ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) as an evidence-based treatment for non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP). CBT is a psychological therapy with proven effectiveness as a treatment for a wide range of physical and mental health conditions. CBT is based on understanding how people think and act and how thinking and acting affect emotional and physical well-being. CBT fits well with the biopsychosocial approach because it deals with interactions between thoughts, emotions, behaviours, physical sensations and the social environment. CBT grew out of psychoanalysis and behaviour therapy and was pioneered by Albert Ellis in the 1950s and Aaron Beck in the 1970s. Aaron Beck developed a cognitive model of depression based on the idea that cognition plays a central role in psychological distress. Anxiety disorders are characterized by distress associated with anxious thinking, avoidance, safety behaviours and reassurance seeking. CBT has grown in popularity as a treatment of choice for chronic pain.
