The aim of CBT is to change the way you think and the way you behave.

Through therapy you will have the opportunity to:

• Learn more about your illness and get a better understanding of the part played by negative thoughts,
• Learn to manage your symptoms,
• Learn to identify challenge and modify your unhelpful thoughts and beliefs.
• Learn to confront fearful situations,
• Learn to cope more effectively with problem emotions,
• Learn to monitor your illness and to use self-help techniques to prevent future relapse.
• Learn problem solving skills

This is done through a combination of the following:

• Assessment - to clarify the problems you need help with and identify the goals you want to achieve.
• Education - to help you to understand your illness/problems.
• Anxiety Management Training - skills to help you cope with troublesome symptoms.
• Tackling “Safety Behaviours” - that help to maintain the problem, ie: avoiding inactivity ‘escape’  behaviour.
• Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) - where you will be encouraged to face your fears whilst resisting the use of safety behaviours.
• Cognitive Restructuring/Remediation - where you will learn skills to help you to identify, challenge and modify faulty thinking.
• Problem Solving - to help you to systematically deal with problem situations and take charge of your life.

Treatment involves a ‘working partnership’. You have a better chance of overcoming your fears, phobias and problems if you face up to them and do something about them instead of running away.