Glossary

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) aims to help people change patterns of thinking or behaviour that are causing problems. Changing how you think and behave also changes how you feel. It is a structured approach – you agree goals for treatment with your therapist and try things out between sessions.

Cognitive behaviour therapy can help depression, anxiety, panic attacks, phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder and some eating disorders, especially bulimia. Some studies have shown it can help long term fatigue or pain. It may also help schizophrenia, other psychoses and manic depressive illnesses.

Download a Cognitive Behaviour Therapy leaflet

Computerised Cognitive Behaviour Therapy online

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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

The essential features of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders are recurrent obsessions and/or compulsions that are severe enough to be time consuming (can take hours per day) or cause marked distress or significant impairment.

Obsessions are persistant ideas, thought, impulses or images that are experienced as intrusive and inappropriate and that cause marked anxiety or distress.

The most common obsessions are repeated thoughts about contamination (e.g. being contaminated by shaking hands), repeated doubts (e.g. wondering having left a door unlocked or having hurt somebody), aggressive or horrific impulses (e.g. hurting one's own child) and sexual imagery.

The individual with obsessions usually attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts or impulses and to neutralise them with some other behaviour or action: (compulsions).

Compulsions are repetitive behavours (e.g. hand-washing, ordering, checking) or mental acts (e.g. counting, repeating words silently), the goal of which is to prevent or reduce anxiety or distress. In most cases, the person feels driven to perform the compulsion to reduce th distress that accompanies an obsession or to prevent some dreaded event or situation.

The most common compulsions involve washing and cleaning, counting, checking, requesting or demanding assurances, repeating actions, and ordering.
Download our Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Referral Form - FOR GP, PSYCHIATRIST, CARE COORDINATOR USE ONLY

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is a talking treatment in which you will be encouraged to find words for your thoughts and feelings. It involves a therapist listening to your experiences, exploring connections between present feelings and actions and past events. It aims to help you understand more about yourself and your relationships.

Recurrent Depression

For the purposes of this clinic, recurrent depression is defined as two or more seperate eposodes of depression, of less than two years duration. Depression lasting more than two years will be categorised as chronic in nature. To be considered as a seperate episode, there should be an interval of 2 months between periods of depression. Between epsiodes of depression, the patient's psychological functioning is relatively unimpaired. 

Download our Recurrent Depression Referral Form - FOR GP, PSYCHIATRIST, CARE COORDINATOR USE ONLY

Talking Therapies

This booklet is for anyone who is depressed or unhappy, or who has emotional problems they cannot sort out on their own. It tells you about the psychological help – or talking therapies – that are available for adults on the National Health Service (NHS). It explains what talking therapies are and what they aim to do. It will help you ask the right questions and to make the right choices for yourself. 

Download the booklet from the Depatrment of Health website