About Cognitive Functional Therapy

Cognitive Functional Therapy – physiotherapy in partnership with you

Cognitive Functional Therapy (CFT) is a different approach to dealing with your pain. Developed from decades of research on how our bodies work, CFT looks at the whole person rather than treating your symptoms in isolation.

This progression in physiotherapy answered all of my frustrations with traditional treatments when I was first introduced to it in 2009.

We know that people in pain benefit from understanding why it’s happening, have a means to control it and a plan to achieve your meaningful goals. CFT ticks all these boxes. It partners with you to make sense of your problem so you can get back to doing the things you love.

How is CFT different from traditional physiotherapy?

When you visit a physiotherapist, they generally perform hands-on treatment that focuses on the symptoms of your pain, such as manipulating or massaging the area or giving you exercises to do.

While this may provide short-term relief, many people find that the pain returns. This can lead to a cycle of regular treatment or an escalation in the type of treatment you need, resulting in medication or surgery when the physio is no longer working.

The problem is this takes a ‘one size fits all’ approach, applying the same techniques in the same way, whatever your issue. It is essentially like sticking a plaster over your immediate symptoms.

CFT recognises that pain is more complex than that. There can be many different factors contributing to the problem or acting as barriers to your recovery, such as:

  • Movements
  • Behaviours
  • Beliefs
  • Life circumstances

With CFT, we look at the underlying causes of your pain and how your body is working as a whole, providing solutions that are tailored to your unique situation.

The science of CFT

We think of pain as signifying damage of some kind, triggered by a specific event such as an injury or illness. But the evidence shows that there is a lot more going on.

When people feel pain, this is interpreted as a threat. Our thoughts can change how our body moves and how we behave, as we alter our movements consciously or unconsciously to protect a part that we believe is damaged. This can end up prolonging the problem. The longer the pain continues, the more we protect and this can lead to a cycle of chronic pain, where the changes your body is making to protect itself actually become part of the issue.

A CFT assessment identifies the core reasons for these problems and then provides a structured plan to help you make the necessary changes to overcome this.

Research on CFT shows it significantly improves not only pain but also disability, depression, anxiety, fear and self-efficacy. A large gold-standard trial in 2013 demonstrated substantial benefits of CFT over traditional care. These improvements remained at 15 months and there was a patient satisfaction rating of 96%.

Helping you to unlock your pain

It’s important to understand that this is not a passive process. Unlike traditional physiotherapy, you are an active partner in CFT. With my support, you can take control of your own pain recovery, learning the tools to help you deal with this for lasting results.  

Find out more about my approach or contact me to arrange an appointment.