Article on CBT

Found an interesting article on CBT in the Telegraph magazine on Saturday which I believe could be of interest to other users. I'll try and summarise the main points here.

* Believed to be as effective as medication in treating mild to moderate depression.
* Teaches people to monitor and limit the expression of negative thought, so that their cognitive distortions do not control their behaviour.
* According to the BABCP, it can be effective within 3 weeks.
* Unlike other talking treatments, it focuses on present issues instead of looking for triggers in your past.
* Though it's a talking therapy, it's more about doing, testing what you have been taught between sessions.
* Can also be helpful in treating less severe cases of attention deficit disorder, schizophrenia, eating disorders, phobias and OCD.
* There are 60,000 trained CBT practioners in the UK, though they need far more!
* Report last year recommended training 10,000 new therapists and setting up 250 treatment centres around the UK to meet current demands.
* In the long run, it has been shown to have a more long-lasting effect than drugs.
* People who have had CBT are less likely to have relapses of depression/anxiety.
* Computer-based CBT programmes are now available on the NHS, including "Fear Fighter", aimed at people suffering from phobias and panic attacks and "Beating the Blues" for sufferers of moderate depression.

Hope someone finds this helpful and interesting!