What Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?
Cognitive behavioral therapy, also known as CBT, is a type of psychotherapy that can help individuals replace negative thinking with positivity when it comes to hard situations. This type of therapy brings light to the unhelpful and negative thoughts we have daily and focuses on how a more positive approach can have a huge impact on everything we do.
The benefits of cognitive behavioral therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy can be used to help treat many different disorders, as well as help individuals cope with stressful situations in their day-to-day lives. A few disorders CBT could help treat are depression, sleep, and eating disorders, bipolar disorders, and schizophrenia, among others. However, CBT can also be extremely beneficial for helping us cope with any emotional trauma, such as loss, abuse, or relationship conflicts.
How is CBT different from other therapy options?
There are many different types of therapy available today, which can make it challenging to know which one is right for you. CBT shares characteristics with other psychotherapy methods, but the emphasis on how we perceive negative situations as opposed to the situations themselves sets it apart from others.
This therapy helps individuals focus on correcting patterns of negative thinking they are currently experiencing, as opposed to previous experiences they have come across in their past. CBT is also a short-term therapy and often consists of 10 to 20 sessions in a course-like structure. Having this type of structured plan and approach that includes an end date helps provide a sense of stability and clear expectations.
Unlike other therapy options, CBT does not usually include the use of medication. This greatly decreases the amount of risk for this specific therapy option, especially when treating chronic pain. Opioids are often prescribed for chronic pain, which can have negative repercussions such as negative side effects, addiction, or even death caused by overuse.
What to expect during a CBT session
Any type of therapy can be an intimidating situation to enter into without knowing exactly what to expect. CBT can either include one-on-one sessions between you and your therapist or sessions with groups of other people. These groups can either include other individuals that are struggling with similar issues or can also contain your friends or family members.
Since CBT is a short-term therapy option, the amount and length of sessions will be determined after meeting with your therapist and assessing your needs. During these sessions, your cognitive-behavioral therapist will work to help you identify the stressful situations you are struggling with, bring awareness of how your thoughts and emotions affect these situations, and help reshape any negative or inaccurate thoughts about these situations.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy techniques
Cognitive-behavioral therapy aims to help individuals change their ideas, not just identify them. Some of the techniques include:
Discover negative thought patterns
Understanding how ideas, attitudes, and events may lead to unhelpful actions is critical. This process may be tough, particularly for those who have trouble with introspection. However, discovering negative thought patterns is a vital component of the therapy process and can lead to valuable insights.
Adopt new skills
Patients will benefit from developing new abilities that are applicable in the actual world. For example, practicing how to avoid or cope with social settings that might lead to relapse is an example of a behavioral change that can be implemented in treating substance use disorder.
Goal-setting
Goal setting can help patients make the adjustments needed for desired outcomes as part of their rehabilitation from mental illness. CBT can help patients learn goal-setting skills to discover goals, differentiate between short-term and long-term objectives, develop SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based) objectives, and place equal emphasis on the journey and the destination.
Problem-solving
Developing problem-solving skills may help patients deal with both large and small pressures in their life, and it can also help them avoid or lessen the adverse effects of mental and physical illness.
Self-monitoring
Self-monitoring entails keeping a record of behavior, symptoms, or experiences and discussing it with the therapist. Self-monitoring may include keeping notes of one's eating habits and the emotions and feelings accompanying each meal or snack.
Do you think you might benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy?
In today's world, stressful situations and challenges impact us all daily. Taking care of our emotional and mental health is an extremely important matter that should not be ignored. Cognitive behavioral therapy can be an effective therapy and counseling tool no matter what emotional hurdle you face.
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