Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - CBT Therapy

 
 
 
CBT Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a type of psychotherapy that is commonly used to help adjust people’s behavior and emotions, through the process of identifying and changing their negative thoughts and destructive behavioral patterns. Often, people struggle with automatic negative thoughts that can quickly lead to more serious emotional and mental difficulties. The practice of CBT therapy targets those automatic negative thoughts and helps the person to reconceptualize their thinking, leading to a more healthy, productive and positive way of functioning. Our thinking has a powerful bearing on our ability to function; more-so than many realize. Through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, you can harness your thoughts and utilize them to live a more fulfilling life.

CBT is built on a foundation surrounding several core principles. Some of the primary core principles include: 

  • Psychological challenges are caused by negative or destructive ways of thinking.

  • Psychological challenges are caused by unhealthy learned behavior and patterns.

  • If those suffering with psychological challenges work to discover better coping skills for their negative thinking and unhealthy patterns, they can successfully reduce symptoms of mental health conditions – allowing them to live a more functional life.

What is CBT Used For?

CBT is often a short-term course of treatment to help individuals adjust their habits and patterns and offer them a better way to cope with their life in the future. It is a widely-used and highly-successful type of talk therapy and is used to treat a variety of mental health conditions and circumstances.

    • Addiction or Substance Use Disorders

    • Anger management issues

    • Depression

    • Anxiety Disorders

    • Bipolar Disorders

    • Personality Disorders

    • Panic Attacks

    • PTSD

    • Eating Disorders

    • Body Dysmorphic Disorder

    • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

    • Social Anxiety

    • Chronic pain

    • Trauma

    • Grief or Loss 

    • Divorce or break-up

    • Sleep troubles

    • Relationship or marital struggles

    • Low Self-Esteem

CBT is used extensively in individual counseling, as well as couples counseling and family therapy. It is an incredibly popular therapeutic technique because it helps the individual to focus on the challenges they are facing currently and how to adjust their thinking to be healthier moving forward.

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Types of CBT

There are several psychotherapy types that are categorized under Cognitive Behavioral Therapies. These therapies are all talk-therapy, or psychotherapy, and are classified as “short-term” treatments. Though short-term can mean a 12-week course of treatment or even a treatment plan as long as 52 weeks. Each condition has a baseline time frame for treatment but depending on the patient’s circumstances and the severity of their condition, a practitioner can and will adjust that timeline to better suit the needs of the individual.

Some forms of CBT you may become familiar with or come across in therapy are: 

  • Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)

  • Cognitive Therapy (CT)

  • Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)

  • Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

  • Stress Inoculation Training (SIT)

  • Exposure Therapy

When you’re struggling with your mental health or facing a hardship in life, it’s hard to know what kind of therapy or treatment is best for you. The process of even beginning therapy to begin with can feel daunting, overwhelming and intimidating. It’s important to know that you don’t have to make these decisions alone. If you choose to meet with a mental health professional, such as a licensed therapist, you will have the opportunity to share with them what you are experiencing, and with their knowledge and expertise they can help develop the most beneficial course of treatment for you. Therapy is not a one-size-fits-all protocol, but because there is such an extensive amount of cognitive behavioral therapy methods, your provider is sure to find the best technique to help support you.

 

CBT Techniques

CBT focuses on identifying thought patterns and negative or unhelpful thinking, as well as focusing on finding tools and strategies to help overcome these thoughts. Beyond that, you will then practice new coping skills and healthy ways to cope with the challenges in your life. There are several techniques involved in CBT treatment, and of course it is highly dependent on your specific needs and challenges which ones your therapist will suggest. However, the general structure of CBT remains consistent for every person and every situation.

  • Understanding the weight of our thoughts and their power over how we live our life is the foundation to CBT. So usually, the first step in CBT treatment is to work with your therapist to identify negative thoughts and work to restructure them. Constant automatic negative thoughts lead to cognitive distortion.

    If you are experiencing cognitive distortion, you are noticing things like:

    • Always assuming the worst in others

    • Constant jumping to conclusions

    • Viewing everything as catastrophic

    • A negative mindset

    The negative thought patterns that exist in your mind change your understanding and view of reality. In cognitive restructuring, you work to identify those thoughts specifically and then adjust and change them to be based in positivity and reality.

  • In addition to restructuring your thoughts and behavior patterns, in CBT you will learn healthier and more productive ways to cope with challenges. Together with your CBT therapist, you will discover coping mechanisms, self-regulation practices and overall healthier ways of viewing, processing and navigating life. You will work to figure out what your new coping skills are and then implement them into your daily life.

  • An integral part of any therapy journey is goal-setting; but that is especially so in the practice of CBT. Your therapist will guide you to discover your own personal goals, both long and short term. Setting goals allows you to have a clear “finish line” that you are working toward, so that you and your therapist both are clear on where exactly you would like to be at the end of the process. Of course, the focus for CBT is just as much on the process as it is achieving the goal.

    Your therapist will help you to set SMART goals that are achievable and realistic:

    • Specific

    • Measurable

    • Attainable 

    • Relevant 

    • Time-Based 

    The goal for your work with your CBT therapist is to be able to achieve the goals you’ve set by the end of your work together; whether that is reducing your symptoms of mental illness, becoming sober from a substance addiction or functioning successfully in your job or relationships. The goals exist to measure your success and growth.

  • In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy practices, one of the biggest skills that is focused on is problem-solving. As life is full of challenges, both big and small, it is an important part of coping to be equipped to navigate those difficulties.

    Generally, there are five core steps involved in problem-solving. They are:

    1. Identifying a problem

    2. Generating a list of possible solutions

    3. Evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of each possible solution

    4. Choosing a solution to implement

    5. Implementing the solution

    You will practice those problem-solving steps in your sessions with your therapist and gain the confidence and knowledge to implement them in your daily life outside of therapy.

  • This important step of CBT is what allows your therapist to have a complete understanding of what is occurring in your daily life that they can’t be present for. Self-monitoring often happens in the form of journaling or diary entries, where the individual keeps track of and records their thoughts, emotions, behaviors, experiences and symptoms over time. Having these factors monitored will allow your therapist to have insight into your progress, in order to provide you with the best treatment.

 

The Benefits of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

CBT has been known to be an extremely accessible, popular and successful form of psychotherapy. It appeals to many different people and their individual circumstances and has been used to treat an array of mental illnesses – being equally successful for all. If you are currently in a position to seek individual therapy or treatment for a mental health condition or other challenges, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy could very-well be something to consider.

Our staff of mental health professionals are ready to meet with you in-person or virtually, to discuss the
right course of treatment for you.

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