Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT)has become a mainstream practice in mental health care. Clinically and research proven through hundreds of studies by research psychologists and psychiatrists, CBT has become a preferred treatment for conditions such as:
- Depression and mood swings
- Shyness and social anxiety
- Panic attacks and phobias
- Obsessions and compulsions (OCD and related conditions)
- Chronic anxiety or worry
- Extreme stress
CBT is a relatively short-term, focused psychotherapy that is also successful for psychological problems with anger, marital conflict, loneliness, eating disorders, substance abuse, and personality problems. The average number of sessions clients receive (across all types of problems) is only 16.
The focus of therapy is on how you are thinking, behaving, and communicating today rather than on your early childhood experiences or talking about unconscious urges. Emotional symptoms are treated as the physical outcomes of thoughts.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy teaches that when our brains are healthy, it is our thinking that causes us to feel and act the way we do. Therefore, changing our thinking can change our anxiety and depression. The key to CBT is to identify the thinking that is causing the unwanted feelings and behaviors, and then to replace this thinking with thoughts that lead to more desirable experiences.
Cognitive therapy teaches you how to observe and change the thinking patterns are causing your symptoms, while behavior therapy helps you weaken the connections between troublesome situations and your habitual reactions to them. CBT is based on the scientifically supported assumption that most emotional and behavioral reactions are learned. Therefore, the goal of therapy is to help clients unlearn their unwanted reactions and to learn a new way of reacting.
CBT therapists focus on teaching rational self-counseling skills to assist in fulfilling specific life goals. Clients learn to question and challenge their dysfunctional thinking patterns.
Common therapeutic techniques include:
- Challenging irrational beliefs
- Self monitoring
- Thought stopping
- Cognitive rehearsal
- Communication skills training
- Assertiveness skills training
- Relaxation education and training
- Homework, reading assignments, practicing the techniques
Though the CBT patients need to be highly motivated to learn, the educational aspect of CBT can lead to real and lasting results. That's because people learn a cognitive skill that they can continue using to keep themselves healthy throughout their lives.
Guest Author:
William Prescott is a health researcher and author.
|
|
