What do you think of CBT?

AislingDM

I know this might not seem political, but it is a debate to be had, so I wanted to open the floor to people's thoughts. I am increasingly seeing people say they are dissatisfied with CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) and wish for other methods to cope with their distress. What do people think?

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/drugs-and-treatments/talking-therapy-and-counselling/cognitive-behavioural-therapy-cbt/

^ some info on CBT if you're not familiar with it!

sinead276

Although personally, I've never had CBT before, as a psychology graduate I've learnt a fair bit about what it does and how it works.

Overall I think it can be a good treatment often and has shown to be effective for treating people's distress/anxiety/depression etc,. However, I also know that these success rates are never 100% and that it won't work for everyone. We are all individuals who respond differently to different processes so to assume it could be the only solution to an issue would be silly. I think it is a good treatment option to have for people if they wish to try it as it can work and be successful, but it is also important to remember that it won't work for everyone and that is okay.

I think it will be interesting to see opinions from the perspectives of those who have undergone CBT at some point and to hear personal stories on whether it worked or not.

Sending hugs,
Sinead

Maisy

I think CBT has it's uses, but I think therapists/counsellors need to understand the limitations and their clients more.

For example, I've found CBT helpful in challenging negative thoughts and instead looking for evidence of more positive things. However, I understand that in some circumstances this isn't always realistic e.g. someone who gets bullied and doesn't have friends might have a hard time with anxiety as a result, but CBT might be less helpful as there may well be an actual risk of someone being left out or bullied. So more of an environmental problem rather than mental/emotional.

I have also noticed a shift in people finding CBT and therapy less affective but part of me feels it's more complicated than just a certain type of therapy isn't working. It may be that a person is an undiagnosed neurodivergent and they might need to realise this and have therapy adapted to suit their needs. Of course that's probably not the reason for everyone who doesn't find CBT helpful but that's just my thoughts anyway

Amy22

This is quite an interesting thread actually. I feel that maybe in some ways cbt can be helpful for some but for others not always. I will be honest as I have had a form of cbt but done in counselling sessions. The only thing I found was that the counselling sessions were only 6 sessions long which I felt wasn't enough really.

Laura_tigger82

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us @Amy22. I can hear that you found this an interesting thread. It sounds like you feel that maybe in some ways CBT can be helpful for some but for others not always.

Would you like to tell us more about when you think CBT may be helpful / not always? We are listening to you if you would like to share more with us.

Similarly, I can also hear that you have had a form of CBT but done in counselling sessions. Would you like to share more with us about how you found this combination?

Take care for now and we will look forward to hopefully hearing from you again soon, talking further about CBT if you wish

Amy22

@Laura_tigger82 yeah I guess cbt was okay. It's good as you are talking about how you feel as well as addressing things that trigger you. I'd say that cbt is not always helpful as I found the techniques weren't always helpful for me. But I know that it can work for others. Like nowadays I tend to crochet n stuff which helps with like stress and anxiety.

AislingDM

Really great points @sinead276 ! I couldn't agree more that looking at the statistics can be useful when considering the efficacy of a treatment, especially from a scientific perspective. And there certainly is overwhelming evidence that some people really do benefit from CBT, in particular if they are seeking to change their instinctive tendency towards negative thinking. Of course, it's beyond true that not everyone will benefit and considering which alternative therapies might be more beneficial is really important. I think that is a key basis for a lot of people's 'anti-CBT' argument, it's not necessarily saying 'I hate CBT', but rather we should not try to force this method upon people immediately before consider whether another intervention might be better-suited towards their issues/needs. (Equally, I know we then have to start talking about resources and education as to whether or not these alternative methods are actually widely-accessible, but maybe that's a conversation for another day!).

Thank you @Maisy , super insightful as always Definitely, in terms of the limitations of therapists, we should never think that one treatment is going to solve the world's problems, especially those more tangible problems that you mentioned! If someone is being bullied, changing their perspective is 1) not the root cause of the issue 2) will likely be less effective if the bullying continues to reinforce their negative thought pattern. Regardless, I'm glad it was helpful for you, and this reinforces that there can be benefits to this type of interventions

I appreciate that @Amy22 ! I figure this is a good space to talk about how people want their mental health needs to be treated Completely, this is an extremely critical point you make, often CBT's downsides and pluses cannot even be evaluated if the treatment length is too short to allow the person to carry out significant work within themselves. And, I think we know by now that 6 sessions just does not cut it for most people, irrespective of the 'intensity' of the mental health needs. Do you think things would have been different had you been offered more sessions? xx

Azziman

Agreed with @sinead276 , with a similar experience. As is usually the case for mental health treatments, it's helpful to some people but not 100% effective, and it's most effective when combined with other interventions (lifestyle changes, medication, social support etc). Also, important to note that there are different types of CBT with different objectives or fundamentals, so receiving one form of CBT when another one is more appropriate might be why some people find that "CBT" (the whole idea) doesn't work, when it was just one type that was tried.

The argument against it that it's not 100% effective is a bit of a non-point in my opinion, because there's many reasons why it might not work even when the "right" type of CBT is applied. Sometimes CBT sessions are too far apart, sometimes the therapist isn't well-equipped to deal with the case, sometimes patients don't fully engage so having any affect would be difficult etc. To write off an entire treatment based on this point is seeking for a perfect solution where we don't have one yet.

AislingDM

Completely fair point @Azziman !! we definitely cannot evaluate and whole branch of therapies in such a simple way, and regardless, it's very clear that lots of people certainly benefit from CBT or other similar approaches, which is awesome

I think you're so right about all the other factors that come into play when considering why a therapy might not be effective for a person, like therapist skills, how many sessions you get and when they are, even whether or not you are ready for the therapy. It's a very complex conversation for sure.

I reckon it's points and articles like this:

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bjpsych-advances/article/cultural-adaptation-of-cognitivebehavioural-therapy/368958AB484E9D1C82FFBEABF8DF7645

that make me want to think about the different perspectives on CBT and how we can make them as accessible as possible to as many people who need psychological support

(apologies that article is very science-y, but very interesting nonetheless!!)

Titch

CBT is usually a therapy given on the NHS. For other kinds of therapy you'd likely need to go private. CBT generally is a really good therapy which equips people with the tools to continue to heal beyond therapy, and which can be used in other areas of life too.

CBT is a therapy which focuses on the here and now. Some issues won't benefit much from this, and would require a therapy which looks back at the past - e.g. looking back into childhood to discover where a trauma started.

For many years CBT was the only therapy i'd had, and it didn't work for many of my problems. So if CBT doesn't work for you or your current situation, then don't sack off therapy all together.

IainJammyboy

I'm not going to say too much as I don't have experience with CBT but I thought I would put my experience here - I understand how it can be useful for some, but I feel like whether it be in school or with the NHS etc. I feel it's the only therapy available to the point people make it out as a one size fits all sort of thing, that's just my thoughts

AislingDM

very insightful points altogether @Titch !! Thank you for sharing this perspective Couldn't agree more, CBT is often offered as the first port of call for most mental health needs, and this can be regardless of presentation too. This can mean that it is not the right choice for everyone and can be discouraging when it doesn't feel 'helpful'. The most important point here about trying something new is amazing, Titch, because there are so many options out there aside from CBT and people deserve to discover those too! xx

AislingDM

Thank you @IainJammyboy ! This thought seems to be one that I come across a lot when asking people about CBT. Like it's almost gotten to a point where anyone says they're struggling with something mentally, the approach of doctors, nurses, psychologists etc.. is to just throw CBT in a person's face. Of course, some of the time this can be a great option to have (especially when waiting lists are short and you can access it immediately). Nevertheless, not everyone needs or wants this approach and we should have the right and opportunity to explore other therapies too.

I appreciate everyone's thoughts on this, I know it can be complex to discuss