Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
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What Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is perhaps the most famous therapy out there. Often considered the gold standard of psychotherapy, CBT is a transformative tool that identifies and changes your negative thinking patterns to positively affect your feelings and behaviors.
Ever since Aaron Beck introduced it in the 1960s, cognitive behavioral therapy has become the cornerstone of behavioral and mental health treatment. It actively changes those thinking, emotional, and behavioral patterns that worsen your challenges and replaces them with healthy, productive patterns. In doing so, CBT contributes to your healing and a better quality of life.
Moreover, this therapy is highly flexible. As there is no one-size-fits-all approach to behavioral or mental health treatment, CBT can be provided in tandem with other treatment modalities to personalize your care to your needs. For instance, it can be combined with other behavioral therapies and medication management for holistic care.
If you or a loved one is struggling with behavioral or mental health challenges, then cognitive behavioral therapy can be a powerful tool that makes all the difference in your life. Read on to learn more about CBT, why it works, and what you can expect.
Types Of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive behavioral therapy uses certain strategies and techniques to identify and reshape maladaptive thinking patterns. Different psychotherapies and self-help practices utilize this approach as well. Some of them are:
Cognitive Therapy:
Identifies and reshapes distorted and non-productive thinking patterns, emotions, and behaviors.
Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT):
Identifies irrational thinking patterns or beliefs, actively challenges them, and reshapes them.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT):
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) acknowledges destructive thinking patterns and behaviors, and uses techniques like mindfulness, emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness to change them.
Multimodal Therapy:
It believes that psychotherapy must target the seven modalities of Behavior, Affect, Sensation, Imagery, Cognition, Interpersonal factors, and Biological factors (Drugs) for healing. It incorporates CBT therapy practices as well.
What All Conditions Are Treated In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)?
Cognitive behavioral therapy is used to treat a broad spectrum of mental health challenges. An evidence-based therapy, it works by focusing on the present and reshaping undesirable thinking, emotional, and behavioral patterns.
CBT treats the following:
- Anxiety disorders
- Major depressive disorder (Depression)
- Bipolar disorders
- Panic attacks
- Phobias
- Eating disorders
- Sleep disorders
- Personality disorders
- Substance use disorders
Cognitive behavioral therapy can also be used to cope with grief, divorce/break-up, low self-esteem, stress, and chronic medical conditions.
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How Does Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Work?
Cognitive behavioral therapy is based on the ABC model, developed by Dr. Albert Ellis. “ABC” is an acronym for:
- A stands for adversity or an activating event.
- B stands for beliefs regarding the adversity/activity event. It can refer to the implicit or explicit thoughts about the event, yourself in relation to the event, and others in relation to the event.
- C stands for the consequences, which are the resulting emotions and behaviors.
The underlying concept of the ABC model is that B is the link between A and C. B holds the key, as changing beliefs also change the consequences. Over time, you will learn how to recognize your B in relation to A and reshape it toward healthier and more productive Cs.
Based on this model, the 5 stages of CBT look like this:
Stage 1: Assessment and Engagement
CBT begins with an in-depth assessment, where your therapist will understand your unique needs and goals. It is also a good opportunity for you and your therapist to build a trusting relationship.
Stage 2: Formulation
Then we move on to the formulation stage. Here, you and your therapist will explore how your beliefs contribute to your struggles.
Stage 3: Active Intervention
You and your therapist will actively implement CBT strategies to identify and change maladaptive thinking patterns. You will also develop and practice healthy coping skills.
Stage 4: Maintenance and Relapse Prevention
You and your therapist will reinforce the tools and skills you have learned thus far to prevent any kind of relapse to ensure healing.
Stage 5: Termination and Evaluation
The final stage signals the end of therapy, where you and your therapist will acknowledge and celebrate how far you have come and what you can achieve from here.
What Are The Benefits Of CBT Therapy?
Cognitive behavioral therapy is based on the concept that your thoughts and emotions can have a great impact on your behavior. For instance, if a person spends a lot of time thinking, “I am just not good enough,” or “I am going to fail,” they are already creating scenarios in their head as to how they may not be up to the task ahead of them. When the time comes, they are already too down to do anything else.
CBT mainly aims to teach you that you can take control of your life in how you engage, interpret, and deal with it. Furthermore, it also offers the following key benefits:
- It enables you to develop productive thinking patterns by identifying and restructuring the maladaptive ones. This way, you can overcome those thinking patterns that adversely impact your emotions and behaviors.
- It is one of the most commonly used therapies that treat a wide range of behavioral and mental health challenges.
- It is a short-term therapy, and you can observe improvements within 5 to 20 sessions.
- It is flexible in that it can be conducted in person or online.
- It is a cost-effective treatment option.
The Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Since its origin, cognitive behavioral therapy has been widely regarded as an evidence-based, highly effective practice. It has been used in the treatment of a myriad of behavioral and mental health conditions, so much so that it has become the mainstay of all psychotherapies.
While many studies have indicated CBT therapy’s efficiency time and time again, a review of 106 meta-analyses concerning cognitive behavioral therapy showed that it has been highly efficient in treating a diverse range of conditions, ranging from anxiety to psychotic disorders to even criminal behavior. In fact, a recent meta-review also indicated that cognitive behavioral therapy has been consistently improving the quality of life of those living with mental and physical conditions.
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What Are The Risks Of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?
Cognitive behavioral therapy is an evidence-based practice. However, it comes with some risks and side effects you must be aware of.
Emotional Discomfort:
You can experience emotional discomfort during CBT therapy sessions. This is because when your thoughts, feelings, or behaviors are challenged, it is only natural for you to feel angry or frustrated.
Anxiety/Stress:
You can experience anxiety or stress with certain aspects of cognitive behavioral therapy. For instance, exposure therapy requires you to confront events or conditions that can be unpleasant and uncomfortable.
Victim-Blaming:
As CBT is all about confronting your own maladaptive thoughts and behaviors, it may seem like victim blaming. You can feel drained out during certain sessions because of this.
Feels Rigid:
CBT is very structured; it can be difficult for you to adjust to if you are not used to a structured approach.
Drop Out:
In CBT, progress is gradual. This may cause some clients to drop out of therapy.
So, yes, certain risks come with cognitive behavioral therapy. However, as CBT also seeks to equip you with coping skills, you can mitigate these risks up to a great extent. Furthermore, when you work with licensed and skilled CBT therapists, you can navigate these challenges with better ease.
What To Expect With CBT?
Starting with cognitive behavioral therapy can seem challenging. So, if you know what to expect, you can confidently approach it. The first in-person or offline session is akin to your first appointment with a doctor. You will need to fill out forms regarding your medical history, medication details, insurance details, and a therapist-client agreement.
In the subsequent sessions, you and your therapist will start building rapport as you set goals for your therapy. Then, your therapist will actively begin to implement CBT strategies. You need to tell your therapist what benefits you and what can be better. Your therapist will ask you to practice in between sessions as well, like journaling your thoughts and practicing the skills you learned in the outside world.
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How Do I Find A CBT Therapist?
If you feel that cognitive behavioral therapy is the right option for you going forward, then finding a licensed mental health practitioner with advanced training in CBT therapy will be the first step. This can be quite tricky, especially if it is your first time.
At the NuView Treatment Center, we can make this easy for you. We seek to understand your background, challenges, needs, strengths, and goals to connect you with a skilled CBT therapist best aligned with your journey. We always strive to provide you with a safe, comfortable environment where you can achieve healing and personal growth.
Frequently Asked Question's
What are the 5 stages of CBT?
The five stages of cognitive behavioral therapy are:
- Assessment and engagement stage
- Formulation stage
- Active intervention stage
- Maintenance and relapse prevention stage
- Termination and evaluation stage
What does cognitive behavioral therapy do?
Cognitive behavioral therapy identifies and reshapes negative thinking patterns into something healthy and productive. Doing so positively affects emotions and behaviors.
Contents
- What Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?
- Types Of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- What All Conditions Are Treated In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)?
- How Does Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Work?
- What Are The Benefits Of CBT Therapy?
- The Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- What Are The Risks Of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?
- What To Expect With CBT?
- How Do I Find A CBT Therapist?
- Frequently Asked Question's
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Meet Linda Whiteside, MA, LPCC, a seasoned Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor with over a decade of unwavering commitment to delivering top-notch mental health services to those seeking recovery from substance abuse and mental health disorders. She has developed and led programs like "Houses of Healing" and is a Certified Grief Specialist. Linda is committed to helping individuals and families find healing through compassion, understanding, and self-forgiveness.
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