Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Workbook For Dummies

by Rhena Branch, Rob Willson

CBT is a proven and effective approach to mastering your thoughts, and here the authors of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy For Dummies show you step-by-step how to put the lessons of their book into practice. Inside you’ll find a huge number of hands-on exercises and techniques to help you remove roadblocks to change - whether you’re seeking to overcome anxiety and depression, boost self-esteem, lose weight, beat addiction or simply improve your outlook in your professional and personal life – and regain control over your life. Rhena Branch and Rob Willson are CBT therapists at the Priory Clinic in London, and the authors of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy For Dummies.

Genres: Self Help, Psychology, Nonfiction, Mental Health, Reference, Health, Ebooks

322 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Sina Homayooni · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was partly interested in reading this book to get familiar with CBT and maybe to use it in my future career as a general practitioner; and it actually turned out to be a good read!
Anyone can benefit from reading this book. This book can help you overcome your daily psychological struggles, be it anxiety, panic, depression or any other common psychological problem. It also helps you accept yourself as who you are, and set goals for your future.
All this, it does by providing unbelievably simple methods and exercises.

I recommend this to those who:
experience episodes of obsession, compulsive behaviour and anxiety
feel they are depressed
have a problem with their body
feel there's something wrong with their mental well-being but don't want to see a professional
feel lost
feel addicted to substances or a special behavior like watching porn
lack enough self-confidence
have anger problems
can't keep their relationships
or generally, those who have something on their mind that hinders their progress!

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book for learning about Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and I highly recommend it. My sports therapist recommended it to me as he has been reading about it to help his clients and I am glad he has. I think healing the body and mind can be done together and is the way I am going to work forwards.

"You think how you feel" - this is one of the first quotes in the book that hit home. I have come to understand that if I can change how I think and act I can change the way I feel. It takes practice and it is extremely hard, but it does work.

An extremely useful tool I have started to use is the ABC Form.

Activating Event
Beliefs
Consequence

I have found this very useful to stop my thoughts from becoming unbearable and also to rationalise my thoughts by following them through. I find I get stuck in unhelpful thinking patterns and this helps sort them out. It can be taken further to include thinking errors, dispute and effects.

Another tool I have found useful is testing my predictions. I worry a lot and this forces me to confront my worries by testing out what I am worried about. It's best to start small, such as telling people I have been off work with depression and fearing people will run away. I started with people I have known for a long time and who knew me not from work and no one ran away :)

What I also love about the Dummies books are the list at the end - quick summaries to jot down and keep on you for reference.

10 healthy attitudes for living
10 ways to lighten up

I have now purchased the complimentary books in the series - the workbook and the journal - as I want to continue my CBT journey but need some structure to do so.

Also this book means I've completed my Goodreads Challenge of reading 52 books in 2012 and its only November :)

[Madalina Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book for every person who is working on being a better therapist. Full of insights, good exercises, tips and tricks and useful advice, it is a book that provides you with valuable techniques that you can use during therapy sessions. Moreover, you also get a lot of worksheets and useful questions meant to help you apply the techniques in a better way. In addition, there are many tips and tricks about setbacks that you can encouter during therapy and roadblocks towards recovery.
A great book 100% worth reading. 💓💓💓

[Khalil · Rating 5 out of 5]

C’est un livre écrit par une personne qui connaît son sujet.

Ce livre recouvre toute les pathologies susceptibles d’être traitées par les TTC. Dans un chapitrage concis et méthodique, riche d’astuces et d’exemples, il aidera le lecteur à mieux comprendre son fonctionnement psychique m’étant l’accent sur l’importance des idées et des pensées dans la genèse des émotions négatives et des comportements problèmes.

J’approuve ce livre qui m’a appris plein de choses.

[Olafs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful if you want to stay two steps ahead of your therapist.

[MK · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are suffering from depression, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or schizophrenia, intensive reading of Chapter 5 below will calm your symptoms.

It is difficult for a mentally unstable person to read the Dummies series of books intensively.
The Dummies series are basically long explanations with many unnecessary sections.

The following five points are the most important.

Chapter 5: Where's Your Head At? Controlling Your Concentration
Aiming Your Attention
Training Yourself in Task Concentration
Finding Your Focus
Making Your Mind More Mindful
Living in the present
Suspending judgment
Getting off the thought train
Identifying when to ignore yourself
Mindfully mundane

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a method of establishing yourself in a different way of thinking than you currently do.

If you are suffering from mental illness, it is important to learn more about "Making Your Mind More Mindful" and practice "Living in the present”.

You can live a brighter life if you just stop being delusional.

[Lokomotywa · Rating 2 out of 5]

"it was ok" is the label goodreads gives for two stars, so that's what this book gets

[Carrie Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a big dummies fan. I LOVE to learn new things and start at the root of the subject. This book lives up to that reputation and delivers. This book has given me incredible insight to my own methods of processing and comprehending everyday scenarios and awaken me to how others think and process things as well. Very informative and helpful. A+.

[Roxane Lapa · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are suffering from an anxiety disorder, depression, or similar mood disturbance, but don't want to take SSRI drugs and antidepressants, this book is incredibly helpful. It contains various psychological exercises to help you overcome negative thought patterns and behaviour, and shows you how to set goals so that you can move forward to emotional freedom.

[Book Dragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is and is going to be on-going and "return to" book with all the work sheets and it's a great addition to the original CBT book.

[Iola Shaw · Rating 1 out of 5]

struggling with this books style - it's somewhat patronising, the stuff its saying is good and resonates strongly, but I find the examples hit a duff note with me.