What Actually Happens in Online CBT for Depression and Anxiety?

An brief guide for anyone feeling unsure or nervous about starting online CBT

If you are thinking about starting online CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy), but feel a unsure or nervous that's completly understandable. Starting anything new can feel anxiety provoking and starting online CBT can feel like a big step, especially when you aren't quite sure what to expect. In this post I will briefly summarise what you might expect from your first onilne CBT session.

💬 What Is Online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)?

CBT is a type of active talking therapy which could help you to understand how your thoughts, emotions, physical sensations and behaviours are connected. It's common to feel stuck in patterns which feel overwhelming, exhausting and difficult to change.

CBT could help you to explore those patterns in more deatil. You might find this helpful in understanding yourself and in relating to yourself differently in your own head.

🛋 What Happens in an Online CBT Appointment?

As we are all individuials, you are likely to find that each CBT therapist works slightly differently. An appropraitly trained and accredited CBT Therapist will likely include these elements and in an online CBT appointment with me you can expect:

1. A Safe Space to Talk

Out first appointments will focus on getting a better understanding of your current difficulties, what's influenced them developing and how you see the impact on your life currently. There will be no pressure to go into everything all at once.

2. Setting Clear Therapy Goals Together

Once we have a better understanding of the main difficulties as you see them at the moment, we will work together to develop your therapy goals. These aren’t rigid or expectations I have for you. These will be focused on the change you would like to see and what feels most important to you righ tnow.

3. Understanding the Cycles

CBT looks at how thoughts, emotions, behaviours and physical symptoms interact with eachother and what might be maintaining your current diffiuclties. You might start to recognise patterns, such as:

I think it will be awful and I wont cope ➡ feel anxious ➡ avoid ➡ I should've gone, I'm useless ➡ regret, depression ➡ I feel worse ➡ I think I can’t cope, things will never change ➡ I am useless

Once you can see the cycle, you can start learning how to change it.

4. Practical skills and Experiential Learning

CBT is active therapy which could involve:

• Noticing and challenging unhelpful thoughts

• Trying out small changes between sessions

• Learning calming techniques for anxiety

  
  
  
  

🙋🏻‍♀️ Do I Have to Talk About My Past?

Only if it’s helpful. CBT focuses mostly on what’s happening now, but we might find it helpful to be informed by your past experiences to understand where some patterns began and build compassion and understanding for yourself.

🧠 Will I Have Homework?

Yes. CBT therapy will include between session tasks to put skills and learning in to action. This could look like, keeping a mood diary, setting goals, trying something new, testing out anxious predictions - this will always be developed together collaboratively. You can ask questions and bring things to discuss in each session. We will work together to move you towards your goals.

🤝 Is Online CBT Right for Me?

I specialise in CBT for Depression and Axneity disorders, this can include:

• Anxiety, Stress, Worry

• Panic attacks

• Social anxiety

• OCD

• GAD

• Low self-esteem

• Perfectionism

• Depression

• Stress

• PTSD

• Burnout

• Health anxiety

• Phobias

• Post natal depression and anxiety

🤝 When might it not be for me?

• I am not a crisis servcie, I am not the best service to support you if you are experiencing an immidiate risk to yourself, to others or risk of harm from others.

• I am not trained to work with Body Dismorphic Disorder (BDD), Personality Disorders, Psychosis, Dissociation, persistant and severe self harming, substance misuse and adiction, gambling addiction, Complex Trauma or Severe and Enduring Mental Health conditions.

  
  

CBT drawns from an extensive research base but every person is different. That’s why the first few sessions are so important to get a clear ideas of the main difficulties you are experiencing and what you would like help with now.

🌱 You Don’t Have to Have It All Figured Out

Many people come to online CBT feeling unsure, stuck or overwhelmed. You don’t need to have the right words or a clear plan straight away. You just need to be open to working together to understand your diffiucilties better and work to make changes to help achive your goals.

If you are ready to start CBT you can book online.