Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

CBT is a psychological method of treatment which involves a therapist working with the patient to understand how thoughts and feelings influence their behaviour.   The goal of the therapy is to change negative thought patterns that lead to the patient’s anxiety, replacing them with positive, more realistic ones.

Elements of the therapy include exposure strategies, to allow the patient to gradually confront their anxieties and feel more comfortable in anxiety-provoking situations, as well as to practice the skills they have learned. 

There is growing evidence to suggest that CBT is effective as a treatment for certain anxiety disorders.   It usually includes treatment that aim to reduce physiological symptoms, but it is also directed more specifically at mental symptoms in the different disorders.  A general range of 8-20 hours of sessions of CBT may be needed in the treatment of anxiety disorders. 

In GAD and PD, a typical treatment course consists of about 16-20 hours, half of which can be conducted by the patient in supervised ‘homework’ sessions, over a period of about four months.

In OCD, a typical initial treatment course might include about 16 hours of intervention based on exposure and response prevention, with longer and more intensive treatment in housebound patients.