What is cognitie therapy?

[newwie]

I was told you could be offered this and i know people on here had mentioned it before but what is it.
I thought or think it has something to do with machines?
Is that right?

Newwie

[Jane]

Hi Newwie,
I was referrred to a place by my pyschiatrist who recommended Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or CBT. This is going back quite a few years & there was a waiting list of 2 years (but thats just where I live!) Things probably of changed now I don't know?.
Anyway it was explained to me basically when you have bad feelings, thoughts they try & help you to reverse the effect by turning them into positive thoughts & feelings somehow?
Probably didn't help that explanation but I'm sure someone else will read your post & explain it a lot better.
Love Jane x

[vikki not logged]

hi, I'm having CBT at the moment, it's all about training your brain to think differently.

My psychiatrist does mine, so I didn't have to wait at all, it's definitley worth doing, i'm finding it quite hard going, but it will be worth in the end, it is supposed to be particulary good for cobating negative automatic thoughts.

Hope that helps

Take care

Vikki

[newwie]

How do they do it though? Questions or ask you things on how you would react or something so you dont have to have any hospital treatment for this?
God am i niave? I just havent heard anything about stuff like this before and the things that i am experiences have all been new since the birth of g i must of coped before this i did i got through day to day so whats changed do you lose your mind when giving birth or something or does it come out with the placenta?? Trying to lighten things up
Also is postnatal illness classed as a mental illness?
Newwie

[one potato]

Hi Newie,
I have been having some CBT. Its done basically by looking at your thoughts, feelings (physical and emotional) and behaviour. The idea is that we can train ourselves to think differently. The CBT sessions i have had are a bit like being in college, writing things down and making new plans. Its looking at your behaviour mostly and what triggers negative thoughts or feelings and finding ways to combat them. Its not too personal and doesn't involve delving into your past or anything. I have found it quite helpful, but i recon its quite a long term fix and not something which can be quickly learnt. But if you have the opportunity to have some i'd say definately go for it. It does not involve machines at all, its just a form of talking therapy.
Hope thats helpful,
Love Potato.

[vikki not logged]

Hi Newwie

I have sheets to fill in, you put the date and time, what you were feeling, the situation, and then your thoughts, then i sit with the psychiatrist and we work out if it is a negative automatic thought, and how much you beleived the though, later you go on to challenging the thoughts etc, but i'm not ther yet.

No machines at all, and a lot of it you do yourself at home as "homework" my psych says.

I definitley think it's worth a go if you are being offered it, my psych spent the first session explaining everything to me, and setting out what he wanted to acheive.

My Gp explained things to me as well, would yours do that? Or maybe send you some literature?

Lots of love

Vikki

[Veritee]

Hi Newwie

Others have explained CBT well and I do think it may be worth a try and do not know why it has not been offered at all.

It is usually available from your GP as well as being something a CPN or a mental health team can arrange.

As therapies go CBT is quite short - usually 6 to 10 weeks - and not really that personal as others have said as it concentrates on making changes in your behaviour and thought patterns often very specific, rather than delving deeply to find out why these thought patterns and behaviours exist.

It is said to be quite effective in PNI but because it does not aim to change the conscious or subconscious reasons for your behaviours or thoughts, it does require quite a lot of co- operation and effort by you and commitment for it to work and I know you are a very capable person and could give it the commitment it needs.

As has been pointed out, you almost have to treat it like a college course and you would have what could be called 'homework' to do in order for it to be effective.

I would suggest that for you a course of this which focuses specifically on behaviours and thoughts that most interfere in your quality of life would be positive but that once you have done this you might enquire about psychotherapy of a more psychoanalytical approach to try to look at why you feel as you do.

However it might be worth having a go at the CBT first and let us know how you get on with it.

All the best


Veritee

[Jane]

Hi
Can I ask, those of you that are or have had CBT did you have to wait a while to get it or were you able to start on the "course" straight away?
As I said, I was told about it years ago but there was a 2 year waiting list & you couldn't jump the queue even if your illness was more severe than someone else?
Cheers Jane xx

[Veritee]

Hi Jane Newwie and everyone.

I think it depends on the area and even on what your GP and their surgery practice has on offer.

But failing this there is also the local mental health teams or even a family center ( I think Vikki's CBT therapist is from a mental health team and not a GP surgery, correct me if I am wrong)

I think this was very unfortunate for you Jane to have to wait so long as it is not usually the case that anyone has to wait 2 years for cognative therapy. In fact I am quite appalled really.

But I do know different areas have different health resources. For instance you can get a counsellor/therapist in Cornwall usually within 2 to 3 months but no one here can get a dentist on the NHS. Even for a private dentist we have to travel miles and pay loads.

So I guess it could be the area you live???

But how long was this - could you not try again as things might have changed. Or if you really want to try CBT make a fuss - I find this often works.

In Cornwall we are not known to have great medical services but my small GP practice has a two cognative therapists attached to the surgety and also a drugs and alchohol counsellor who runs a surgery once a week.

The hospital also has a family center that will do CBT if needed - have you tried your local hospital?

Plus a couple of free independant voluntary drugs rehab and counselling agencies ( they do counsellign forothe rissues not just drugs ) as well as counselling being available, including CBT from already practising counsellors who are students on the the local counselling diploma course. ( do you have a course like this near you?)

The waiting list to be seen is usualy about 3 months maximun

Opposite the GP is a health cernter where the local mental health team and HV hang out and they also offer their own counselling and therapies and the services of psychologists etc.

Perhaps you could ask again and have you tried getting a referal to the mental health team?

As they have extra resourses your GP does not.

Let me know how you get on

All the best

Veritee

[Vikki]

My Gp has alao gone on acbt course himself, he said lots of GP's are doing the courses in order to shorten waiting lists.

I might be worth enquiring again to see what services are available to you.

I had another session today, and altho a bit upsetting not as bad as last time, so that's a tiny progress made!!

Well worth trying

[bam02]

Cognative behahioural therapyTEXT

Since I joined this site two days ago -I have been reading and reading to try and find my way around. But this is something I have had and I hope can be of help.

I was refered to occupational therapists last year at our local hospital with a mental health therapy centre.

I found attending difficult - childcare issues as usual. But I did get to the sessions of CBT which I had one to one and was lucky to get.

The others are right it has homework. Where you rate a difficult situation and how you felt about it. Then you look at it agian for instance as if you were you best friend and what they might say. You usually find you would be kinder.(Its not a real best friend - its the the person you think you would be-some of myu friends I wouldn't trust to judge anything!!!!

Then you can see hopefully things are not so bad . there are other tochniques - like doing a diary and seeing hope busy you are and what you can change.

I found it enlighting - but I am trying it again s self help and its a bit hard. I don't attend any more. i got better''TEXT. But not really. But the techniques is still good especially if you have help.

Take care. Go for it!!!

Anne-Marie (from Manchester)

[sonyak24]

Hi to all

A few weeks ago I started falling back down the dreaded hole and got sent home from work as I was so stressed and agitated. I went back to see my GP and instead of increasing my tablets he placed me on the waiting list for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. I started to read up on this therapy but read too much, and now I'm confused. Someone told me its similar to a hyponsis therapy offered.
I'm not sure what to expect. What if I'm feeling better when my appointment comes through is it still worth going too?

Sonya x x x

[cheshire]

Hi Sonya,

I have had some CBT along with other things within the context of psychotherapy.

My therapist said to me that basically it focuses on the relationship between:

thoughts - feelings - actions

Change the thinking , this affects the feelings, which in turn affect the behaviours.

I think that is what she said.

In my experience, it is worth going along - I am still using the strategies and have become more aware of just how negative some of my thoughts are - and the frequency of these thoughts too.

I thought hypnosis was something a bit different. My therapist is a hypnotherapist, and I can imagine that it could play a part, hand in hand with CBT. But I have never had hypnotherapy - we decided to focus a bit more on changing thinking patterns rather than delving any deeper than we had already!

I would give it a try
Good Luck!!
Hopefulx