Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Gains Popularity over Conventional Counselling

PRLog (Press Release) - Oct 12, 2008 -
Harley Therapy’s latest referral figures show that year-on-year, demand for short-term and structured therapies, such as a cognitive behavioural therapy, is rising at a faster rate than demand for other types of therapies.
Harley Therapy operates two clinics in Central London and has a database of therapists practicing in a range of theoretical approaches. The counsellor’s therapeutic styles include psychodynamic therapy, person-centered (humanistic) counselling, existential psychotherapy, transactional analysis, psychoanalytic psychotherapy, gestalt, systemic and interpersonal therapy.
Last month’s statistics show that 38% of Harley Therapy’s clients were working in a CBT or brief-therapy format, whereas the remainder were in mid to long-term therapy (chiefly psychodynamic or existential).  This is substantially up from last year’s figure of 27% of clients having CBT or brief-therapy.
Dr Sheri Jacobson, clinical director at Harley Therapy in central London says, "one of the most important predictors of a successful therapy program is the quality of the relationship between client and therapist. However, many people come to Harley Therapy requesting a specific approach. Increasingly, they are asking for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or brief and goal-focused counselling.”
She adds, “one explanation for the boost in enquiries for CBT is that the government investment in a therapy campaign – Improved Access to Psychological Therapies (iapt.nhs.uk) – has catapulted CBT to centre stage. Another reason is that many people are put off by an open-ended counselling relationship and by the length of time and financial cost of such an arrangement. On the other hand, some clients do much better in traditional therapy, so it is a question of finding out what best suits the individual. It can be helpful for clients to read up on different counselling methods before choosing a therapist”.
Cognitive behavioural therapy, was developed in the 1960s by Aaron Beck. Its main philosophy is that our thoughts and behaviour influence feelings; our mood is determined by the way we think about events, not the events themselves. CBT helps to recognize thinking errors such as ‘all-or-nothing thinking’ or ‘mind-reading’ and helps to construct alternative and more balanced thoughts. It also works on behaviour, by encouraging the client to experiment with trying new, and productive, ways of behaving. The NICE guidelines recommend CBT for mild to moderate depression (http://www.harleytherapy.co.uk/depression-counselling-lon...), panic disorder, generalized anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and body dysmorphic disorder. CBT has also been used in the treatment of eating disorders, anger, stress, sleep problems, sexual issues and substance misuse. The typical format is 6-20 sessions held weekly. (More information can be found at http://www.harleytherapy.co.uk/cognitive-behavioural-ther...)
In spite of the surge in interest in CBT, Dr Jacobson warns “it’s important we don’t herald CBT as a magical cure. Clients need to be realistic in setting their goals; CBT will usually help the client to improve substantially and manage their condition rather than eliminate the symptoms completely. Homework is an integral part of cognitive therapy and some people are not keen on this type of structure. CBT does not fit everyone, and for this reason I expect that traditional therapies will continue to be in demand.”
In the context of overall growth in demand for therapy at the centre, requests for CBT are growing faster than those of other therapeutic approaches. Further statistics will be welcome to see if this trend continues.

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