What You Can Expect in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

At Solihull CBT you generally attend one session per week, each lasting 1 hour. However frequency and duration; days and times are very flexible and the therapist can help you decide what's best for you.

Following an assessment, you normally start the first CBT therapy session working with the therapist to identify the problem and develop an initial strategy for addressing it (often called a Formulation or Conceptualisation). You will also set your goals and decide your pace, using your Formulation as an ongoing guide. 

Subsequent CBT sessions will include homework for you to do between each sessions, which is very important for helping you achieve successful outcomes and meeting your established goals. An example of homework could include keeping a diary of feelings you experience when incidents related to your problem arise. Another type of CBT homework assignment might entail exercises (mental and/or physical) to do in order to cope with your problem. Homework assignments help you apply the principles you find helpful that will allow you to take more and more responsibility for the content of your sessions. It is imperative when your therapist gives homework and other activities to do outside of your regular sessions, you complete them in the time period agreed to, usually by your next session.

This enables you to become your own therapist and build resilience.

The desired outcome of Solihull CBT is that by the end of your therapy you will feel empowered to continue working independently, using the tools you have developed. We will give you the power to cope with your issue in a healthy way and to feel better about yourself and your life. There is always the chance that the bad feelings you associated with your problem may return, but with the skills you learned with Solihull CBT, it should be easier for you to control and/or resolve them on your own.