Cognitive Behavioural Therapy For Dummies Read online

  by Rhena Branch and Rob Willson

  Cognitive Behavioural Therapy For Dummies,® 2nd Edition

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  About the Authors

  Rhena Branch, MSc, Dip CBT, is an accredited CBT therapist and holds a post-graduate clinical supervision qualification. Rhena runs a private practice with offices in North and Central London. She also teaches and supervises on the MSc course in CBT/REBT at Goldsmith's College, University of London. Rhena treats general psychiatric disorders and has a special interest in eating disorders. CBT for Dummies (second edition) is Rhena's fifth publication and she currently has two further books in press.

  Rob Willson, BSc, MSc, Dip SBHS, currently divides the majority of his work time between private practice and conducting research on Body Dysmorphic Disorder at the Institute of Psychiatry, London. Previously he spent twelve years working at the Priory Hospital, North London where he was a therapist and therapy services manager. He also trained numerous CBT therapists over a seven-year period at Goldsmith's College, University of London. Rob's main clinical interests are anxiety and obsessional problems, and disseminating CBT principles through self-help. He has made several TV appearances including in the BBC documentary ‘Too Ugly for Love'.

  Dedication

  For Felix and Atticus (from Rhena)

  For Emma and Lucy (from Rob)

  Authors' Acknowledgments

  From Rhena: It's great to have the opportunity to produce a second edition of this book. My thanks to everyone involved at Wiley for your support and expert guidance throughout.

  Thanks to Rob for your input into this and other projects.

  Immense gratitude as always to my boys, for everything.

  From Rob: I am grateful to Wiley for approaching (and eventually persuading) me to take on the first edition of CBT for Dummies, I know it has made CBT more accessible for many people. I would like to thank huge number of clients, clinicians, trainees, people interested in CBT, and people courageous enough to embark upon a course of self-help, not only for purchasing the first edition but also for giving so much positive feedback about the book.

  Thanks to Rhena for her revisions and driving this second edition forward.

  From both of us: Many researchers, fellow therapists and authors have influenced our understanding and practice of CBT over the years and therefore the content in this book. Founding fathers, Albert Ellis and Aaron T. Beck, of course merit special mention. Others include (in no specific order): Ray DiGiuseppe, Mary-Anne Layden, Jacqueline Persons, David A. Clarke, Adrian Wells, Stanley Rachman, Paul Salkovskis, Christine Padesky, Michael Neenan, David Veale, David M. Clark, David Burns, Kevin Gournay and many more. Special thanks goes to Windy Dryden for his extensive writings and for teaching us both so much.

  Finally, a genuine thank you to all our clients (past and present) for allowing us to get to know you and learn from you.

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  Introduction

  Cognitive behavioural therapy, or CBT, is growing in popularity as an efficient and long lasting treatment for many different types of psychological problem. If the word ‘psychological' sends you running from the room screaming, try to consider the term referring to problems that affect your emotional rather than your physical sense of wellbeing. At some point in your life, something's going to go a bit wrong with your body. So why on earth do humans assume that their minds and emotions should be above the odd hiccup, upset, or even more serious difficulty?

  This book gives you a comprehensive introduction to the theory and application of CBT techniques. Although we don't have the space to go into nitty-gritty specifics about how to use CBT to overcome every type of emotional or psychological problem, we do try to lead you in a helpful direction. We believe all the CBT principles and strategies outlined in this book can improve your life and help you to stay healthy, regardless of whether you've worked with or are currently working with a psychiatrist or other psychological professional.

  In addition, whether you think your problems are minimal, you're living the life of Riley, you feel mildly depressed, or you've had years of uncomfortable psychological symptoms, CBT can help you. We ask you to be open-minded and to use the stuff in this book to make your life better and fuller.

  About This Book

  If you're embarking on a journey of self-help or self-improvement, we hope that this book provides a useful introduction to CBT techniques and will be of benefit to you. Depending on the degree of disruption and distress that your personal difficulties are causing you, this book may or may not be enough treatment to help you recover. The book may spur you on to get further help (Chapter 19 has more on seeking professional help) to really knock your emotional demons on the head. This book covers the following:

  The basics of using CBT as a scientifically tested and verified psychotherapeutic method of overcoming common emotional problems.

  Ways in which you can identify your problems and set specific goals for how you would rather be living your life.

  Techniques to identify errors in the way you may be thinking and to adopt more helpful thoughts, attitudes, philosophies, and beliefs.

  Behavioural experiments and strategies you can incorporate into your life to improve your day-to-day functioning.

  Information that can help you to understand, normalise, and address some common human problems. You may think that you're the only person in the world who feels and thinks the way you do. This book shows you that many of the problems you may be experiencing such as depression, anxiety, anger, and obsessions are in fact very common. You are not alone.

  We hope that the whole experience will be at least a little entertaining in the process. So read on, welcome new concepts, and consider trying some of the ideas we offer in the book.

  Conventions Used in This Book

  To make your reading experience easier and to alert you to key words or points, we use certain conventions.

  Italics introduce new terms, underscore key differences in meaning between words, and highlight the most important aspects of a sentence or example.

  We use the terms ‘him' in even-numbered chapters and ‘her' in odd-numbered chapters when writing, with a view to incorporate gender equality.

  The case studies in the book are illustrative of actual clients we have treated and are not direct representations of any particular clients.

  Bold text is used to show the action part of numbered lists.

  What You're Not to Read

  This book is written in a rough order to help you progress from the basics of CBT on to more complex techniques and ideas. However, you can read the chapters in any order you like or just hit on the ones that cover subjects you think you want to know more about.

  To make your reading experience even easier, we identify ‘skippable' material:

  Sidebars: Within most chapters, we include sidebars of shaded text. These sidebars contain interesting titbits of information or occasionally expand on a topic within the chapter. Read them if they sound interesting to you and skip them if they don't.

  Our acknowledgements: Probably pretty boring to the average reader.

  Foolish Assumptions

  In writing this little tome, we make the following assumptions about you, dear reader:

  You're human.

  As a human, you're likely at some stage in your life to experience some sort of emotional problem that you'd like to surmount.

  You've heard about CBT, or are intrigued by CBT, or have had CBT suggested to you by a doctor, friend, or mental health professional as a possible treatment for your specific difficulties.

  Even if you don't think you're particularly in need of CBT right now, you want to discover more about some of the principles outlined in this book.

  You think that your life is absolutely fine right now, but you want to find interesting and useful information in the book that will enhance your life further.

  You're keen to find out whether CBT may be helpful to someone close to you.

  You're studying CBT and want to use this book as a ‘hands on' adjunct to your training.

  How This Book Is Organised

  This book is divided into five parts and 25 chapters. The table of contents lists subheadings with more information about every chapter, but the following describes the major sections of the book.

  Part I: Introducing CBT Basics

  This part gives you a pretty good idea about what CBT consists of and how the techniques differs from other forms of psychotherapy. ‘You think how you feel' is a good way of summing up CBT, and the chapters in this part expand on this simple idea. We explain common thinking errors as well as ways to counteract skewed thinking. You discover the basic CBT model of emotional disturbance and find out more about how you can make positive changes, even when your circumstances and other people in your life are unlikely to change for the better.

  Part II: Charting the Course: Defining Problems and Setting Goals

  This part helps you to define your emotional problems more accurately, see where your problems are springing from, and develop solid goals for your emotional future. Some of your valiant attempts to deal with your worries, terrors, and ideas about yourself are frequently counterproductive in the long term. These chapters explore this notion and give you ideas about more productive alternative strategies to produce long-term benefits.

  Part III: Putting CBT into Action

  Actions speak louder than words, and believe us when we say that actions also produce better results than words alone. Correcting your thinking is an important endeavour, but all your efforts to think healthily can fall apart at the seams unless you translate new beliefs into new action. The chapters in this part set out some good ways to test your new ways of thinking, strengthen healthy new beliefs, and promote helpful emotional responses to life, the universe, and everything else. If you don't believe us, try out the ideas for yourself! We also explore some common human difficulties such as anxiety and obsessional problems, addictions and poor body image.

  Part IV: Looking Backwards and Moving Forwards

  ‘But CBT ignores my past!' is an oft-heard complaint by individuals new to CBT. So we're here to tell you that CBT does not ignore your past. Yes, CBT concentrates on how your current thinking and behaviour cause your current difficulties. This part aids you in recognising experiences from your past that may have led you to form certain types of beliefs about yourself, other people, and the world
around you. Assigning updated, helpful, and more accurate meanings to past events really can make a difference to the way you experience life today. So read on!

  Part V: The Part of Tens

  This section of the book is part fun and part solid CBT stuff. Looking here first can help you connect to other parts of the book and provide quick and easy tips for healthier living, boosting your self-esteem the right way, and lightening up your attitudes towards yourself and life in general.