WorryTree was designed specifically to work alongside Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) sessions, although you don't need to be experiencing CBT to use it. We thought we'd share with you how and why it can be so helpful to work through your worries using the WorryTree system.
What is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy?
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (also known as CBT) is a type of talking therapy based on the concept that your thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and actions are all interconnected, and that negative thoughts and feelings can trap you in a vicious cycle.
CBT helps you to deal with problems by breaking them down into smaller parts.
One technique that therapists use during CBT with people who suffer from anxiety and worry is to train them to break down their problems to see whether or not they can do anything about them, to think about what they are going to do and also how they are going to do it.
WorryTree was designed to support you with this process by helping you to problem solve and create an action plan to deal with your worry.
How WorryTree can help with your CBT sessions
CBT is only as good as the work you do in between your sessions. Yes, I'm afraid there's homework but it's the repeated use of the techniques you learn that will help you to create better habits in the long run.
Many therapists providing CBT will address excess worry and Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) with a number of different techniques to help you build better thinking and responding habits. They might ask you to monitor and record your worries over a period of time and then bring them back to your next session to talk through. They might also share with you the different 'thought traps', or negative thinking styles, and ask you to look for these in your thinking patterns between your sessions. The more you notice the thinking habits that are holding you back, the more you learn to create new thinking styles.
WorryTree will help you do this, and with our latest version you'll also be able to download the thoughts and worries you record on your device and send them on to your therapist before your session if you wish to.
Find the way that works best for you
You don't have to use WorryTree to do this. The important thing is that you are regularly spotting negative or worried thoughts and taking a moment to work through them, considering if you can do anything about them and then moving on with your day.
You can work through this CBT exercise in a notepad, a journal, on the back of an envelope (speaking from experience) or just in your notes app on your phone. Whatever works for you, the important thing is that you do whatever you feel you can stick with over a period of weeks.
If you'd like to find out more
If you're interested in finding out more about CBT and how it can help you, here's a few links you might find interesting:
What is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy?