Can anyone tell me what will happen with this referral?

[storminabuttercup]

my doctor has done a referral for me to 'turning point, right steps' I have never heard of this, and I'm not sure what it is.

To cut a long story short, I suffer with ibs which is caused by anxiety, I have now been off work 5 weeks with panic attacks, ibs and to be honest feeling really really low, the doctor has said this referral will help, she told me it was counselling but I have just had a call and they have said it isn't counselling but 'cbt' which I know what that stands for but I don't know what it is! I'm feeling a bit uneasy now.

I also have a meeting with work on Wednesday about my extended absence so would help if I can explain what will be happening as I don't think they believe me that I am I'll (hence making me go in for a meeting)

Any advice appreciated!

Hi there - you really don't need to worry about CBT - it is a form of counselling but it isn't about your past life and what may have happened to you. It is about the present, and is designed to help with depression and anxiety. It is quite a simple theory to understand. When people are depressed or anxious they often have a lot of negative thoughts that keep popping into their head and they make you feel worse cus you might be thinking something like "I'm never going to get better and it will probably get worse and worse" and CBT is about changing these negative thoughts into more balanced ones. My counsellor used to say when you get a negative thought it's useful to think AHA (which means is the negative thought ACCURATE, IS IT HELPFUL, IS THERE AN ALTERNATIVE. So to take the example of think you'e never going to get better, it isn't accurate because you can't see into the future and you will in all probability get better, is it helpful NO because it makes you spiral down and makes you feel worse, is there an alternative YES - an alternative thought would be "I am suffering at the moment but over time and with support it will probably ease off and stop eventually"

Hope my example makes sense to you. Sorry if it isn't a helpful example. I've used the one that was common to me. I was suffering from depression and was convinced i would never get better and I have - well more or less - still get a few bad days. I found CBT quite helpful.

I don't think you should worry about explaining CBT at your work meeting at your work meeting. You must have been signed off work by your GP so they can't "not believe" you. I would just say you are having some therapy - as in cognitive behaviour therapy.

Try not to worry too much about the work meeting because this will make your anxiety worse. Do you know about breathing exercises that can help with anxiety. Ask the counsellor about it, it's just breathing in to about the count of 5 and breathing out for slightly longer, it can really help.

Sending best wishes

It is very normal to have a work meeting after 6 weeks or so of being off sick. Work has a duty of care and also your absence costs them so the meeting should be about where you are in your recovery and what work can do to help, also to see whether adjustments can be made to your job to enable you to return.