What to Expect in CBT Sessions for Stress Reduction
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a type of talk therapy that helps people notice and change unhelpful thoughts and actions. It teaches practical ways to feel better, especially for problems like stress, anxiety, or feeling down. CBT is usually short-term and focuses on what’s happening now and how to handle it.
CBT is often used to help people deal with stress. It helps by:
-Figuring out what’s making you feel stressed
-Noticing unhelpful thoughts, like “I can’t handle this” or “Everything is going wrong”
-Learning to think in a more balanced way, so things feel less overwhelming
-Finding simple ways to cope, like breaking tasks into smaller steps or taking short breaks
-Changing habits that might be adding to your stress, like saying yes to too many things or avoiding problems
CBT doesn’t make stress go away completely, but it gives you tools to handle it better and feel more in control.
What Is CBT and How Does It Help With Stress?
Explanation of CBT’s core principles:
Thoughts, feelings, and actions are linked. The way you think affects how you feel and what you do. If you change your thoughts, you can often feel and act better.
Negative thinking can become a habit. Sometimes people get stuck in unhelpful ways of thinking, like always expecting the worst or being too hard on themselves.
You can learn new ways of thinking. CBT helps you notice those negative thoughts and find more balanced, realistic ones.
It focuses on what’s happening now. Instead of digging deep into the past, CBT looks at what’s going on in your life right now and how to handle it.
You learn by doing. CBT often includes simple tasks or exercises to try between sessions, helping you practice new skills in real life. You and your therapist work together. It’s a team effort — you’re both working to help you feel better.
How does CBT help you change negative or unhelpful thoughts into more helpful ones?
CBT helps you change negative thoughts by first teaching you to notice when these thoughts pop up. Then, it guides you to question if those thoughts are really true or if you might be seeing things in a too-negative way. After that, you learn to come up with kinder, more realistic thoughts instead. This way, you start feeling less worried or upset and more able to handle things. Over time, this new way of thinking becomes a habit.
The connection between thoughts, emotions, and stress.
CBT shows that your thoughts, feelings, and stress are all connected. When you have negative or worried thoughts, they can make you feel upset or anxious. Those feelings then increase your stress. But if you can change the way you think—by spotting unhelpful thoughts and replacing them with more helpful or realistic ones—you can feel calmer and less stressed. So, by understanding and adjusting your thoughts, CBT helps you manage your emotions and reduce stress.
Your First CBT Session: What Happens?
Intake/Assessment:
I’ll start by asking about your experiences and what’s been happening in your life, current concerns, and why you’re seeking therapy. This helps them understand your situation better.
You might be asked things like:
– What problems are you facing right now?
– How do these issues affect your daily life?
– Have you tried anything to cope so far?
– What do you hope to get from therapy?
Setting Goals:
Together, we will decide what you want to work on, such as managing work stress, feeling less overwhelmed, or improving relationships. These goals help guide your therapy sessions.
Structure of Ongoing CBT Sessions
Session length and frequency:
Sessions usually last about 60 minutes and often happen once a week, but this can vary depending on your needs.
Session flow:
Each session typically starts by talking about how things went since the last meeting. Then, you work on learning and practicing new skills together. At the end, you’ll usually set some simple tasks or exercises to try before the next session.
Example activity:
One common focus is spotting stress-related thoughts, looking at whether they’re realistic, and learning how to challenge and change them.
CBT Techniques Commonly Used for Stress
Thought records:
Writing down negative or unhelpful thoughts to better understand and challenge them.
Behavioral experiments:
Trying out new behaviors to test if negative beliefs are true or not.
Relaxation training and breathing:
Learning simple ways to calm your body and mind when stress feels overwhelming.
Problem-solving:
Breaking down stressful problems into smaller steps and finding practical ways to handle them.
Between Sessions: Homework and Practice
Why practice outside therapy matters:
Using the skills you learn in sessions during your daily life helps make them stronger and more natural.
Types of homework:
You might be asked to keep a journal of your thoughts, try facing things that cause stress little by little (called exposure), or practice relaxation exercises.
How it helps long-term:
Doing these tasks builds new habits and makes it easier to manage stress over time, even after therapy ends.
How Long Does CBT Take to Work for Stress?
Typical duration:
CBT usually takes about 6 to 12 sessions to start seeing results, but this can vary depending on the person.
What affects progress:
How quickly you improve depends on things like how severe your stress is and how actively you practice the skills between sessions.
Focus on long-term skills:
CBT isn’t just about quick fixes—it helps you build lasting tools to manage stress well into the future.
When CBT May Not Be Enough Alone
Stress from outside events or trauma:
Sometimes stress comes from difficult life situations or past trauma, and CBT alone might not fully address these issues.
Combining with other approaches:
In these cases, CBT can be used alongside other treatments like medication or mindfulness practices such as the Alexander Technique to provide better support and relief.
Conclusion
In short, CBT is a helpful way to gently explore and change the thoughts and habits that make things like feeling overwhelmed, worried, or burned out harder to handle. You’ll meet regularly and try some easy exercises between sessions.
Remember, reaching out for support is a positive and caring step toward feeling calmer and in control. Whenever you feel ready, you’re welcome to book a session to begin this process.