In recent years, the term Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) gets thrown around more and more often. In the world of psychologists, it seems to have cropped up and become prevalent in a relatively short period. So what is it, and what is the purpose of this therapy in treating mental health concerns like anxiety, depression and generally maladaptive behaviours?
What is CBT?
CBT is a form of therapy that focuses on the here-and-now, and it is often a temporary form of therapy. Further, it is a goal-oriented and problem-focused form of therapy that attempts to provide individuals with an outsider’s insight into their negative thought cycles and bad behaviours.
In particular, psychologists using CBT attempt to draw your attention to your own negative thoughts and develop strategies to counteract them. Why do we need help with seeing our problems? Well:
How CBT Helps
There are two essential processes at play in our brains; the emotional and rational. These have many names in psychological circles, from System 1 & 2 and limbic & higher-functioning systems to reptilian & mammalian and cognitive and primal. The basic concept, however, remains the same.
You have emotional triggers and responses to daily events and ongoing situations, and you have reasonable and logical responses at the same time. Depending on the significance of the trigger and your own ability to cope with your response, you may act more emotionally or more logically. CBT is the process of making more logical decisions more consistently.
What Does CBT Teach Me?
One of the main lessons you can learn from CBT is how to build evidence about your presuppositions, ideas and emotional responses. Let’s look at an example:
Ralph speaks with their partner, Sam, about going to the park on the weekend. Sam informs Ralph that they aren’t particularly interested and offers to do a movie date instead. Suppose that, in Ralph’s thoughts, they begin to craft a story about how “Sam always gets what they want” and “always hate doing activities Ralph suggests.” Pretty soon, Ralph is reacting in a hostile way to unrelated actions by Sam, and a rift begins to form in their relationship.
Seeking a resolution, Ralph volunteers to visit a psychologist and try to understand their emotional outbursts. In looking at this interaction, the psychologist comments on Ralph quickly jumping to conclusions and the lack of supporting evidence they have for Sam’s alleged behaviour. Ralph begins to understand that they might have been too quick to judge the situation and is now more capable of seeing their own cognitive biases a bit clearer.
This example illustrates just one way CBT can help individuals seeking to understand their actions and reduce their “cognitive blindspots.” Overall, the concept of CBT relies on bettering your “thinking” abilities, essentially.
To learn more about Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and how it can help your situation, consider speaking with a psychologist about your mental health concerns today. It is important that we all move towards understanding mental and physical health as two separate, yet interconnected, systems.