Cognitive Behavioural Therapy For Dummies

[Black_Widow]

I picked this one up recently, and personally have found it to be one of the most well explained useful self help books on CBT I've read, and a big improvement over most of the other self help books I've tried reading before. Would highly recommend it:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cognitive-Be.../dp/0470018380

[Drew]

Thanks for sharing!

Does it have a section that specifically addresses social anxiety disorder?

[Black_Widow]

Originally Posted by Drew

Thanks for sharing!

Does it have a section that specifically addresses social anxiety disorder?

No probs

There's not a chapter that specifically goes in-depth into Social Anxiety (which I do think is a bit unfortunate) but at the same time it does have a chapter called Standing Up to Anxiety and Facing Fear and does briefly mention a bit about Social Anxiety along with other types of anxiety problems such as agoraphobia, panic attacks and post-traumatic stress disorder. There's also many things suggested in the book which can be applied to types of social anxiety problems such as overcoming obstacles to progress, identifying toxic thoughts and tackling them, refocusing and retraining awareness, setting goals for change, tackling deep rooted problematic beliefs and developing healthier alternatives (there's alot of really useful information included on how to do that) designing and conducting behavioural experiments and tackling low self esteem amongst some other things too. I think it's really well written and definitely one of the most comprehensive self books I've read so far. It also gives quite a bit of information on how to successfully track down a CBT therapist who is adequately trained in dealing with anxiety disorders - which I've also found very useful.

Another thing I'll mention, in case it's of any help to anyone at all, is that there's also another book in the Dummies series which is just specifically on anxiety. While some of the things described in it, are also covered in the book I've mentioned above (and in my opinion are explained better in the other one) it does also include sections on things like relaxation exercises, increasing exercise activity, suggestions on improving sleep as well as chapters on herbs & dietary supplements/information on different types of medication. As well as some suggestions on how to deal with relapse. For this reason I've found it very helpful to read both books. Will include the link to the other one here as well, in case anyone might find that useful to check out too:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Overcoming-A.../dp/0470511761

[R4ph4el]

My therapist just copied the chapter on self-esteem out of this book for me, she says it's a very good book on CBT so I'm probably going to buy the book later on.

[Black_Widow]

Good for you, hope that you find it helpful

[socially inept]

Originally Posted by Black_Widow

I picked this one up recently, and personally have found it to be one of the most well explained useful self help books on CBT I've read, and a big improvement over most of the other self help books I've tried reading before. Would highly recommend it:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cognitive-Be.../dp/0470018380

this book is abslutely diobolical. i ordered from the libary, cos of your recommendation, and when it arrived i anticipatedly and excitedly opened it expecting bigs things but after 5 mins mins i found myself saying ''this book is terrible''

im halfway through it now ad im extremey unimpressed. it does a terribe job at explaining things. for example the type of thoughts like mind reading, fortune tlling etc... it doesnt explain them well enough for you to undersatnd what they mean

near the start o the book it says ''write down your beleifs on a piece of paper'' and i thought to myself''how the hell is anyone who as never read anything about thoughts supposed to know what the hell a beleif is''. the only reason i knew is cos ive read other books int he past , but before i read those i didnt know what a beleif was .

ive got another dummies book , its the nlp one and that too is awfl, it does nlp a lot of injustice

absolute garbage , one hell of a let down of a book

[socially inept]

Originally Posted by socially inept

this book is abslutely diobolical. i ordered from the libary, cos of your recommendation, and when it arrived i anticipatedly and excitedly opened it expecting bigs things but after 5 mins mins i found myself saying ''this book is terrible''

im halfway through it now ad im extremey unimpressed. it does a terribe job at explaining things. for example the type of thoughts like mind reading, fortune tlling etc... it doesnt explain them well enough for you to undersatnd what they mean

near the start o the book it says ''write down your beleifs on a piece of paper'' and i thought to myself''how the hell is anyone who as never read anything about thoughts supposed to know what the hell a beleif is''. the only reason i knew is cos ive read other books int he past , but before i read those i didnt know what a beleif was .

ive got another dummies book , its the nlp one and that too is awfl, it does nlp a lot of injustice

absolute garbage , one hell of a let down of a book

maybe i have made a snap judgement here and been a bit to harsh. i read more of the book yesterday and got to the section on beleifs etc... which i thought was quite good. the book does get better in the second half of it but i thought the first half was awful

there is lots of useful info in the second half of the book and the book isnt bad but i do have a few probelms with it:

*1st half is awful
*it doesnt do a good job at explaining automatic neg thoughts
*it presumes you know what safety behaviours are, it doesnt even explain what they are. it just says ''be sure not to use saftey behavuiours during exposure''. and im sure many people readin it would say ''o great that f*cking helps cos u havent even told me what a safety behaviour is ''

some usefu info but on the whole maybe a bit disapointing

[pboy]

I think I've seen this book in shops, or maybe it was the newer workbook version, and Im sure it has a section in it about focus of attention? Just curious.

[socially inept]

Originally Posted by pboy

I think I've seen this book in shops, or maybe it was the newer workbook version, and Im sure it has a section in it about focus of attention? Just curious.

yes it does have a section of attention focus but its nothing special and nothing nobody else has ever told you .

every single thing ive read about attention focus and self concious all say the same thing - focus on sounds, visuals etc... outside of yourself instead of whats going on internally

nobody ever gives you a fabulous technique to use , not even on the mindfulnness or atention websites.

its always just common sense, look outside urself instead of inside

[leonardess]

I've picked this up along with the workbook just last night. I started reading right away. already i've found it incredibly helpful.

[Black_Widow]

@ Socially Inept

That is indeed a pity that you've not found the book helpful. I had a very different experience from reading it - although perhaps it helped that in addition I've also read the other Dummies self help books on Depression and Anxiety - as both explained certain things that this one didn't. I found it much better to put together a clear idea of how CBT works when it comes to depression and anxiety as a result of reading all 3. Still, I have to say that I didn't have a problem at all with understanding the things written in this book - I found the style of writing very easy to understand and thought it explained things very well. I guess though different types of books suit different peoples needs. And so what might be personally helpful to me, isn't necessary going to be as helpful to someone else - seeing as different peoples experiences of SA vary. Maybe it's worth asking around at your local library to see what other kinds of books are available - as that way you can check them out before deciding to buy them without wasting your money. Or at least, check out copies of which books you're interested in, in your local book stores. Sometimes you can also find online excerpts of self help book text - which can also give you a good idea of whether or not a particular book is likely to be personally helpful to you before you decide whether or not to buy it.

Originally Posted by socially inept

im halfway through it now ad im extremey unimpressed. it does a terribe job at explaining things. for example the type of thoughts like mind reading, fortune tlling etc... it doesnt explain them well enough for you to undersatnd what they mean

I personally found that Chapter 2: Spotting Errors in your thinking gave alot of useful information on spotting thinking errors. As well as identifying the various different types i.e. Catastophising, All or Nothing Thinking, Fortune Telling, Mind Reading, Emotional Reasoning, Overgeneralising etc, I noticed that under each section examples of how these types of thinking might work in a life situation were given - in addition to tips as to how to deal with each type of thinking error. True, the author didn't give a long winded description of each of these - but I personally didn't think that this was something that was actually necessary. As found I could easily understand the ideas behind what was being described without this - although then again I guess that's just me.

Originally Posted by socially inept

near the start o the book it says ''write down your beleifs on a piece of paper'' and i thought to myself''how the hell is anyone who as never read anything about thoughts supposed to know what the hell a beleif is''. the only reason i knew is cos ive read other books int he past , but before i read those i didnt know what a beleif was .

There are 2 chapters covering the area of tackling deep rooted negative beliefs. Chapter 14: Taking a Fresh Look at Your Past - which is aimed at identifying these beliefs and giving an idea of different ways that this can affect your perception of yourself and the world you live in. And Chapter 15: Moving New Beliefs from Your Head to Your Heart - which is aimed at developing alternative healthier beliefs to your unhealthy negative one's, giving various suggestions on how to approach this.

Originally Posted by socially inept

*it presumes you know what safety behaviours are, it doesnt even explain what they are. it just says ''be sure not to use saftey behavuiours during exposure''. and im sure many people readin it would say ''o great that f*cking helps cos u havent even told me what a safety behaviour is ''

Have you yet checked out Chapter 7: Identifying Solutions that Cause You Problems? That section covers quite a bit of info on some specific types of unhelpful safety behaviours that people resort to in an attempt to deal with their anxiety - to help give the reader an idea of the types of things that are likely contributing towards making their problems worse.

Originally Posted by pboy

I think I've seen this book in shops, or maybe it was the newer workbook version, and Im sure it has a section in it about focus of attention? Just curious.

Yes it does. Chapter 5: Pay Attention! Refocusing and Retraining your Awareness.

While admittedly, this is a fairly short chapter - it does offer quite a few suggestions on how to approach this. It suggests a few concentration exercises - using listening, speaking, graded practice tecniques - as well as some other suggestions including on tuning in to tasks and surroundings, being present in the moment and allowing unwanted thoughts to pass by without engaging with them. You may or might not find the suggestions helpful - but I'd say they are definitely worth checking out if you're a beginner (such as myself) at trying these kind of techniques out, if it's possible for you to do so.

[dutchguy]

I think this book is interessting but now going to solve your SA.
But i have to say this book can give you more inside information about your self. And you see the root causes of your problems. Witch van be helpfull

[sublimit]

Thanks for the reviews! I've seen this book and thought about buying it since I'm interested in learning more about cbt approaches to treating anxiety. I think I might hold off though; I already bought two other self-help books, and they're only a small step towards getting better.

[britisharrow]

I've heard generally good things about this book, I might as well pick it up off marketplace.

[Fuzzy Logic]

This has to be one of the most unfortunately titles books ever printed.

[Black_Widow]

I'm sorry to know that not everyone who's posted in here has found my recommendation helpful. I personally had a different experience with this book - in terms of coming to better understand how to put certain CBT concepts into practice anyways. But then again I do acknowledge that what I find helpful/useful isn't going to be the same as what every single other person on here finds helpful/useful when it comes to tackling their specific problems. We all have our different needs and expectations.

For those who didn't find this of any help, I wish you the best of luck in finding an alternative self help book which you personally find works better for you. There are plenty of others to choose from out there so don't give up hope!

[Drew]

Originally Posted by Black_Widow

I'm sorry to know that not everyone who's posted in here has found my recommendation helpful. I personally had a different experience with this book - in terms of coming to better understand how to put certain CBT concepts into practice anyways. But then again I do acknowledge that what I find helpful/useful isn't going to be the same as what every single other person on here finds helpful/useful when it comes to tackling their specific problems. We all have our different needs and expectations.

For those who didn't find this of any help, I wish you the best of luck in finding an alternative self help book which you personally find works better for you. There are plenty of others to choose from out there so don't give up hope!

Very well said!

[paradox002]

WOW im surprised lol i cant believe they made a book about cbt im definitely picking one up thanks for the info!!!!!

[Black_Widow]

No probs Drew

@ Paradox

Hope you find the book helpful I would advise checking it out first at the library, or maybe reading a couple of excerpts first online, if you can. As that way you're likely to get a better idea of whether it's likely to be helpful for you in advance. Hope you find it useful!