 Aims to help someone manage their problems by changing how they think and act  CBT encourages people to talk about: - how people think about themselves, the world and other people -how what people do affects their thoughts and feelings  By talking about these things, CBT can help to change how the patient think s(‘cognitive’) and what they can do (‘behaviour’), which can help them feel better about life.

 CBT is useful for treating many mental illnesses including:  Depression  Anxiety  Schizophrenia  Post traumatic stress disorders  Eating disorders  Drug misuse  Unlike other talking treatments, such as psychotherapy, CBT focuses on the problems and difficulties a patient has now, rather than issues from their past. It looks for practical ways they can improve their state of mind on a daily basis.

 The patient will learn to make sense of problems by breaking them down into smaller areas so that they can see how they are connected and how they can affect them. This includes looking at their thoughts, emotions, physical feelings and actions in reaction to a situation.  They will probably be asked to keep a diary so that they can identify how they react to certain events. This will help them to identify patterns of thoughts, emotions, physical feelings and actions, and see if they are unrealistic or unhelpful.  The patient and therapist then work together to make changes. Once they’ve learnt to identify negative patterns, they'll be asked to practise replacing negative thoughts with positive ones during everyday events. This isn't always easy but using CBT techniques they can try out different behavioural approaches in real situations, which can help to bring about changes.  CBT aims to provide people with the insight and skills to improve their quality of life.  Once therapy has finished, they will be able to practise and develop on your own what they have already learnt

 Common CBT techniques include: -Challenging irrational beliefs and replacing them with alternative ones -Stopping unhelpful thoughts -Gradual exposure to situations -Assertiveness training -Social skills training  CBT is a short-term treatment which typically lasts for 10 to 15 individual, weekly sessions. The number of sessions depends on the type of problem and your commitment. Each session usually lasts for about an hour.

 CBT isn't for everyone and only helps people with certain conditions, especially if anxiety and depression are the main problems. Clinical trials suggest that CBT is as effective as medicines for short- term treatment of many non-severe depressive and anxiety disorders.  Studies have shown that two years after therapy has ended, CBT patients do better than those using other treatments. They also suggest that CBT brings about a real change in how people feel about themselves and protects them from getting ill again. People who use medicines may be at greater risk of relapse when they stop taking them compared with people who have undertaken CBT, which can lead to lasting change.