Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) focuses on how the way we think
and behave affects the way we feel.
Imagine you have an important online meeting and just before you are due to join, your internet connection drops. How would you respond?
Here are examples of two different responses:
Response 1:
THOUGHTS
This is a disaster! I'm going to look so unprofessional. The internet dropping will sound like an excuse. My team will think I'm just not prepared. Everything always goes wrong for me!
BEHAVIOUR
EMOTIONS
PHYSICAL
Rush around, cursing. Try to restart computer, restart the router and phone IT support at the same time. Snap at the technician on the
phone.
Stress, anger, frustration, impatience, panic.
Feel hot, increased heart rate, sweating, knot in stomach, faster breathing, tension in shoulders and jaw.
Response 2:
THOUGHTS
BEHAVIOUR
EMOTIONS
PHYSICAL
That's odd. I hope I can get it fixed in time.
These things happen. I'm sure they will understand. I can send my contribution by email when the connection is back.
Try reconnecting. Look into dialling in as another option.
Contact a colleague to let them know about the situation. Make cup of tea while waiting to see is the connection returns.
Mild annoyance, calm.
No noticeable changes
Learn The Skills to Change Your Response with CBT
We can't always change or control situations, but with CBT, we can learn to change the way we respond to them. This then helps us improve the way we feel. The four areas we've looked at - the way we think, behave, feel emotionally and physically - are all inter-related. This means that a change in one areas affects the others too.
EMOTIONS
THOUGHTS
BEHAVIOUR
PHYSICAL
(Adapted from Padesky, 1986).
The internet dropping may seen insignificant as a single event. But when we are stressed, anxious, or low in mood, we can tend to repeat unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaving. We can get stuck in vicious cycles and the associated emotions.
CBT helps us by breaking these vicious cycles by changing the way we think and behave through structured exercises. This helps us learn coping strategies and improve the way we feel.
CBT is backed by clinical research and is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for a number of mental health difficulties, including anxiety disorders and depression.
If this sounds like an approach you would benefit from, book an Initial Consultation with us now get started with your CBT journey.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) focuses on how the way we think
and behave affects the way we feel.
Imagine you have an important online meeting and just before you are due to join, your internet connection drops. How would you respond?
Here are examples of two different responses:
Response 1:
THOUGHTS
This is a disaster! I'm going to look so unprofessional. The internet dropping will sound like an excuse. My team will think I'm just not prepared. Everything always goes wrong for me!
BEHAVIOUR
EMOTIONS
PHYSICAL
Rush around, cursing. Try to restart computer, restart the router and phone IT support at the same time. Snap at the technician on the
phone.
Stress, anger, frustration, impatience, panic.
Feel hot, increased heart rate, sweating, knot in stomach, faster breathing, tension in shoulders and jaw.
Response 2:
THOUGHTS
BEHAVIOUR
EMOTIONS
PHYSICAL
That's odd. I hope I can get it fixed in time.
These things happen. I'm sure they will understand. I can send my contribution by email when the connection is back.
Try reconnecting. Look into dialling in as another option.
Contact a colleague to let them know about the situation. Make cup of tea while waiting to see is the connection returns.
Mild annoyance, calm.
No noticeable changes
Learn The Skills to Change Your Response with CBT
We can't always change or control situations, but with CBT, we can learn to change the way we respond to them. This then helps us improve the way we feel. The four areas we've looked at - the way we think, behave, feel emotionally and physically - are all inter-related. This means that a change in one areas affects the others too.
EMOTIONS
THOUGHTS
BEHAVIOUR
PHYSICAL
(Adapted from Padesky, 1986).
The internet dropping may seen insignificant as a single event. But when we are stressed, anxious, or low in mood, we can tend to repeat unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaving. We can get stuck in vicious cycles and the associated emotions.
CBT helps us by breaking these vicious cycles by changing the way we think and behave through structured exercises. This helps us learn coping strategies and improve the way we feel.
CBT is backed by clinical research and is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for a number of mental health difficulties, including anxiety disorders and depression.
If this sounds like an approach you would benefit from, book an Initial Consultation with us now get started with your CBT journey.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) focuses on how the way we think
and behave affects the way we feel.
Imagine you have an important online meeting and just before you are due to join, your internet connection drops. How would you respond?
Here are examples of two different responses:
Response 1:
THOUGHTS
This is a disaster! I'm going to look so unprofessional. The internet dropping will sound like an excuse. My team will think I'm just not prepared. Everything always goes wrong for me!
BEHAVIOUR
EMOTIONS
PHYSICAL
Rush around, cursing. Try to restart computer, restart the router and phone IT support at the same time. Snap at the technician on the
phone.
Stress, anger, frustration, impatience, panic.
Feel hot, increased heart rate, sweating, knot in stomach, faster breathing, tension in shoulders and jaw.
Response 2:
THOUGHTS
BEHAVIOUR
EMOTIONS
PHYSICAL
That's odd. I hope I can get it fixed in time.
These things happen. I'm sure they will understand. I can send my contribution by email when the connection is back.
Try reconnecting. Look into dialling in as another option.
Contact a colleague to let them know about the situation. Make cup of tea while waiting to see is the connection returns.
Mild annoyance, calm.
No noticeable changes
Learn The Skills to Change Your Response with CBT
We can't always change or control situations, but with CBT, we can learn to change the way we respond to them. This then helps us improve the way we feel. The four areas we've looked at - the way we think, behave, feel emotionally and physically - are all inter-related. This means that a change in one areas affects the others too.
EMOTIONS
THOUGHTS
BEHAVIOUR
PHYSICAL
(Adapted from Padesky, 1986).
The internet dropping may seen insignificant as a single event. But when we are stressed, anxious, or low in mood, we can tend to repeat unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaving. We can get stuck in vicious cycles and the associated emotions.
CBT helps us by breaking these vicious cycles by changing the way we think and behave through structured exercises. This helps us learn coping strategies and improve the way we feel.
CBT is backed by clinical research and is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for a number of mental health difficulties, including anxiety disorders and depression.
If this sounds like an approach you would benefit from, book an Initial Consultation with us now get started with your CBT journey.
About Us
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Mental Wellbeing
Our mission is to Empower You to improve your mental wellbeing. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a form of psychological therapy that helps you understand and learn to change the way you think and behave, to improve the way you feel. It is backed by scientific research and clinical trials. For common mental health problems, including anxiety and depression, CBT is the treatment recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). This is what we specialise in. All of our services are underpinned by clinical research and treatment protocols that have been found to be effective.
At Brighter Minds, we are passionate about helping you understand, prevent and overcome mental health difficulties and offer both individual therapy and bespoke corporate services to support with workplace wellbeing.
You can find out more about the services we offer here.
What is Mental Health?
Our mental health is an important part of our overall health and wellbeing. It includes our psychological, emotional and social wellbeing and affects the way that we think, feel, behave and relate to others. We can all become mentally unwell, in the same way that we can all become physically unwell. Our mental health can be affected by a number of things, including our life experiences, physical health, genetics, and family history of mental illness. The most commons mental illnesses are anxiety and depression, both of which can be treated.
When we are mentally well, we are more able to live our lives meaningfully, experience positive emotions and enjoyment in life, maintain relationships with others, maintain a level of psychological resilience and feel able to cope with life stresses.
When we are mentally unwell, we can often experience changes in mood, energy, appetite and our mindset. This can impact on our physical health, relationships and social functioning – including work.
At Brighter Minds, we believe in taking a holistic approach to health and wellbeing and we address as many of these factors as necessary as part of treatment.
Common Mental Health Difficulties
Sometimes we need to talk to a specialist about our challenges and struggles in order to understand what we're feeling and how to overcome this. The first step we take together is an initial consultation to understand your current difficulties, mental health concerns, and goals. In most cases, CBT will be the most clinically effective approach. We can then agree a number of sessions for us to work towards to help you develop the tools and techniques found to be effective for the specific problems you are experiencing. If an alternative approach to CBT would be more suitable for you, we will provide you with advice about what these options are and how to access them.
Some of the common mental health problems that we work with using CBT include:
-
Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
-
Health Anxiety
-
Social Anxiety
-
Phobias
-
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
-
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
-
Panic Disorder
-
Eating Disorders
-
Depression
-
Stress
-
Work-related stress and burnout
-
Low Self-Esteem
This list isn’t exhaustive and sometimes our difficulties can be hard to summarise under one title. If the problem you want help with isn’t listed or if you’re not sure whether it fits into any of these categories, that's okay - feel free to get in touch and make an enquiry to see if it’s something we are able to support you with. We are happy to offer a complimentary 15-minute introductory phone call to answer any questions you may have.
We offer online therapy across the UK as well as face-to-face therapy appointments in central Bristol. We work with adults over the age of 18 who are registered with a GP in the UK. If you are struggling with any of the above, take the first step and contact us now and we can get started on helping you through this.
About Meera Phull
I am fully qualified and BABCP accredited CBT therapist with a background in mental health nursing. My passion for mental health started when I studied Psychology at school and I’ve been enjoying a hugely rewarding career journey since then. I have completed a BSc, MSc and two post-graduate diplomas in the fields of Psychology, Mental Health Nursing and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). I participate in regular clinical supervision to ensure best practice and follow the BABCP Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics.
Throughout my career, I have worked across a range of settings including The Priory, Bupa and the NHS. This has included inpatient care for mental health, a specialist eating disorder service, therapy services in both the private sector and NHS as well as workplace wellbeing, education and corporate settings. My roles have involved both treatment of mental health difficulties and the promotion of mental wellbeing through consultancy, education, presentations and workshops.
Over the years, I have had the privilege of working with some of the most incredible people who I am so proud to say have benefitted from my support. I have taken all my learning, experience and the feedback of the many people I have treated and supported to create Brighter Minds in order to empower people to improve their mental health and wellbeing. I hope we can help you too.
Meera Phull is an accredited BABCP Therapist and can be found on the official BABCP Register.