According to the professionals of lionheartpsychology.ca, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a psychotherapy that helps individuals learn how to recognize and change negative thoughts that affect their feelings and behaviors. CBT is an important method in clinical psychology, used to treat people with a broad range of mental health problems, including depression, anxiety and substance abuse. You can receive cognitive behavioral therapy from a licensed psychologist in your area.
What is cognitive behavioral therapy?
CBT focuses on changing your automatic negative thoughts that cause and exacerbate your bad moods, emotional struggles, depression or anxiety. In CBT, your psychologist helps you learn to identify, challenge and replace negative thoughts with objective ones. You learn to see your experiences without automatic negative judgment that affects your feelings and behaviors.
However, CBT does not stop with just identifying your negative thought patterns. It also uses multiple methods of overcoming these thoughts. Your therapy may involve journaling, relaxation techniques, role play or mental distractions. By learning to change your negative thought patterns and developing new coping strategies, you experience improvement in all areas of your life. This is why CBT is considered a major tool in clinical psychology.
CBT Types
Within the realm of cognitive behavioral therapy there are a range of techniques and methods. Each of these focus on addressing your thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Some methods take place in structured psychotherapy sessions. Others provide self-help methods for personal growth.
Some types of cognitive behavioral therapy include:
- Cognitive therapy
- Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
- Multimodal therapy
- Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT)
Each type of CBT uses its own unique approach. But all methods work to improve the negative thought patterns that cause or add to psychological problems.
Who benefits from CBT?
CBT works well as a short-term treatment method. It helps people identify specific problems and teaches them how to focus on how their thoughts and beliefs affect daily feelings and behaviors.
CBT works well for a range of conditions. These include:
- Substance abuse
- Anger
- Anxiety
- Bipolar disorder
- Depression
- Personality disorders
- Eating disorders
- Panic attacks
- Phobias
- Stress
CBT focuses on specific goals. Therapists work closely with their clients to achieve these goals. The process often involves homework for completion between sessions.
Results and Impact
CBT works because it deals directly with the thoughts and feelings that affect behaviors. In this therapy, your psychologist teaches you that you cannot control the world around you, but you can control how you see and deal with things in your environment.
CBT became popular in the 1990s. It has only grown in its acceptance and widespread use because it provides clear results. Reasons why CBT is so popular include:
- Its methods encourage engagement in healthier thought patterns
- CBT works effectively as a short-term treatment method
- It works well in people not requiring psychotropic medication
- Research proves CBT is effective in helping patients overcome a variety of maladaptive behaviors
- CBT is more affordable than other therapy types
- It helps individuals build coping skills for ongoing use in everyday life
CBT Strategies
CBT works because it focuses on how people often have thoughts or feelings that reinforce negative beliefs. These beliefs can lead to negative behaviors that affect daily living. Because of negative thought patterns, you can damage your family life, romantic relationships, schooling and work.
Strategies for CBT include:
- Identifying negative thoughts
- Practicing new skills
- Setting goals
- Problem solving
- Self-monitoring
- Progressing gradually
Throughout all of these processes and steps you work closely with your therapist. Therapy also takes place over the short term with almost immediate effects with full client participation. You can expect real life improvement when following your therapist’s lead and enacting the changes learned through your cognitive behavioral therapy.