CBT therapy in Dubai

What can CBT help with?

UK health guidance recommends CBT for many common problems. Our psychologists use it for:

• worry, stress and panic: see anxiety treatment
• low mood and depression: see depression treatment
• obsessions and compulsions: see OCD treatment
• fears and phobias, and worry around other people
• upsetting memories after a frightening event: see EMDR and trauma therapy, which also explains trauma-focused CBT

What happens in a CBT session?

CBT sessions have a clear shape. A typical session goes like this:

1. Check inYou and your psychologist agree what to cover today.
2. Look at a real momentYou pick a recent situation that felt hard. Together, you map what you thought, felt and did.
3. Try a new angleYou look for other ways to see it, and other things you could do.
4. Plan a small stepYou agree something to practise before next time.

Your first sessions are a little different. Your psychologist gets to know you and what's going on. You set goals together, and check that CBT suits you. If it doesn't, you can talk about other kinds of therapy.

Wondering what therapy is really like? Read about common myths about therapy.

CBT exercises: can you practise at home?

Yes, and that's part of how CBT works. The skills are meant for daily life, so you try them out between sessions. Some people call this homework. It's small, and you plan it with your psychologist. It isn't a self-help course: your psychologist shapes each step around you.

It might be:

• writing down a worrying thought, and what was happening at the time
• testing a fear in a small, planned way, to see what really happens
• slowly facing a place or task you've been avoiding
• planning a few things you used to enjoy

If a task doesn't go to plan, that's fine. You look at what happened together next time. There's often something useful in it.

How long does CBT take?

CBT is a course of regular sessions, not a single visit. How many you need depends on the problem, how long you've had it, and what you want to change. Your psychologist talks this through with you at the start.

You review your progress together as you go. You decide together when to change the plan, and when you're ready to finish.

CBT for children and teenagers

CBT can be shaped for young people. The ideas stay the same. The words get simpler, and the examples come from school, friends and home.

Our psychologists see children from age 5.

Before you start, we'll explain how sessions work for your child. Read more about psychology for children and teenagers.

DBT skills in Dubai

DBT stands for dialectical behaviour therapy. It grew out of CBT. It puts extra focus on strong feelings that rise fast, and on how they affect relationships.

We teach DBT skills, not a full DBT programme.

"Dialectical" means holding two ideas at once. You accept yourself as you are, and you work on change too.

DBT skills are usually taught in four areas:

• Mindfulnessnoticing the present moment, without judging it.
• Getting through hard momentsriding out a strong feeling until it eases.
• Understanding feelingsnaming emotions, and making them easier to manage.
• Relationshipsasking for what you need, and saying no kindly.

Four of our psychologists teach these skills. Your psychologist will explain whether DBT skills, CBT or a mix of both fits you.