Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Thinking and acting differently to break the cycle

You know you have a good story to tell, or that you are a capable driver, or that the supermarket is safe, or that a racing heart does not mean a heart attack. And yet you don’t dare to speak up in a meeting, or drive on the motorway, or walk into the supermarket, or stay calm when your heart beats faster. Your fear feels real and overwhelming. Perhaps you are avoiding more and more situations just to escape that feeling of anxiety, or you only go out at certain times to feel safe. Either way, your world is getting smaller and smaller. Cognitive behavioural therapy helps you break this cycle.

What is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy?

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based form of psychotherapy based on the idea that thoughts, feelings and behaviour are closely interconnected. With anxiety complaints, negative or catastrophising thoughts often play a major role. Those thoughts lead to anxiety, and that anxiety leads to avoidance or safety behaviour. As a result, you never get the chance to discover that the feared situation is actually quite manageable. This keeps the anxiety going, or even makes it worse. CBT helps you to break this pattern step by step, by learning to think and act differently.

When is CBT suitable?

CBT is particularly well-suited for people who are held back by anxiety, avoidance or panic. It can be helpful for, among other things:

• Specific phobias, such as fear of flying, fear of heights, or fear of injections
• Social anxiety or fear of public speaking
• Panic disorder, with or without agoraphobia
• Generalised anxiety disorder (excessive worrying and persistent concerns)

Do you recognise yourself in one or more of these issues? Then CBT may be a highly effective approach for you.

What does a CBT session look like?

CBT is an active and goal-oriented therapy. In the sessions, we map out your thought and behaviour patterns together. We explore which beliefs are fuelling your anxiety and how avoidance or safety behaviour is actually keeping that anxiety in place.

You then practise breaking those patterns in real life through exposure. Step by step, you seek out situations you would normally avoid, so that you learn that you can tolerate the anxiety and that the feared situation often turns out differently than you expected.