The purpose of this information sheet is to provide some background information to some of the most frequently asked questions about therapy.

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (N.I.C.E.) recommends Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) as a treatment for Anxiety, Depression, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Phobias, Acute Stress and Post Traumatic Stress.

WHAT IS COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY (CBT)?

CBT is based on a model with 5 factors. There is the Environment in which you live and includes all of your circumstances. Within the Environment there are your Thoughts, Feelings, Behaviour and Physiology. This is a systems model, which means that all of the factors are linked and if you change any part of it then it will have a knock on effect on the others. If you are thinking ‘I am hopeless. Nobody likes me’ then you are likely to feel ‘down’ ‘lonely’ and ‘sad.’ You might then stop going out and not meet up with your friends or you might sit in the house and eat or drink excessively (Behaviour). You might then feel tired and want to sleep at lot. Or you might start to feel your heart racing and tummy churning and not be able to sleep well (Physiology).

Most people seem to come to therapy and counselling with feelings that they don’t like, or behaviour that is not helpful or is time consuming. It can be helpful for them to look at the thinking that fuels these feelings and design a plan to change them. Some people come to therapy with obsessive and unhelpful thinking and we might work first of all on their behaviour.

CBT sessions tend to be limited and concentrate on the here and now. Sometimes it is helpful to have some information about events in your past but only as it may affect how you feel now. CBT for some issues and types of behaviours CBT can be helpful for some people in the management of Chronic Pain.

WHAT HAPPENS IN A SESSION?

This is a very general view of a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) session as it will depend on your individual needs:

 Introduction and working contract

 Risk assessment

 Other assessment tools as appropriate e.g. CORE, Depression Inventory, Anxiety Inventory

 Clients view of the problem

 Clients problem in CBT Model

 Information on appropriate reading material or websites may be given

 Homework between sessions to gain more information

WHAT EXPERIENCE DOES MY THERAPIST HAVE?

The therapist is an experienced CBT Psychotherapist, BABCP (accredited). The therapist has undertaken a Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural and is now accredited by COSCA to teach the Diploma in CBT and COSCA Counselling Skills courses. All therapeutic work is closely supervised and the therapist occasionally brings recorded sessions to their supervisor as part of best practice .

WHAT HAPPENS IN THE FIRST SESSION?

The first session will be an assessment to develop an understanding of your presenting problem. Then the therapist will discuss with you a suggested way forward and will help you work out how your thinking, feelings and behavioural are interconnected. You will have to do homework between sessions to get the most out of the therapy. After the first assessment session there is no obligation to continue with further therapy.

WHAT IS THE COST OF AN INDIVIDUAL CBT SESSION?

A 50-minute therapy session would normally be £70. These days sessions can be Face to Face at the counselling centre, or online on ‘Zoom’. Payment can be cash, cheque or bank transfer. Please give or send this fee to your therapist at the end of your individual session. Any cheque payments should be made to Ian Boyd Counselling (IBC)..

WHAT IS YOUR CANCELLATION POLICY?

We realise that at times events can take over our lives, however, we respectfully ask that you provide your therapist with at least 24-hours’ notice if you need to cancel your appointment. Failure to do so will incur a fee of £15.00.

WHO DOES NOT DO WELL WITH CBT?

People who do not do well in therapy are those who won’t engage at an appropriate emotional level, those on high levels of some prescribed drugs and people who are intoxicated with alcohol and high levels of some non-prescribed mind-altering drugs. People with long term emotional problems and some personality disorders require more than standard CBT.

WILL YOU CONTACT MY GP?

We do not contact you GP as a matter of course. It may be considered helpful if your GP has some information regarding your Therapy but that would be your responsibility to do that. Sometimes a letter is required but it is usually compiled together with the client.

ARE MY SESSIONS CONFIDENTIAL?

A great deal of importance on the concept of confidentiality. The information you provide will be kept confidential. Your Confidentiality Contract will be explained to you in the first session and is outlined in our Data Protection Form. If your therapist thinks you pose a risk to yourself or someone else, or you are about to commit a crime, then disclosure to a third party would be discussed.

ARE MY SESSIONS AUDIO RECORDED?

All Counsellors and Therapists are required to have Clinical Case Supervision. Strict confidentiality is observed. You will be given a statement about audio recording and will be asked to sign a consent form to have your sessions recorded for training and supervision purposes.

WILL CBT CURE ME?

The aim of counselling and psychotherapy is to allow you to cope better with your life and to feel more positive. That’s what happens with most people. Initially some people will feel worse before they feel better. Sometimes people just can’t engage with the therapy. Sometimes another kind of therapy might be more helpful.

Data Protection Statement

This Statement of Privacy governs data collection and usage and in acceptance you consent to the described data practices.

COLLECTION OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

Your information will be collected both on paper and computer file. The information recorded is used solely for the provision of your therapy sessions.

USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

Your information will not be sold, rented or leased to third parties. We may contact you from time to time about a particular offering that may be of interest to you.

We will not use or disclose sensitive personal information, such as race, religion, or political affiliations, without your explicit consent.

We will disclose your personal information, without notice, only if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served upon on us; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of Glasgow Cognitive Therapy Centre, (c) act under exigent circumstances to protect the personal safety of clients of Glasgow Cognitive Therapy Centre, or the public.

SECURITY OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

I will secure your personal information from unauthorized access, use or disclosure.

COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

If any complaints are not resolved between you and your therapist you will have access to COSCA complaints guidance, also available on COSCA website.