Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a short-term therapy technique used by counselors and therapists to teach individuals to change their unwanted behaviors by changing their thought patterns.
The premise of cognitive behavioral therapy is that our thought patterns (cognition) and interpretations of life events greatly influence how we behave and, ultimately, how we feel.
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What is CBT?
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on how your thoughts, beliefs and attitudes affect your feelings and behavior. CBT aims to teach you effective coping strategies for dealing with different problems throughout life.
CBT can help you make sense of overwhelming problems by breaking them down into smaller parts.
One of the key tenets of CBT is that distorted thinking leads to distress and problematic behaviors, whereas thinking realistically with less negativity allows individuals to respond to challenging life circumstances in an effective way.1
Research shows this technique is an effective therapy for not only depression and panic disorder, but many illnesses and dysfunctional behaviors.2
Successful cognitive behavioral therapy sessions consist of a healthy collaboration between the counselor and the individual receiving therapy.
Additionally, this therapy involves clear identification of the problem, establishing attainable goals, empathic communication, frequent feedback, reality checks, homework assignments, and teaching individuals to use learned tools to promote positive behavioral change and growth.
Background of CBT
Cognitive behavioral therapy was initially modeled 40 years ago to treat depression. There are now effective cognitive-behavioral models for treating panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety, insomnia, social phobia, childhood depression, anger, marital conflict, substance abuse, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, borderline personality, dental phobia, eating disorders, and many other mental and physical conditions.3
CBT aims to stop negative cycles of thought by breaking down things that make you feel bad, anxious or scared.
Recent research suggests that CBT has greater effectiveness than medications for the treatment of some cases of insomnia.4 CBT can be used for virtually any maladaptive behavior where thoughts and beliefs (cognition) play an important role.
CBT emphasizes the need to identify, challenge, and change how a situation is viewed.
According to CBT, our pattern of thinking is like wearing a pair of glasses that makes us see the world in a specific way. CBT creates an awareness of how these thought patterns create our reality and determine how we behave.
Dr. Aaron T. Beck, a pioneer in CBT, explains that the perceptions and interpretations of depressed persons are distorted.5 Depressed individuals are likely to engage in "cognitive errors," such as a negative mindset, jumping to conclusions, catastrophizing, and thinking only in black and white.
Beck noted that these errors in thinking were automatic thoughts that came spontaneously; the individual accepted them as truths instead of distortions. CBT focuses on modifying the automatic thought by challenging the validity of the thoughts against reality. When an individual stops negative, self-depreciating and catastrophic thinking, their distress decreases and they are better able to function in the desired way.
On the next page, we look at how cognitive behavioral therapy works.