In the realm of mental health, there are various techniques and resources professionals use to help their clients overcome their emotional, psychological, or behavioral challenges — but there is one approach that is widely used and respected for its ability to help patients develop healthy coping strategies and work to improve their overall well-being.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is a treatment used by psychologists and psychotherapists worldwide. Whether you’re new to therapy or considering different treatment options, understanding the fundamentals of CBT can empower you to take control of your mental health.
The Basics
Understanding what CBT is and how it’s applied in a therapy setting can help you determine if this treatment fits in your mental health journey.
CBT aims to help individuals recognize and understand their negative thought patterns and find new ways to think about day-to-day situations and circumstances. It’s designed to help them make sense of what is happening in their lives and how their perceptions affect how they feel.
CBT teaches individuals to question and change their thoughts, incorporating healthier outlooks. By identifying these patterns that contribute to emotional hardships, CBT therapists can help their clients:
- Identify biases
- See thoughts as ideas, not facts
- Consider situations from different viewpoints
Who Can Benefit from CBT?
Cognitive behavioral therapy is a valuable resource that can help a range of individuals struggling with anxiety, depression, and several additional conditions, including:
- OCD
- Specific Phobias
- Bipolar Disorders
- Eating Disorders
- PTSD
- Relationship Challenges
- Grief or Loss
By focusing on the present, CBT helps those focus on the challenges in front of them and work toward a better future. Working with a licensed therapist from CASE Psychology can help individuals make positive changes in their daily lives and create healthier coping strategies.
Common CBT Treatments
The process of CBT can look different depending on an individual’s needs, but there are various techniques that are commonly found during this practice. Treatment often involves:
- Identifying challenging or troubling situations in one’s life
- Encouraging individuals to share thoughts and feelings about their struggles
- Identifying and understanding negative thought patterns that may be contributing
- Identifying emotional or bodily responses to sharing these thoughts and feelings
- Working to view situations from different perspectives
- Using techniques like role-playing to understand situations in-depth
The goal of incorporating these techniques is to reshape how we think about our circumstances and develop healthier coping strategies to get us through our daily lives.
The Benefits of CBT
CBT is widely recognized as an effective therapeutic technique, and for good reason. Some of the benefits of this treatment include:
- Concise therapy sessions are often more affordable than long-term treatments.
- Sessions can be tailored to the individual’s needs.
- Skills learned can be applied to everyday life.
- Individuals learn to play an active role in their thoughts and emotions, empowering them to overcome issues on their own.
- It can be used with or without medication.
By working closely with a trained therapist and learning how to re-approach struggling circumstances in a healthier way, individuals can take full advantage of CBT treatments and get the most out of their mental health journeys.