Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy ('CBT')

At Private General Practice Services we have 2 CBT Therapists who can help you deal with anxiety and depression and also with losing weight. CBT is especially helpful in dealing with negative thoughts. If you feel you could benefit from a consultation with one of our CBT therapists please contact the practice to arrange an appointment. Alternatively you might prefer to have an initial consultation with one of our doctors, or clinical psychologists.

Dealing with negative thoughts

Depressed people typically think in a biased, negative way. They have a negative view of themselves (“I’m no good”), the world (“Life has no meaning”) and the future (“It will always be this way”).

Negative thoughts have several characteristics:

1) They are automatic – they just ‘pop up’ without any effort on your part;

2) They are distorted – they do not fit the facts;

3) They are unhelpful – they keep you depressed and make it difficult to change;

4) They are plausible – it does not occur to you to question them;

5) They are involuntary – they can be very difficult to switch off.

The more depressed you are, the more negative thoughts you will have, the more you believe them – and the more depressed they make you.

We have already discussed some examples of your own negative thinking, and the effect it has on how you feel and what you do. The time has now come to make negative thinking your main focus. This is the heart of cognitive therapy – learning to recognise when you are thinking negatively, to look for more positive and realistic ways of viewing your experiences and to test these out in action.

At first, you may not find it easy to “catch” and answer your thoughts, but with regular practice, it will come more naturally to you. Answering negative thoughts is like any other skill – it takes time to be able to do it with ease, so don’t be discouraged if you have difficulties to start with. In sessions we will work together on identifying and answering thoughts and your homework assignments will give you the opportunity to practise on your own.

LOOKING FOR RATIONAL ANSWERS

1) What is the evidence?

What evidence do I have to support my thoughts?

What evidence do I have against them?

2) What alternative views are there?

How would someone else view this situation?

How would I have viewed it before I got depressed?

What evidence do I have to back these alternatives?

3) What is the effect of thinking the way I do?

Does it help me, or hinder me from getting what I want? How?

What would be the effect of looking at things less negatively?

4) What thinking error am I making?

Am I thinking in all-or nothing terms?

Am I condemning myself as a total person on the basis of a single event?

Am I concentrating on my weaknesses and forgetting my strengths?

Am I blaming myself for something which is not my fault?

Am I taking something personally which has little or nothing to do with me?

Am I expecting myself to be perfect?

Am I using a double standard – how would I view someone else in my situation?

Am I paying attention only to the black side of things?

Am I overestimating the chances of disaster?

Am I exaggerating the importance of events?

Am I fretting about the way things ought to be instead of accepting and dealing with them as they come?

Am I assuming I can do nothing to change my situation?

Am I predicting the future, instead of experimenting with it?

5) What action can I take?

What can I do to change my situation?

Am I overlooking solutions to problems on the assumption they won’t work?

What can I do to test out the validity of my rational answers?

If you think you could benefit from CBT please contact us and arrange a consultation. We will then arrange an initial appointment with one of of our private doctors, clinical psychologists or CBT therapists.

If you have a query or would like to email us please go to our contact us page.

If you would like to book an appointment please call us on 0116 2700373 or email info@privategp.com.

• Mental Health
  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
  • Hypnotherapy
  • Nutrition and Mental Health
  • Psychological Assessments

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