CBT Techniques and Mindfulness

What Is CBT?

CBT, developed by Aaron Beck from the 1960s, links how people think, feel and act. It looks at specific thoughts, such as “I will fail”, checks them against the evidence, and tries out new ways of acting. It is usually structured and focused on the present, with practice between sessions.

How CBT Techniques Are Used in Sessions

CBT techniques are used because they are well supported by research and often effective. For example:

• writing down anxious predictions and testing them
• behavioural activation: planning small, valued activities when mood is low
• noticing thinking traps, such as all-or-nothing thinking
• skills for problem-solving and communication

For some people and some difficulties, CBT alone is not the whole answer, so these techniques sit alongside narrative therapy, somatic work and parts work.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness means paying attention to the present moment, on purpose and without judging it. In sessions it is used in short practices: noticing the breath or the body, stepping back from a worry, or staying with a feeling for a few moments. You may also be offered mindfulness and somatic practices to do at home. A long personal practice of meditation informs this work. For people with trauma, long silent practice can sometimes feel overwhelming, so practices are kept short and you choose how far to go.

For anxiety, one trial with 276 adults found that an eight-week mindfulness course worked about as well as escitalopram, a common anxiety medication (Hoge and colleagues, 2023). For depression, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy has been found to lower the risk of relapse (Kuyken and colleagues, 2016). These findings come from structured courses. The shorter practices used within counselling have been studied less.

What the Evidence Shows

CBT is among the most studied talking therapies. A review of 106 meta-analyses found strong support for CBT in anxiety disorders, general stress, anger and several other conditions (Hofmann and colleagues, 2012). NICE recommends CBT for depression, generalised anxiety and panic disorder. Most of this evidence comes from structured CBT programmes. CBT techniques used within broader counselling have been studied less.

CBT Online in Thailand and Myanmar

If you are looking for CBT therapy online in Thailand or Myanmar, in English, sessions take place by video call from wherever you live in either country.