Self Help CBT Course

Hello and welcome to this Self Help CBT course, a comprehensive online programme of applied psychology which has been specifically designed to help you to develop resilience to the challenges of contemporary life and cope more effectively with mental health challenges.

This course is based on 100% clinically proven, applied psychological principles and is authored by psychologist Paul Lee BSc. (Hons) MSc. who also runs a private clinical practice in the West Midlands in the UK.

Self Help CBT combines all of the most effective components of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) with the Behaviour Change Framework derived from the Transtheoretical Model of Behaviour Change (TTM).

Is CBT Effective?

Clinical research into the efficacy of online therapy, particularly cognitive-based approaches such as CBT, suggests they can be as effective as face-to-face therapy.

Supporting this position is the research by John Norcross and Michael Lambert (2011) which demonstrates that a full 30% of the effectiveness of ANY change programme is produced by the client-in-therapy whilst the type of therapy only contributes around 8% of the outcome.

What this means is that it is the client themselves are who responsible for a higher proportion of the outcome of the therapy (30%) than the therapist (7%), the type of therapy (8%) and the client-counsellor relationship (12%) combined!

In other words, the specific type of therapy plays a much smaller role in bringing about change than the inventors of those therapy systems claim!

How is this Different to Any Other Online Change Programme?

The Self-help CBT Programme is different because it is built around the proven scientific principles of behaviour change developed by the world’s foremost experts in the field.

In addition to the scientific principles of change, the programme also draws on knowledge derived from Self-Determination Theory and Social Psychological Theory which recognises the importance of the social context in which people live their lives.

In this sense, the principal aim of this course is to help those wanting to make changes to recognise that it is themselves who will ultimately facilitate that change and not something that happens to them due to some magical quality of the therapy process itself.

What’s Involved in the Programme?

The self help CBT course focuses attention on how individuals create their own unique and subjective meanings from their experiences based on an understanding of:

• The three main core beliefs that people use to make sense of their experiences.
• The values that are instilled in people by the social context in which they grow-up.
• The strengths common to human beings across all cultures.

Once an understanding of these beliefs are fully appreciated, the course then moves onto developing an understanding of how different people develop coping skills and strategies designed to manage adverse situations.

In many cases, these coping strategies (thinking styles, avoidance and compensatory behaviours) may not be as useful as they appear to be, and in some instances, can perpetuate problems or even make matters worse!

Once you become aware of any maladaptive coping mechanisms you may be using you will also be in a better position to modify them.

It is through these behavioural changes that you will begin to experience different outcomes and consolidate the changes you want to make.

Finally, this self help CBT course helps you to normalise your new behaviours so that they become the default way of managing your environment.

What Does the Course Cover?

The self help CBT course incorporates 10 in-depth modules that are designed to build up knowledge in a systematic and logical way and includes:

The nature of change in psychotherapy

• How do people actually change?
• What roles does motivation play in making changes?
• How important is the desire to change?
• Does it make sense to make changes for somebody else’s benefit?
• Do expectations about the process make any difference?
• What determines a good therapy outcome?

Beliefs, Values and Worldviews

• Where do our beliefs come from?
• How consistent are our beliefs?
• Are some beliefs more correct than others?
• What is a Worldview?
• How significant is Confrmation Bias?
• Are beliefs and truth the same thing?

Autonomy and Control

• The LOCUS of control and personal agency.
• Social and cultural influences.
• The mental constructions of past, present & future.
• The desire for control.
• Responsibility and blame.
• Developing greater agency.

The self and identities

• What is Self-Esteem?
• The Origins of Self-Esteem.
• Our ‘Internal’ Dialogue.
• True and False Identities.
• How to Boost Your Self-Esteem.
• Breaking the Rules and Ditching the Past.
• Processing Your Achievements.

Social beliefs and social constructs

• The Social World.
• The Social Construction of Mental Illness.
• The Process of Socialisation.
• Social Pressures.
• External Validation.
• Authority.
• Collusion and Significant ‘Others’.
• Taking Emotional Responsibility.

Safety behaviours & Coping mechanisms

• Adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies
• Physiological and Psychological Safety Behaviours.
• Coping by Surrendering, Avoiding or Over-compensating.
• Thinking Traps and Unhelpful Thinking Styles.

Language and linguistic coding

• Language as the ‘Code’ of Reality.
• Words Produce Feelings.
• Cognitive Fusion.
• Deletion, Generalisation and Distortion.
• Negative and Catastrophic Language.
• Mediated Language (Language in the Media).

Anxiety, Depression and Stress

• Anxiety
• The Biology of Anxiety
• The Role of Perception
• Types of anxiety
• Likelihood, Probability & Consequences
• Tackling Anxiety
• Depression
• Diagnosis & Medication
• Maintaining Factors
• Dealing with Depression
• Understanding Stress
• Threat Perception & Power
• Workplace Stress
• Coping & Resilience

Tools for making changes

• The Fundamentals of Making Changes.
• What you Should Be Doing Already.
• Carrying-Out Behavioural Experiments.
• Tip for Successful Experiments.
• The Downward Arrow Process.
• Objective Inversion.
• Controlling the Controllable.
• Stepping Outside fo Your Comfort Zone.

Consolidating your changes

• Re-assessing Your Core Beliefs.
• Sustaining Changes.
• It’s All About the Journey, NOT the Destination.
• Towards What You Want OR Away From What You Don’t Want?
• ‘Needs’ Versus ‘Wants’.
• Goal Setting

Each module incorporates 2 to 4 hours of reading, self-assessment tests and quizzes as well as practical tips and exercises to help you use the knowledge it contains in a practical way.

Following the Self Help CBT Programme

This self-help CBT course has been adapted from our in-clinic CBT programme that we offer to clients who prefer face-to-face clinical interactions.

It has been written specifically for those people who do not want to undertake psychological therapy with a clinician.