CBT Newsletter September 2010

3 September 2010 CBTMONTHLY

Call Matt t:0207 558 8894

welcome the latest news

By Matt Broadway-Horner

As the first edition of the CBT monthly I would like to extend a warm welcome and hope you enjoy the journey with us through 2010.

carries out the above approaches and is available for both individual sessions or group sessions with a qualified and registered CBT therapist.

the City Clinics is committed to providing treatment that is evidence based from the latest research carried out within the field of Psychology.

The tradition of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is a large one which includes Beck’s Cognitive Therapy, Ellis’s Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT), Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Behavioural Activation (BA) and Imagery Rescripting and Reprocessing Therapy (IRRT) to name some which are all approaches within the tradition.

The clinic has successfully treated the following conditions; various addictions, Anger management, Body dysmorphic disorder, Chronic fatigue syndrome, Obsessive compulsive disorder, Post traumatic stress disorder Performance anxiety, Generalised Anxiety Disorder, Health anxiety, Vomit phobia Phobias, Sexual dysfunction, Social phobia, Depression and Jealousy.

We aim to provide a positive experience and help the person overcome the difficulties ensuring a journey that brings about a long lasting change.

The CBT in the City Clinics

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The small team at CBT in

For more information then please contact Matt t: 0207 558 8894

CBTMONTHLY 3 September 2010

the beginning.... the first clinic

By Rebecca Piek

The journey started in January 2006 in 10 Harley Street when Matt Broadway-Horner was working full time at the Priory hospital in north London. Initially he started part time in his clinic working two evenings weekly for the first year and then gradually growing until now working full time in 4 locations, 3 in London and 1 in St Albans.

This has been a dream come true for Matt to work using CBT to help people deal with their problems before it becomes chronic and they are forced to take time off work due to illness. Indeed the driving force behind the formation of the clinic comes from personal experience of Matt watching a relative struggle with mental illness with no alternatives proposed by the NHS until the conditioned worsened needing the enforcement of the Mental Health Act (1983).

Matt believes that many conditions can be treated if only the stigma attached to mental health problems were reduced and psychological help was accessed earlier. Research has shown that between 5-20 treatment sessions of CBT can be very effective in helping people overcome their difficulties.

For more information contact the clinic and speak with Matt t: 0207 558 8894

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“CBT is the looking at Negative Automatic Thoughts and how they create self defeating behaviours and distressing emotions” Matt Broadway-Horner

“But what if help was accessed earlier? then maybe the number sessions needed would be less” says Matt who is currently treating long standing problems spanning 30 years or more. The individuals need more input and long term help using CBT far beyond 20 sessions. “It is part of the human condition to avoid and this contributes to help being organised later or in some cases not at all” says Matt The effectiveness of CBT is due in part to the educational aspects of the therapy which helps the individual to take control and stay well longer.

The relationship fostered in the therapy is a collaborative one where the therapist helps the individual to achieve the goals and move forward to overcome the difficulty.

Another aspect in CBT is the user friendly nature that the therapist adopts in order to help understanding within the session using guided discovery and the Socratic method to help find understanding and answers to the problem posed.

What is CBT? CBT is looking at Negative Automatic Thoughts and how they create self defeating behaviours and distressing emotions The effectiveness of CBT has been extensively researched more than any other Therapy and CBT when applied by the individual will help them become their own self help.

CBTMONTHLY 3 September 2010

why stay in the moment? how can we stay in the moment?

By Matt Broadway-Horner

Clock sounds off at 0530hrs, “oh dear God” is the groan that is uttered as the slow and unsteady movement from the bed to the kitchen takes place. The kettle on to boil, coffee spooned into cafeteire with the hope that the cafeine fix is going to kick start the adrenaline and develop a vague interest in getting ready work and venture into the bathroom.

The operating in the auto pilot state is one that is fraught with problems as the mind is not in the present. When not in the present how can there be a future? To have a future the present needs to be appreciated and processed which then will lead to the next experience and so on.

A chain of experiences then lead to a chapter in the life of.... which then can lead to a future. Constant looking to the future cannot guarantee a good future just a future which may be void of pleasure due to the constant playback of hypothetical worries.

But looking to the future ensures no present and if no present then no future.

This is a no win situation which contributes to feeling stuck. If stuck then lets look at the idea of going off auto pilot and being on manual cruise control. Firstly rate your mood out of 10. 0 being ok and 10 being anxious/low.

What sounds do you notice?

Describe them but without judgement.

For instance on the Tube the sound may be of rustle of news papers, the sound of a walkman and the sound of one man talking with another.

For more info please contact the clinic t: 0207 558 8894

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Mahatma Gandhi

Now you have sound 1, 2 and 3 and make sure that the sounds are near, a little further away and a distant sound as this will stretch the attention muscle.

View this as a gym work out for the mind and with any work out initially there is the toning stage before the building.

So the exercise is an attention training exercise focusing on 3 sounds for 3 minutes. Focus on sound 1 for a while before moving on to the next sound. All 3 sounds are all listened to individually before then moving your attention to listening to all 3 sounds together. Repeat this for 3 minutes.

Now rate mood again and what do you notice? Due to the many demands in life the strategy that most of us use is to increase its speed rather than slow down and be in the moment. Mahatma Ghandhi said “there is more to life than increasing its speed”. Maybe coping with the demands may be a different experience.

Going through the experience and developing appreciation of that experience may bring about a different future than the one you constantly looked to.

pit stop.... exercise

By Matt Broadway-Horner

Attention Training Exercise.

Use the immediate environment in daily living

‘There is more to life than increasing its speed’

The Attention Training Exercise is as follows focus on a visual object and then find sound 1 and focus on it exclusively.

Repeat for sound 2 and 3. The sounds should be a mixture of close, a little further away and another being a sound that you lean into and is distant.

Next focus on all 3 sounds together for a time and then go back to sound 1 and listen to all sounds individually

again.

Repeat this sequence for 3 minutes and remember that the sound has to be current and if a sound disappears then focus on another sound.

When focusing on an individual sound move from one sound to another and practice moving your attention.

Think of the exercise as going to the gym and building your attention muscle. Anxiety has the ability to distract and moving the attention to all things that it dictates. This exercise is a way to help hold attention and strengthen the ability to be task orientated.

CBTMONTHLY 3 September 2010

a day in the life of a therapist... the human condition

By Matt Broadway-Horner

Early to work and rushing down the escalator to the platform which is packed in like sardines. The balancing act to stand near the yellow line is one done with the skill and shear determination to make sure that no one pushes me in.

I look away and just hope that no one gets physical. It is interesting how territorial one gets with a crowded place like the tube. All sensible Train pulls in and we all squeeze onto the options leave us at moments when needed. The carriage sweating like a pig in an oven, wishing that demand for space when none really exists in the I could shower again. but instead today my mind rush hour would be best serve us all if left unsaid. was drawn to the argument between 2 men who Everyone is in the same situation and so lets walk are demanding the other move. Is it really worth away from the angry thought. the time and energy to be arguing over space on a tightly packed tube? The argument continues for 5 Hot thoughts fuel the anger and cool thoughts further minutes by which time all other calm down like ‘how is this gonna help me’ ‘why conversations has ceased due to the raising of the spoil a good day’ and ‘don’t get hooked into two voices. magnifying the annoyance’. So the next time that a moment can hook you in and lose all sense of I am getting a little nervous now as the level of proportion.....step back and see the bigger picture verbal aggression is rising and I am thinking about and ask yourself, Is it really worth losing my temper the possibility to move away from the situation but on? Would I be angry about this in 1 hour? looking down the carriage I can see that the possibility of anyone moving is next to zero.

If the answer to both questions is no then step away from the angry thought and tap into some Its at this point that I am wishing I had the cool thoughts. balls to teach the 4 step anger method but there is nothing worse than a ‘know it all’ butting in. I am likely to escalate than de-escalate the situation. I

on sale now 2011 calendar its that time of the year......

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don’t really want bruised eyes as it does not match my skin tone.

To order your copy now please contact the clinic t: 0207 558 8894 or shop online cbtinthecity.com

CBTMONTHLY 3 September 2010

cognitive behaviour therapy made a difference..... the human condition

“Cognitive Behaviour Therapy helped me to overcome my Social Anxiety...try it!�

By Emma

I was struggling to meet people and my life was strinking with each moment I was avoiding social activities.

My problem was Social Anxiety and CBT helped me to overcome my fears of being evaluated negatively by others and that now I am able to fulfill my life direction and achieve goals.

CBT has shown me that by taking risks and looking at things in a different way I am able to live life to the full.

The journey has been painful and I needed to revisit some early life experiences when I was aged 12. At 12 I was bullied at school which is when the Anxiety problem started to take hold.

With my therapist I was able to go through some of these experiences and start to develop some compassion towards myself and then moving forward. I am now back at work, having started an evening course and hopefully will meet my husband soon! But for now I am enjoying dating!

Thank you so much, the therapy with CBT in the City Clinics has really transformed my life.

CBTMONTHLY CBT in the City Clinics 10 Harley Street

London W1G 9PF

Matt Broadway-Horner Editor 10 Harley Street London W1G 9PF