Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

What is Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)?

     Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is a simple therapy to enable the person to overcome psychiatric problems. (Depression, anxiety, Somatisation, conversion disorder and certain symptoms of psychoses.) This therapy is also very effective in enabling people to improve their self-esteem, confidence building, enhancing academic and vocational performance, marital harmony. In CBT, the therapist identifies faulty patterns of thought process, interpretations, emotional reactions and dysfunctional behaviour. Then the therapist clarifies implications of such thought patterns, emotional reactions and interpretations and suggests ways and means for overcoming the problem.

Role of Patients

     Cognitive behavioural approach is collaborative in nature and is largely self-help. The therapist aims to help the client develop skills to overcome not only the current problems but also any similar ones in the future. The therapist will emphasise the role of homework assignments, clearly indicating that the major part of therapy takes place in everyday life, with the client putting into practice what has been discussed in treatment sessions. The client is expected to participate actively by collecting information, giving feedback on the effectiveness of techniques, and making suggestions about new strategies.

Therapy Sessions

     Patients will be seen by prior appointment. Patients are requested to fix up appointments two days in advance. Each therapy session will be approximately 40 minutes. Depending upon the nature of the problem, the number of sessions in a week will vary.

Cognitive Rehabilitation Stroke/Dementia/Parkinson's Disease/Head Injury

     Cognitive rehabilitation therapy is a manual and computer assisted programme offered to patients with damage to the brain to improve their brain functioning i.e. concentration, memory calculation, decision-making, speaking, reading etc. There are three ways of treating cognitive deficits:

• To stimulate the cognitive function through computer assisted programme, which has been imported specifically for this purpose.
• Compensation techniques such as developing simple strategies
• If one part of the brain is totally damaged, then substituting that function, by another part of the brain. Ex. Brail for the blind.

Marital Therapy

     One of the major problems facing the families is the marital disharmony among couples, surprisingly even among older couples. It would be a worthwhile effort to sort out the differences through structured marital therapy, than living in distress. Marital therapy is designed out of the principles of cognitive therapy. The couple will be helped to identify individual attitudes and behaviour, which result in conflicts. Then both will be given independent and joint tasks to overcome such differences. The therapy will facilitate the couple to be conscious of the emotional needs of the partner and make an effort to engage in emotionally fulfilling interactions. The therapy will also focus on enhancing the communication between the couples, as most of the problems arise through bad or no communication. All couples attending marital therapy will be advised on Emotional Management.

Family Therapy

     If your family is facing the following frequently probably they need family therapy!

Intervention for families caring for person with dementia