What Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a treatment used by therapists to help the patient identify negative or unhelpful thought patterns.They also help them recognize behavioral patterns.

This form of psychological treatment has been proven to be effective in treating depression, anxiety, and even helping married couples.

Many therapists have also used it with people dealing with anger issues.

Before deciding if this type of therapy is right for you, here are a few more things you must know about CBT.

Key Concepts of CBT

The core concepts of CBT help make it a unique treatment from other forms of psychological treatment. It is largely based on the idea that the way you think and feel about something could affect your actions. However, these thoughts and behavior patterns can be changed with the help of various CBT techniques. Psychological problems are based in part on unhelpful ways of thinking and learned patterns of unhelpful behavior. But in CBT, people could improve their problems by learning better ways to cope with and manage them.

Types of Techniques in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Therapists who specialize in this treatment like to utilize various interesting techniques to treat your condition. Depending on your condition, they'll work with you to find one that's best for you. Some of these techniques could involve learning a new skill like problem-solving, gaining more confidence in your self-worth, engaging in mindfulness exercises, or learning how to face your fears. Other good examples of CBT techniques involve:

• Journaling- Some therapists may have you write down the negative beliefs that you may have of yourself. They may also have you replace those negative thoughts with more positive ones.
• Cognitive restructuring- This technique is usually for patients going through cognitive distortions, which are damaging or problematic thinking patterns. A therapist will discuss with you how these thinking patterns started and how it affects your self-esteem. They will then try to help you change the way you think about certain situations that cause your cognitive distortions.
• Thought recording- Therapists like to utilize this pen-and-paper exercise to help people record their thoughts and feelings about a situation. The patient will then come up with evidence to support and not support their negative beliefs. This will help them put together a realistic view of their current situation.

Guided discovery and questioning- In this technique, a therapist will work with you to start challenging your negative thoughts and consider other viewpoints. As you start to examine the assumptions you have about yourself, you will also start to question them as well.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Other forms of therapy

While CBT is one of the most well-known forms of treatment for mental health and dealing with a life-changing situation such as a divorce, there are other forms of therapy that many people choose to get involved with instead. They and their therapist may feel that CBT isn't particularly right for their problem. So they will decide to go with a treatment that may help them deal with their problems better. Some examples of these other forms of therapy include psychodynamic therapy, behavioral therapy, and humanistic therapy. Let's learn about how these therapy treatments are different from CBT and what mental health conditions or other issues are these therapies effective at treating.

• Psychodynamic therapy- This treatment is a little similar to CBT, but it has more of a longer-term approach to mental health treatment. Psychodynamic treatment was created from psychoanalysis to help you identify patterns in your thoughts and behavior. As you examine your thought patterns, emotions, and relationships, you'll start to learn about the connection between your actions and your unconscious mind. Therapists like to utilize this treatment to address eating disorders, depression, and substance abuse problems.

• Behavior therapy- This form of treatment is different from CBT in that it is more action-oriented. Your therapist will work with you to help you identify ways to change your behavioral patterns and reactions that are causing you distress. You don't start looking at your unconscious mind like you do with psychodynamic therapy. You start taking action to change the habits that are causing your issues. People with depression, anger issues, ADHD, and OCD have found this therapy to be effective.

• Humanistic therapy- What makes this treatment different from the others is that it isn't based on treating a specific condition. It's based on helping you develop as a whole. Humanistic therapy is a mental health observation that's based on the way you view the world and affects your choices and actions in life. This form of therapy allows you to better understand your views and how you can develop true self-acceptance. It is helpful for the therapist in identifying feelings of worthlessness, self-esteem issues, and depression in a person.

Based on your mental health condition or other personal situation, your therapist will work with you to find a treatment that's right for you.

Conclusion

Many experts consider cognitive behavioral therapy as being the best form of therapy for mental health conditions and when dealing with other personal issues. Studies from 2020 in Journal of Medical Internet Research and 2021 in The Lancet show that the new virtual-based therapy has been effective in treating people's conditions. However, more research is needed to see how to best treat people this way and if a combined plan of in-person and virtual CBT treatment is needed. A 2018 study from the Journal of Anxiety Disorders has shown CBT as being effective in treating young people's emotional issues as well.

Therapy sessions are usually shorter for patients engaging in CBT. You can expect to only engage in five to 20 sessions. Another great aspect of CBT is that the sessions are affordable, especially if you start engaging in a mindfulness-based CBT group format. Useful skills can be learned in CBT sessions such as problem-solving and assertiveness. These skills can be useful when handling projects and assignments at work or just dealing with everyday issues. To find out if CBT or any other therapy treatment is right for you, please contact a doctor or mental health professional today.

Resources

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: What is It and How Does it Work?-https://www.healthline.com/health/cognitive-behavioral-therapy.

Blended Care Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression-https://www.jmir.org/2020/7/e18723/.

Dismantling, optimising cognitive behavioral therapy for depression-https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(21)00077-8/fulltext.