I'm a CBT therapist AMA

[FeelingsAreNotFacts]

I work as a CBT therapist for an IAPT service. I know there are lots of misconceptions around what CBT is and what IAPT can help with. AMA!

Another CBT therapists here. One thing I would like to add for anyone looking for CBT outside IAPT (private therapists), which is happening due to the demand for IAPT and long wait lists. If looking for a private CBT therapist do make sure the therapist is accredited by the BABCP. This will mean they have specific training, ongoing clinical supervision and continuous education that is CBT oriented. There are now a lot of therapists who claim to practice CBT following a short course and while they may be very good counsellors (or whatever their original training), it is better to find someone with specific training in CBT. They can be found on the BABCP website on the CBT register or on various listings such as psychology today, but look for BABCP accreditation.

We know finding therapists of any discipline is a minefield and while accreditation isn’t a guarantee it does offer some reassurance about training standards and ongoing monitoring of their CBT practice.

How does CBT work when a person's issues are more to do with feelings and an ingrained way of being/sense of self (e.g. due to how they were raised), rather than explicit thoughts?

For example, I had CBT for social anxiety and the therapist would ask me what I would be thinking in a given anxiety -inducing situation, but I wasn't thinking anything in particular - I have a deeply embedded sense of inferiority that colours everything without me thinking about it. I felt that CBT was too superficial to address this.

However, I then had CBT for insomnia and it worked quite well. To me it seemed like it was more successful because it was dealing with a very practical, functional issue rather than something ingrained in my sense of self, if that makes sense!

What do you think?