Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

What is CBT?

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a structured, evidence-based approach that helps you understand how your thoughts, emotions, and behaviours influence one another. When we feel low, anxious, or stuck in negative patterns, it can be difficult to see a way forward. CBT provides practical strategies to challenge unhelpful thinking and develop healthier responses.

Recognised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), CBT is one of the most effective and widely recommended psychological therapies.

What We Help With

CBT can support a wide range of emotional, psychological, and physical difficulties, including:

• Anxiety and panic attacks
• Depression and low mood
• Health and social anxiety
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Perfectionism, procrastination, or low confidence
• Bipolar disorder, psychosis, and schizophrenia
• Sexual and relationship difficulties
• Chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, IBS, and pain management

How Does It Work?

CBT helps you identify patterns in your thoughts and behaviours that may be maintaining distress. Working together, you and your therapist will set goals and learn skills to manage challenges more effectively.

You’ll gain tools such as thought-challenging techniques, behavioural experiments, and relaxation methods. These skills can be used during therapy and long after sessions end, helping you to take control of your wellbeing and prevent relapse.

How Is It Delivered?

CBT at IGP Talking Therapies is delivered by accredited psychotherapists.

• Format: One-to-one, 50-minute sessions
• Duration: Usually 6–20 sessions
• Delivery: Face-to-face at our clinics, via secure video, or by phone
• There is no difference in outcomes between face-to-face and online sessions, the choice is entirely yours.

What Can I Expect During a CBT Therapy Session?

The first step to recovery from a mental health condition is to admit you have a problem. And once you've done that, you can genuinely ask for help. That first stage involves an initial consultation with a cognitive behavioural therapist.

If your issues are rooted in the present, you're likely to benefit from CBT. But if you need to address historical issues or traumatic events from the past, you're probably in need of counselling.

Most people benefit from a CBT therapy session once every week for five to 20 weeks. At iGP, the standard CBT session lasts for an hour.

During the first CBT meetings with your therapist, you'll work together in order to break down your issues into their component parts. For some patients, focusing on physical feelings and actions is a good place to start. For others, concentrating on thought processes is more appropriate.

Your therapist will take one action, physical symptom or thought at a time and ascertain if they're leading to unwanted reactions. How does each component part of your mental illness affect you? And are there any causal links involved between actions, thoughts and behaviours?

Once the issues and the links between them have been identified, your CBT therapist will work with you on ways to change them. You'll be asked to put into practice the techniques and changes given to you between sessions. And you'll be asked for feedback on how those changes have affected your state of mind.

Are There Any Disadvantages Associated with CBT?

CBT isn't the right course of action for everyone. An initial consultation with a mental health clinician is essential, as it will determine whether or not the root cause of your condition is related to a past occurrence or issues you're dealing with today.

CBT can deliver great, long-lasting results, but only if the patient is committed to attending sessions and serious about taking the therapist's advice on board.

The main disadvantages of CBT include:

• This type of talking therapy isn't appropriate for some complex and severe mental health illnesses.
• CBT involves brutal honesty about your actions, feelings and thoughts. The process of sifting through these issues can, in the early stages of treatment, cause anxiety.
• CBT focuses on what the patient can do to change their behaviours and thought processes; it doesn't focus on previous traumas and the actions of others.
• Alternatively, we provide other counselling services that may be more appropriate. Please click the link below to find out more.

What Mental Health Conditions Can Be Treated with CBT?

CBT is one of the most widely recommended psychological therapies, recognised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for its proven effectiveness. It can be helpful for a wide range of emotional and mental health challenges, including:

• Low mood / depression
• Anxiety
• Panic attacks
• Social anxiety
• Health anxiety
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Low self esteem and confidence building
• Perfectionism
• Procrastination
• Bipolar disorder
• Psychosis and schizophrenia
• Psycho-sexual difficulties

CBT can also support people living with long-term physical health conditions such as:

• Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)
• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
• Fibromyalgia
• Pain management

For further information about mental health conditions that we treat please click the link below.

Personalised one-to-one sessions

At ITT, CBT is delivered by experienced, accredited psychotherapists who will tailor your sessions to your individual needs and goals. Therapy can take place face-to-face, via video, or over the phone, offering flexibility and choice. Most people attend between 6 and 20 sessions, each lasting around 50 minutes. While CBT mainly focuses on the present, your therapist may also explore how past experiences influence current patterns of thinking or behaviour. Collaborative goal setting

Collaborative goal setting

CBT is a collaborative process. You and your therapist will work together to identify your goals and focus areas. Each session has a clear structure and purpose, ensuring your time is spent productively and meaningfully. Your therapist will work with you, guiding you through a range of techniques that will help you build self-awareness, confidence, and resilience.

Applying CBT beyond therapy

The real benefits of CBT come from putting your learning into practice. Between sessions, your therapist may suggest simple exercises, reflections, or thought records to help you apply CBT tools in daily life. These activities are designed to be achievable and empowering, supporting steady, sustainable progress. Towards the end of therapy, you will create a plan together to help you maintain your wellbeing and continue using CBT strategies independently.

Accessible and flexible care

We believe therapy should fit around your life. ITT offers flexible options for accessing CBT, whether you prefer in-person clinic sessions, in person video appointments, or a combination of both. Current research, and our own experience, show that there is no difference in outcome between attending clinic or having your meetings over video. The choice is yours to enable therapy to fit into your life and commitments.

Our focus is on helping you feel supported, understood, and equipped to make positive, lasting change. If you would like to book an appointment, find out more about CBT or discuss whether it is right for you, please contact our team

A safe and confidential space

Opening up about personal challenges can feel daunting at first, but our counsellors are here to offer a supportive, non-judgemental space. Sessions are fully confidential, allowing you to talk openly about whatever you’re facing. Together, you and your counsellor will explore potential underlying factors — whether emotional, psychological, or situational — and work towards practical, compassionate strategies to help you move forward with greater clarity, confidence, and wellbeing.