SEARCHHow to Change Text Size
Now with this responsive web design, you can easily change the text size to fit your eyesight needs.
If you browse on a desktop computer, a modern web browser will allow you to hold down the Ctrl key (Command key on a Macintosh) and press the + or - key to increase or decrease the text size, and 0 to go back to the default size.
On a smartphone or a tablet, you can simply pinch open on the screen to zoom in (i.e. to enlarge) and pinch close to zoom out (i.e. to reduce) everything.
You may also change the text size from the menu.
On the Page menu, select Zoom, then Larger.
When people think of psychotherapy, they usually picture a person lying on a couch, being hypnotized or involved in dream interpretation. Nevertheless, this type of psychotherapy is no longer prevailing, and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) has become one of the most well-known and widely-used form of contemporary psychotherapies.
CBT is an evidence-based psychological treatment that aims to change one’s thoughts and behaviours. It is endorsed by National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and American Psychological Association (APA) to be effective in treating various psychological disorders, including depression, anxiety disorders such as panic disorder, phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, post traumatic stress disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder, as well as helpful for people with bulimia and schizophrenia.
CBT is based on the idea that our thoughts cause our emotions, behaviours and physical feelings. For instance, while waiting for a friend who was late and unable to be reached by phone, a person who started to think “What if he has an accident?” would feel anxious (emotion), have heart palpitations and sweating (physical sensations) and make repeated phone calls (behaviour). However, thinking that your friend could be trapped in traffic and couldn’t hear the cell phone ringing was unlikely to result in these kinds of reactions. In other words, the same situation can lead to two very different reactions, depending on how you think about it. People are not affected by things, but by the views they take on them.
The above figure illustrates how thoughts, feelings, behaviours and physical sensations are inter-related with each other, and change of any parts can break the vicious cycle of negative interactions. CBT aims to help you manage your problems by changing how your think (cognitive) and what you do (behaviour), as well as incorporate problem solving approaches.
In the first session, the therapist will undertake an assessment and help you to develop a shared understanding of your presenting problems. This involves identifying and understanding your problems in terms of relationship between thoughts, feelings and behaviours, and how these affect your daily living. Meanwhile, CBT is a time-limited and relatively short-term psychotherapy which focuses on the present. While it recognizes how events in your past have shaped the way you currently think and behave, it does not dwell on your past and childhood experiences.
The therapist will work together with you to set goals and treatment plan to manage your problems. CBT is a collaborative process, in which it emphasizes not only the therapist’s contribution but also your active participation. The therapist takes an educational role who teaches new skills, and you will be given homework to practice what you have learnt in the sessions, such as keeping a diary to monitor your thoughts or trying out new ways of coping between sessions.
CBT is usually provided by clinical psychologists who have related training and experiences in providing this type of intervention, though psychiatrists or other mental health professionals may also be able to offer CBT.
(Special thanks to Ms. Cher Liu (Clinical Psychologist, Castle Peak Hospital) for authoring this article)
