Cognitive Behavioral Therapy… What is it?
Keeping a thought record or journal can be helpful in tracking our negative thoughts and behaviors.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), is a therapeutic treatment that has been shown to be effective in treating anxiety, depression, substance use and abuse, marital problems, eating disorders and severe mental illness.
CBT is based on several core principles, including:
Psychological problems are based, in part, on faulty or unhelpful ways of thinking.
Psychological problems are based, in part, on learned patterns of unhelpful behavior.
People suffering from psychological problems can learn better ways of coping with them, thereby relieving their symptoms and becoming more effective in their lives.
CBT treatment usually involves efforts to change thinking patterns. These strategies might include:
Learning to recognize one’s distortions in thinking that are creating problems, and then to reevaluate them in light of reality.
Gaining a better understanding of the behavior and motivation of others.
Using problem-solving skills to cope with difficult situations.
Learning to develop a greater sense of confidence in one’s own abilities.
CBT treatment also usually involves efforts to change behavioral patterns. These strategies might include:
Facing one’s fears instead of avoiding them.
Using role playing to prepare for potentially problematic interactions with others.
Learning to calm one’s mind and relax one’s body.
(American Psychological Association)
Even though all of this is used in CBT, it is important to note that not all of these are included in individual treatment. The client and therapist work in collaboration to find the right combination/combinations of these interventions that best suit the client. In doing this the client learns to become their own therapist and be able to recognize negative thought and behavior patterns and change these things based on what the client has learned.
CBT focuses on what is presently going on in the client’s life currently instead of the events that may have led to these maladaptive thought or behavior patterns. While some historical information is needed for context, the primary focus /goal is to be able to move forward in the present.
If you are ready to move forward and conquer your negative thoughts and behaviors…
Source - American Psychological Association. (n.d.). American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/patients-and-families/cognitive-behavioral