Unsupported online, computer or app-based CBT

Cognitive behavioural therapy, or CBT for short, is a kind of talking therapy that mental health professionals use to address depression and anxiety. The aim of CBT is to help you deal with problems in a more positive way by breaking them down into smaller parts. It focuses on what’s happening here and now, rather than past experiences.

But there are other ways you can access CBT – there are courses of CBT online which you can access without the support of a mental health professional, as well as CBT apps for your phone or tablet. Some of these you might try on your own, others are designed for young people to use with the support of a teacher or family member.

There isn’t much academic research in the area of self-care for young people who are living with mental health issues. We are trying to find out more about what works for different people so we can better advise other young people what to try.

If you’ve tried this activity when you were struggling in relation to your mental health, please let us know if it helped you and how by clicking on the ‘Did this activity help you’ button.