What
is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?
(https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/patients-and-families/cognitive-behavioral)
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychological
treatment that
has been demonstrated to be effective for a range of problems
including depression, anxiety disorders, alcohol and drug use problems, marital
problems, eating disorders, and severe mental illness.
Numerous research studies suggest that CBT leads to significant
improvement in functioning and quality of life. In many studies, CBT has been
demonstrated to be as effective as, or more effective than, other forms of
psychological therapy or psychiatric medications.
It is important to emphasize that advances in CBT have been made
on the basis of both research and clinical practice. Indeed, CBT is an approach
for which there is ample scientific evidence that the methods that have been
developed actually produce change. In this manner, CBT differs from many other
forms of psychological treatment.
CBT is based on several core principles, including:
Psychological problems are based, in
part, on faulty or unhelpful ways of thinking.
Psychological problems are based, in
part, on learned patterns of unhelpful behavior.
People suffering from psychological
problems can learn better ways of Coping with them, thereby relieving their
symptoms and becoming more effective in their lives.
CBT treatment usually involves efforts to change thinking patterns. These strategies
might include:
·
Learning to recognize
one’s distortions in thinking that are creating problems, and then to
reevaluate them in light of reality.
·
Gaining a better
understanding of the behavior and motivation of others.
·
Using problem-solving
skills to cope with difficult situations.
·
Learning to develop a
greater sense of confidence in one’s own abilities.
CBT treatment also
usually involves efforts to change behavioral patterns.
These strategies might include:
·
Facing one’s fears
instead of avoiding them.
·
Using role playing to
prepare for potentially problematic interactions with others.
·
Learning to calm one’s
mind and relax one’s body.
Not all CBT will use all
of these strategies. Rather, the psychologist and patient/client work together,
in a collaborative fashion, to develop an understanding of the problem and to
develop a treatment strategy.
CBT places an emphasis on helping individuals learn to be their own therapists.
Through exercises in the session as well as “homework” exercises outside of
sessions, patients/clients are helped to develop coping skills, whereby they
can learn to change their own thinking, problematic emotions, and behavior.
CBT therapists emphasize what is going on in the person’s current life, rather
than what has led up to their difficulties. A certain amount of information
about one’s history is needed, but the focus is primarily on moving forward in
time to develop more effective ways of coping with life.
Source: APA Div. 12 (Society of Clinical Psychology) Date created: July 2017