
- CBT patients are expected to take an active role in their learning, in the session and between sessions. They are given homework assignments at each session — some of them graded in the beginning — and the assignment tasks are reviewed at the start of the next session.
- CBT employs multiple strategies, including Socratic questioning, role-playing, imagery, guided discovery, and behavioral experiments.
- CBT is often time-limited. Typically, treatment with CBT lasts 14 to 16 weeks.
How Much Does A Typical CBT Session Cost?
If you are based in the UK you can ask your GP for help with a CBT specialist on the NHS but often there is a wait. If this is the case then you can go private ( and we have several psychotherapists in our directory in the UK, USA, Europe, and Asia) where costs range from £30/$50 per session and sometimes can go up to £100/$150 and occasionally, more depending upon the therapist’s experience, specialty and location.
How Do I Know Which Therapists To Choose?
Your GP will often have several accredited therapists that they can point you in the direction of but even if they do and you feel that the therapist isn’t right for you, then it is completely fine to find a new specialist.
One of the most important parts of therapy is the relationship between yourself and the therapist in order to be able to trust and open up about all your thoughts and feelings in order to be able to work on them.
When you find the right CBT therapist that offers you good communication, a partnership, trust, goals, and a feeling of genuine understanding then together, over time, you will be able to challenge your thoughts, beliefs, and perceptions.
How Long Does It Take For CBT Therapy To Take Effect?
You will meet your therapist regularly, usually once a week, for a minimum of 5 sessions. Individual sessions last about 60 minutes, but there is often homework to do as well.
CBT is not only a therapy but a course of strategies to help you develop new ways of looking at experiences and develop resilience as well as creating healing in your way of thinking. Although it is often the case a minimum of five sessions is required, your therapist will discuss your specific circumstances in this regard.
What if The Therapy Doesn’t Work For Me?
First of all, don’t worry!
If you think CBT is the right therapy but you have the wrong therapist then you have every right to seek a second opinion.
You will not offend your therapist, they just want you to heal from your difficulty as best you can.
If, on the other hand, you don’t feel CBT therapy is working at all then do not be disheartened, there are many, many different types of therapy to heal from depression and psychotherapy is only one. Use our therapy directory to find a different therapy, you may find hypnotherapy works better or possibly some holistic treatment. The key is not to think this is your only option.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy For Depression
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Please note: This information should not replace professional medical advice, it is purely for informational purposes. At all times when you are in crisis please first seek help from your GP or another medical professional. Thank you