Cognitive behavioural therapy

What is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)?

Psychosocial therapies such as CBT can provide a clinical adjunct to pharmacological therapy. CBT aims to generate links between patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviours using cognitive restructuring to facilitate the understanding and management of these patterns. A variety of interventions can be labelled as CBT, but the primary approaches focus on coping strategies and problem solving skills.

What is the evidence for CBT for bipolar disorder?

Moderate quality evidence suggests CBT accompanied by medication for bipolar disorder can improve depression symptoms and functioning. Moderate to low quality evidence finds CBT can also improve mania symptoms and reduce relapses.

November 2021

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Last updated at: 10:55 am, 8th November 2021
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