can you advise me about cognitive behaviour therapy?

[Cathpot]

I am posting to find information for a friend so have to be vague on details. In brief she returned home with kids about 6 months ago to find she had been burgled. From that point she has been hugely anxious being alone in the house, even when the police caught and charged the burglars in question. We all presumed that the anxiety would receed in time but it hasnt, in fact it might even be worse. She dreads being on her own in the house, despite loving the house itself and is unable to sleep, jumping at every noise etc. Her husband is due to be away for several weeks with work in the next couple of months and she is extremely worried about how she will cope. My understanding of CBT is that it is a talking therapy to address negative thoughts, but this is just a general public type impression, I have no real knowledge. Is this sort of therapy suitable for anxiety attacks? If so can she get referred via her GP or is it easier and faster to go private? How would she find legitimate therapists in her area etc. Thanks for any help.

CBT is useful to address anxiety problems and changing negative thought patterns.

There are various websites available one is living life to the full and another is moodgym.

I have no practical advice, but feel really sad for your friend. We were burgled when I was a child and it was so horrible I have never forgotten about it. My mum's and my nana's engagement rings were stolen so when I got engaged, I didn't want an engagement ring. It can be hard to forget about this sort of stuff. My DH went away last week and I was alone overnight in house with toddler and young baby. I was scared, but I did it as the house was secured well.

You can get CBT on the NHS but it's likely that the waiting list would be quite long. I agree with Elk that it would be a useful therapy for her (I used to be a mental health nurse and did some training in CBT). If she has a good GP they will be able to advise on reputable therapists, whether NHS or private. A word of caution though: any therapy you have through the NHS will forever be on your medical records and you will have to declare it in future job applications etc, so if your friend can afford to have therapy privately, that might be a good idea. There is a register of approved psychotherapists, published by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)

Thank you for replies, interesting point about medical records, I will give her a ring and have a chat.

Why would a job application ask about therapy? And surely if she goes privately it will still be recorded, but people like employers don't have the right to look at your private medical records.

Job applications don't ask about therapy, but lots of things you apply for ask for a medical report - that's where it's relevant, as your GP has to declare it.

There are also some self help books (Understanding Anxiety, I think) which would be useful while waiting. I would say, get something like that from the library, don't wait, as ime this will not go away by itself. CBT is more targeted, I think than 'talking therapy' implies, the counsellor would probably be giving her exercises to do. I found it very useful - I know there is some scepticism, about whether it addresses underlying ssues, but when there is a clear 'cause' as in your friends case, i don't see why it wouldn't work.

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