What is Cognitive Behaviour Therapy?

According to the Beck Institute, CBT is a therapy approach that believes “..the way individuals perceive a situation is more closely connected to their reaction than the situation itself.” See here for more information
I use the acronym TEBS to describe this: Thoughts, Emotions, Behaviours and Sensations of the body. In presenting TEBS to clients, I propose that thoughts are king. It is from thoughts that the client’s emotions, behaviours and sensations arise.
To change the client's troublesome emotions, I propose that changing the way she thinks about herself in the problem situation and using related behaviours to support this change in thinking may result in reducing her emotional stress.

What is the history of CBT?

In the 1950’s Behaviour Therapy was developed. It focused on observable behaviour and how it affected mood. Pioneers such as Albert Bandura and B.F. Skinner proposed that learning adaptive behaviours reduces stress.
Over time, the cognitive aspect of behavioural change was more recognised, with BT evolving into CBT.

CBT is now a term used for many different modalities in counselling therapy.
Albert Ellis developed a psychologically based approach known as Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy, which focused on irrational beliefs, especially when we use them to force ourselves to behave in destructive ways. See here for more information

Aaron Beck developed Cognitive Therapy. He came from a medical psychiatric background and developed theories around cognitive distortions as a cause for depression initially. His approach is now used for all types of disorders. See here for more information 

CBT and its many varied hybrids are considered the most reliable psychotherapeutic approaches because of the extensive research done to support them.

What is Cognitive Behaviour Therapy used for?

CBT is used for nearly every presenting condition in counselling therapy. Where there is an issue of wrongful perception affecting the client’s mood and creating concerning situations, CBT can be used.
There is a perception that CBT is a superficial approach. I believe it is one of its strengths that it can be used for both short-term and long-term needs. Many clients have issues that they want a quick resolution to. CBT, with its focus on changing negative thoughts to positive ones through practising related change-based behaviour, can provide specific change quickly. Deeper personal change can be achieved by drilling down into the core beliefs that support the negative thoughts. Our core beliefs are cornerstones of our personality. Working with core beliefs is a longer process than changing thoughts, as they are entangled in numerous parts of who we are and how we live.

CBT in Prevail 

As described earlier, I developed the TEBS approach to communicate the principle to the client that thoughts are king and cause emotional pain. I acknowledge that most clients come to counselling due to emotional pain. Therefore, I always start with the client's emotions. The thoughts associated with these emotions are then identified. I encourage the client to slow down their behaviours and thoughts and objectively start to process how valid their thoughts are. This is a mindfulness approach I like to call bringing your thoughts to the court of your own mind. In other words, test their thoughts, are they based on true reality? Then develop alternative positive thoughts and practice them in the real world. Trial and error will succeed in coping with triggering situations for the previously established negative thoughts.

In my work, I may use record sheets to help identify negative thoughts and their effects between sessions. I encourage clients to journal between sessions as a personal way to work through their harmful thinking habits. I use rating scales at the beginning of each session to confirm the degree of difficulty a client is having. We review these scales periodically to see the progress of the client over the sessions. 

While CBT can come across as very technical, at its heart is the relationship between the therapist and the client. Trust is essential in the process of establishing what the problematic thoughts are.  That trust is built upon the interpersonal exchange of enquiry by the counsellor of the client's experience.