cognitive behavioural therapy for depression - is it really so good?

[MissChief]

thinking of referring myself for this (don't want long wait on the NHS). Have checked the BABCP website for recommended therapists and am tryig to summon up courage to call. Ayoe any experiece of this?

It is really great imo. And it certainly can do no harm. Go for it.

just called up and spoke to rather officious secretary who immediately began to spout how much the fees were/how busy therapist was ratehr than answering my Qus about the therapy. Rather put me off, silly I know!

thanks for yr reply, Carmenere - did you do it for long? Did you find it much more helpful than self-help - CBT books, exercise etc?

MissChief - I think CBT can be very effective with depression. If you are looking for some thing to aid you in developing strategies for coping with and managing depression or anxiety on a daily basis, then it may well be the therapy for you.

If you feel that any problems you have are of a more deep rooted nature, esp stemming from childhood experiences then a psycho dynamic approach might work best.

Hope this helps

Yes yes YES!

Turned my life around, even now if I feel tired/a bit down I find myself using some of the things I learned - I'd got into some really bad behaviour patterns when I was seriously depressed and once the issues were dealt with, CBT turned me back int myself!

Work a look anyway, to find out if they thought it could be helpful, as it doesnt help all kinds of depression - mine was quite resistant and I also saw a psychiatrist for therapy for a while, but its the CBT I come back to iff I ever feel 'wobbly'.

that's encouraging, thanks.
Just spoken to another one - was incredibly put off by attitude of other one - she was so lovely, answered all my Qus and seemed quite warm. Just what I needed, tbh rather than to be seen as a cash-cow headcase!

Good luck with it Misschief, hope that it works out for you

Thanks - may keep posting here (should anyone be interested!)
Off sick again, 2 days in a row, worried about buggering up my job too now as not signed off by GP, will have ot self-cert and invent some exucse.

I'm interested let me know!

Yes it does work. I now find myself challenging negative thoughts much more so than before I had it, although it is really hard work!!

Identifying the thought patterns is the biggest eye opener of all. I found a book recommended by MIND incredibly useful, almost better than the therapy itself. It's called The Feeling Good Handbook (you can buy it on Amazon) and it takes you through a lot of written exercises, but it really works

I have been seeing a CBT lady for a while, but after a while I've decided that she's more of a 'chatter' than a practical person and she just doesn't have a structure. Now seeing someone else, who I'm not sure about. In my experience, it's quite hard to find someone who suits, but I have friends who have been totally rescued by it. But there are lots of useful bits to it. It's just quite hard to get to grips with after years of 'bad habits', but I think it's a life saver if you can stick with it. It's very practical and makes a lot of sense. Good luck! XX

that's interesitng to hear, Ruby and good to hear the other side. To be honest, I'm not surprised, it seems like a quick fix which may not stick - as you say after years of negative thought patterns, it's going to be hard to turn them round after a few bouts of therapy! Still, I shall see how it goes.

what overrun said.

oh and thanks for the ref. Fizz - I'll have a look. I do have lots of self-help books though, and seem to have been untouched by most of them over the long-term.

i second the person who said yes yes yes!

but you still need the right person, so make sure you're happy with them

It isn't a quick fix no. And sometimes there's too much 'thinking' involved for me - which is what I'm trying to get away from. There's an amazing thing I've just discovered called Mindfulness Meditation - all about accepting your thoughts and riding with them. I've only just started, and I think it takes time, but I think it's good to be used alongside the other stuff too. xx

I can definately recommend the Feeling Good Handbook.

I had a positive experience of CBT, but at the end of the 10 week programme when i thanked my therapist she said, 'you put in the work, i just guided you'. This is something i would really emphasis. You have to put in the homework. I had worksheets to do at home, and did them EVERYDAY.

One year on and i also still use the techniques i learnt to challenge negative thoughts.

Good luck

TeaDr1nker

Just to add, i feel like ME again, as oppose to the shell i had become

I tend to avoid and loathe all self help books, I have found all of them a waste of space tbh.

The book I have recommended is totally different, it doesn't dwell on and analyse emotions, it is just a set of written exercises you do, and is very focused

I suffered depression on and off for several
years and always felt that although AD's helped they were a sort of sticking plaster - addressing symptoms but not cause. CBT >REALLY< helped me not just overcome depression but also anxiety and panic attacks and many various phobias. Defo recommend it. That was several years ago now and it still feels like that was the magic wand I always needed.

Goodluck.

And don't berate yourself over the BF. You've done wonders for your child BFing this long. Make a time for a special hug instead.

thanks, callipso, that's really kind! I know we've had a long run but still- stupidly- upset at times.
I'm convinced by that book, fizz (and the other perosn who recommended it) got an Amazon order in for it. I had my 1st session of CBT today - not overly impressed. We seemed to wander rather and she homed in on a couple of random areas (not particularly problematic ones IMO) and discussiopn of these took up nrly all the session. She also seemed to have an "agenda" - feminist, vehemnetly pro-WOHM etc etc, unless she was trying to empathise with me? (was taking it way too far for me, still...)
I have no homework and no sense really of any strategies other than watching out for my negative inner critic (but i knew that anyway). Are all first sessions this unstructured? Is it likely to get better?
She's a fully qualified clinical pyshcologist, by the way and accredited by the British Assoc of CBT (or whatever it's called) so she is legit, just not sure whether she's for me.

Yes, magic wand is the word. My therapist tended to wander off the point a bit, tbh I found the book the best thing of all.

The first page or so deals with negative thinking patterns and how to recognise them. I found it mindblowing, it was like switching on a light, everything fell into place after that first page

Also shorter concise sessions are meant to be more effective. I was told by a phsyciatrist, that 6 1/2 hour sessions, if it is done properly is enough.