What to do when CBT doesn’t work

What to do when CBT doesn’t work

What is CBT and when is it useful?What is CBT and when is it useful?

CBT stands for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. It is the most commonly available therapy available in the UK and aims to improve the lives of people with common mental health problems such as depression and anxiety. To do this CBT therapists help clients to challenge their cognition’s (thoughts) and change their behaviours. Many people find this to be a useful model as it is brief, goal focused and has strong scientific support.

Why CBT may not have worked for you

CBT is an effective approach for many people, however, this does not automatically mean it is the right fit for you. Reasons why CBT may not work include:

  • Most CBT courses run for six to twelve sessions. This can be helpful for many people, however, for others, six to twelve hours is not long enough to decipher and come up with solutions to long standing problems
  • Some CBT therapists may focus more on the CBT techniques than on building a strong therapeutic relationship with clients – for more on the importance of a strong therapeutic relationship, see our next blog
  • The mass roll out of CBT across the UK means that there is a wide variety of therapists available. Many will be highly qualified, competent and supportive, however, many will be new to the profession
  • CBT tends to focus on present problems. It considers how our thoughts, feelings and behaviours are interacting in a negative way and causing problems. However, there is abundant research into the effects of childhood experiences on our current problems and CBT has a tendency to ignore or minimise these experiences (Laurance, 2008)
  • Why CBT may not have worked for youAs CBT focuses on present problems it can provide quick relief of symptoms, however, CBT – in the same way as medications such as ‘anti-depressants’ can be a ‘sticking plaster’ over symptoms without finding the root cause of the problem. This can mean high levels of relapse for people who have completed CBT (Lynch et al., 2009)
  • CBT thought challenging relies on logic, however, when we are stressed it is difficult to think logically
  • CBT generally focuses solely on the individual and their desire and need to change. It often ignores or minimises difficulties in the wider family or wider society

Alternative therapy models

One of the reasons that CBT has become so popular in recent years is due to the large amount of research showing its effectiveness, partly at least, because CBT is an easy model to research. However, there are alternative psychotherapy models and at Morency, our psychotherapists, Julie, Kat and Tracey aim to:

  • Tailor the therapy sessions to you as an individual
  • Consider and address the root cause of the problem
  • Allow you, the client, to set the agenda of the session
  • Consider the importance and the impact of the therapeutic relationship between you, the client, and the therapist
  • Consider wider family and societal impacts on your problems

References

Laurance, J. (2008). The pursuit of happiness: it’s good to talk… or is it? Retrieved from:http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/the-pursuit-of-happiness-its-good-to-talk-or-is-it-862056.html

Lynch et al. (2009) Cognitive behavioural therapy for major psychiatric disorder: does it really work? A meta-analytical review of well-controlled trials. Psychological Medicine, 1 DOI: 10.1017/S003329170900590X