While some people are content with reducing their symptoms, others want to know why they exist in the first place. For them, deeper approaches like psychodynamic therapy may be more satisfying. Have you ever kept a gratitude journal?
What about monitoring your donut intake? Have you tracked your daily steps or monitored your sleep? But for a course of CBT tailored to you and your issues, a period of time in structured therapy is still the best approach.
CBT is psychotherapy, so if your insurance covers psychotherapy or behavioral medicine, it should cover most, if not all, of your CBT therapy. Again, the length of time someone spends in treatment is generally less than other treatment approaches, so it may be cheaper in the long run. You can search for a therapist who practices CBT and fits your budget on a therapist finder website like Psychology Today or GoodTherapy.
Some clients may feel that they want therapy to be a place where they come and process their experiences with some gentle facilitation by their therapist. Their main goal may not be dealing with a specific symptom or problematic habit, but more about general growth and a long-term relationship with a therapist.
Maybe they want to explore their memories, dreams, and early relationships with guidance from their therapist. Given that CBT can be a more direct and practical style of therapy, it may not feel helpful for someone seeking that kind of deep, relational work. Having said that, many skilled therapists who practice CBT are very flexible with their approach, and can adjust to meet the needs of a variety of clients.
CBT is not without its critiques, as even Dr. Hsia admits. In the end, you need to find out what works best for you, and that might take some trial and error. Whether you receive CBT treatment or another method, the most important thing is that you feel a safe, trusting connection with your therapist and that the treatment makes sense to you. Ryan Howes, Ph. SELF does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Any information published on this website or by this brand is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional.
Health Chevron Mental Health Chevron. First, what the heck is CBT? What happens in a CBT session? If you have CBT on an individual basis, you'll usually meet with a CBT therapist for between 5 and 20 weekly or fortnightly sessions, with each session lasting 30 to 60 minutes.
Exposure therapy sessions usually last longer to ensure your anxiety reduces during the session. The therapy may take place:. Your CBT therapist can be any healthcare professional who has been specially trained in CBT, such as a psychiatrist, psychologist, mental health nurse or GP. The first few sessions will be spent making sure CBT is the right therapy for you, and that you're comfortable with the process. The therapist will ask questions about your life and background.
If you're anxious or depressed, the therapist will ask whether it interferes with your family, work and social life. They'll also ask about events that may be related to your problems, treatments you've had, and what you would like to achieve through therapy. If CBT seems appropriate, the therapist will let you know what to expect from a course of treatment.
If it's not appropriate, or you do not feel comfortable with it, they can recommend alternative treatments. After the initial assessment period, you'll start working with your therapist to break down problems into their separate parts. To help with this, your therapist may ask you to keep a diary or write down your thought and behaviour patterns. You and your therapist will analyse your thoughts, feelings and behaviours to work out if they're unrealistic or unhelpful and to determine the effect they have on each other and on you.
Your therapist will be able to help you work out how to change unhelpful thoughts and behaviours. After working out what you can change, your therapist will ask you to practise these changes in your daily life. This may involve:. At each session, you'll discuss with your therapist how you've got on with putting the changes into practice and what it felt like.
Your therapist will be able to make other suggestions to help you. Confronting fears and anxieties can be very difficult. Your therapist will not ask you to do things you do not want to do and will only work at a pace you're comfortable with.
During your sessions, your therapist will check you're comfortable with the progress you're making. For example, for people coping with eating disorders, self-monitoring may involve keeping track of eating habits as well as any thoughts or feelings that went along with consuming that meal or snack. Cognitive behavior therapy can be used as a short-term treatment to help individuals learn to focus on present thoughts and beliefs.
CBT is used to treat a wide range of conditions including:. In addition to mental health conditions, CBT has been found to help people cope with the following:. The underlying concept behind CBT is that thoughts and feelings play a fundamental role in behavior. For example, a person who spends a lot of time thinking about plane crashes, runway accidents, and other air disasters may avoid air travel as a result. The goal of cognitive behavior therapy is to teach people that while they cannot control every aspect of the world around them, they can take control of how they interpret and deal with things in their environment.
CBT is often known for the following key benefits:. One of the greatest benefits of cognitive behavioral therapy is that it helps clients develop coping skills that can be useful both now and in the future.
CBT emerged during the s and originated in the work of psychiatrist Aaron Beck , who noted that certain types of thinking contributed to emotional problems. Beck labeled these "automatic negative thoughts" and developed the process of cognitive therapy.
Where earlier behavior therapies had focused almost exclusively on associations, reinforcements, and punishments to modify behavior, the cognitive approach addressed how thoughts and feelings affect behaviors. Today, cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the most well-studied forms of treatment and has been shown to be effective in the treatment of a range of mental conditions including anxiety, depression, eating disorders, insomnia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance use disorder.
CBT is one of the most researched types of therapy, in part because treatment is focused on highly specific goals and results can be measured relatively easily. There are several challenges that people may run into during the course of cognitive behavioral therapy. Initially, some patients suggest that while they recognize that certain thoughts are not rational or healthy, simply becoming aware of these thoughts does not make it easy to alter them.
Cognitive behavioral therapy doesn't tend to focus on underlying unconscious resistances to change as much as other approaches such as psychoanalytic psychotherapy.
It is often best-suited for clients who are more comfortable with a structured and focused approach in which the therapist often takes an instructional role. For cognitive behavioral therapy to be effective, the individual must be ready and willing to spend time and effort analyzing their thoughts and feelings.
Such self-analysis and homework can be difficult, but it is a great way to learn more about how internal states impact outward behavior.
In most cases, CBT is a gradual process that helps a person take incremental steps toward a behavior change. For example, someone with social anxiety might start by simply imagining anxiety-provoking social situations.
Next, they might start practicing conversations with friends, family, and acquaintances. By progressively working toward a larger goal, the process seems less daunting and the goals easier to achieve.
Cognitive behavior therapy can be an effective treatment choice for a range of psychological issues. If you feel that you or someone you love might benefit from this form of therapy, consider the following steps:. Ever wonder what your personality type means? Sign up to find out more in our Healthy Mind newsletter. The efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy: A review of meta-analyses.
Cognit Ther Res. Cognitive distortions, humor styles, and depression. Eur J Psychol. Lazarus AA, Abramovitz A. A multimodal behavioral approach to performance anxiety.
J Clin Psychol. A cognitive-behavior therapy applied to a social anxiety disorder and a specific phobia, case study. Health Psychol Res. Using functional analysis as a framework to guide individualized treatment for negative symptoms. Front Psychol.
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