• Question: Is CBT the most effective way to treat mental health issues?

    Asked by gfeupn[x to Jack, Gem, Jermaine, Michelle, Steve on 15 Jun 2017. This question was also asked by Guppy.
    • Photo: Jermaine Ravalier

      Jermaine Ravalier answered on 15 Jun 2017:

      It is very effective in a lot of ways, and the NHS has put a lot of money into the approach. However it’s not the perfect treatment. For example my PhD student has recently finished a literature review about how to get people back to work after a period of physical illness, and CBT was probably the most successful. But then again, it was also the most widely used…

    • Photo: Steven Brown

      Steven Brown answered on 16 Jun 2017:

      It is sort of the default approach in UK, but it does not work for everything. And lots of research recently found that the treatment did not work long-term. In general terms, I am all for it. It’s an active process, it demands that you re-think about what you believe to be true, almost like a detective collecting evidence to solve a crime. But you need to collect evidence about your thoughts – which ones reflect reality, and which ones are just your fears and worries taking over?

    • Photo: Michelle Jamieson

      Michelle Jamieson answered on 18 Jun 2017:

      It’s used a lot here, but short answer = no. People love it because it’s relatively cheap to roll out, can be adapted easily, and some studies show its effective for some issues (but not all). So the NHS ran with it… I’m not a fan.

    • Photo: Gemma Taylor

      Gemma Taylor answered on 21 Jun 2017:

      CBT in addition to psychoactive medication is more effective than CBT alone for people with most disorders.

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