Engage: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Feeling happy with our lives isn’t just something that happens TO us, it’s something that we have to engage in the pursuit of in a deliberate way.

This process involves understanding what lights us up and what sends us spiralling downwards - and then making choices based on that understanding.

It might mean making changes to our behaviour, such as confronting our fears, looking at making changes to our work-life balance or working to cultivate healthier habits.

It may also mean making changes to how we think, by letting go of limiting beliefs, learning to discern facts from feelings and developing more evidenced-based thinking.

It’s a process of uncovering what’s important to you, what your values are and how you operate within those parameters.

We’re all different, so what makes me smile might not make you smile - and that’s ok! So don’t mistake happiness for being something external, some set of achievements you need to attain or milestones you need to reach.

Understand that happiness is something you create for yourself.

In CBT we’re interested in helping people understand the underlying beliefs and patterns of thinking that unintentionally contribute to the maintenance of the difficult feelings people are struggling to manage.

Uncovering these core beliefs and understanding how they impact both our behaviour and our emotions can empower us to make positive changes and move towards the cultivation of healthier beliefs.

This in turn leads to FEELING better. And who doesn’t want that?

The last 3 months of working exclusively online has been a really interesting experience.

Although some clients have been apprehensive about starting remote face-to-face therapy, I have found that they have very quickly adapted to this new way of working together.

In fact, for a number of clients who began therapy in person, but then had to transition to online work because of lockdown, it has turned out to be their preferred way of meeting!

Some of the reasons for this have been to do with being able to work from the comfort of home and also having greater flexibility with appointments. I’ve already had clients ask if we can continue remotely as lockdown is further eased.

If you’re interested in finding out more about online therapy, you might want to consider booking an assessment session with a therapist. This will give you an opportunity to ask any questions you might have and to get a feel for what remote therapy is like.

Teletherapy, Popular in the Pandemic, May Outlast It Some therapists find that remote therapy is so convenient to their patients that they will continue with it.

Do you ever find yourself pursuing great things but struggling to enjoy them once you achieve them? Or find yourself having a hard time being ‘in the moment’?

This is an excellent video about how to ‘hardwire happiness’ from a neuroscientific perspective.

It gives brilliant practical tips for how to really feel a deeper happiness and overcome the ‘negativity bias’ that subconsciously leads us to give more psychological significance to negative experiences.

https://youtu.be/jpuDyGgIeh0

Hardwiring happiness: Dr. Rick Hanson at TEDxMarin 2013 Hardwiring Happiness : The Hidden Power of Everyday Experiences on the Modern Brain. How to overcome the Brain's Negativity Bias. Rick Hanson is a neuropsych...

When our mood is low, we can often experience a feeling of being ‘stuck’.

It can feel like:

‘I’m not getting anywhere with ANYTHING’ (lack of progress).

‘I don’t want to be around anyone’ (withdrawing).

‘I don’t enjoy anything anymore’ (loss of interest/pleasure).

This is why Behavioural Activation (BA) is an important component of CBT interventions for low mood. BA is designed to ‘get us going’ - to positively impact how we feel and think, by changing what we DO.

A simple but effective Behavioural Activation tool I use with clients experiencing low mood can be easily remembered as the acronym ACE. This stands for Achievement, Connection and Enjoyment.

ACE works by getting us to deliberately invest in activities that make us feel good. The more we feel like we’re getting somewhere, we’re part of something and we’re enjoying life, the better our overall mood will be.

Importantly, I encourage clients to use ACE as a planning tool, rather than a reflective tool, in order to create feelings of anticipation for the things you’re building into your day.

So today, why don’t you try to use ACE to enhance your mood?

Take a minute and identify one thing you want to achieve, one way you’re going to connect with another person and one thing you’re going to do - just because it’s enjoyable.

One of the things I’ve loved watching emerge over the last week, is a real sense of community and inclusion, despite the physical distancing that’s taking place.

People, businesses and organisations have been displaying great generosity with their time, talents, skills and resources. The internet is buzzing with people inviting people to share in what they have to offer: knowledge; equipment; time and hope.

You can currently participate in virtual tours, live-streamed music events and free online classes.

One such class that might interest you is this one:

Yale University is offering a free online course called ‘The Science of Wellbeing’ and it’s had rave reviews. The course includes video lectures, optional readings, and "rewirement" activities to do each day to build happier habits.

So if you’re looking to invest in your mental health and engage in some online learning during this period of social distancing, sign up for free before March 31st to learn some skills to help invest in your wellbeing.

https://www.businessinsider.com/coursera-yale-science-of-wellbeing-free-course-review-overview?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sf-bi-main&utm_source=facebook.com&fbclid=IwAR01FF3OowNezXxCt_LZn80LW9GBV_LuBjXyljYbaPUi5ca4p0z4DlK3hsw&fbclid=IwAR3HryWEmB96__MCf6WMX6j-koX5hisrL0gujRDcabvP9BoL7KYZKB4xvt4

Yale's most popular class ever is available free online — and the topic is how to be happier in your daily life Yale University is offering its most popular course for free on Coursera. I signed up for it — here's what "The Science of Well-Being" is like.

It’s been an unusual week, as the realisation hits that life is about to temporarily change over the next few months. Many of us are going to need to make adjustments to our daily lives and behaviours, and that can seem overwhelming at times.

But remember, as Heraclitus, the Greek philosopher said: ‘Change is the only constant in life.’ Or as the Persian proverb goes: ‘This too shall pass.’

In the meantime, remember that there is power in what we give our attention to. HOW we think and what we think ABOUT, affects how we FEEL. With easy and constant access to the most up-to-date news, it’s easy for us to become fixated or obsessive about things that are causing us tremendous fear and anxiety.

So maybe, take a break. A break from the news, from the conversation, from the overthinking, from the stress.

I’m not encouraging you to avoid confronting the things that make you anxious. But when you can’t make a problem smaller, sometimes it’s worth exploring whether you can make your life bigger.

Can you make space and time for things other than the things that cause you stress and worry? Remember, because of the connection between our thoughts, feelings and behaviours, making changes to your behaviour can also make you FEEL better.

So this weekend, think about what you can do to take a break and adjust your focus. It will help change your perspective and see that there’s more going on than the things that are overwhelming you.

Ever wonder what cognitive behavioural therapy is all about?

The main principle is that how we think, feel and behave are connected.

The great news about this is that by making changes to how we think and behave, we can positively impact how we feel!

If you’re struggling with anxiety or low mood, CBT can help you understand and challenge the underlying patterns of behaviour and thought that are maintaining how you’re feeling, so that you can feel better.

Hi, my name is Sarah Rutherford.

I have been working as a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist for 8 years in GP practices, community counselling services and private practice. I also have experience working online, via video, telephone, text and email.

I graduated from Oxford University with an Undergraduate degree and Masters in Experimental Psychology and Philosophy before going on to complete my Postgraduate Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

I am Accredited with the British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) and with the National Counselling Society, and am a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).