Cognitive Behavior Therapy

 

CBT is a type of psychotherapy that deals with our thoughts--that's the "cognitive" part of the name--and our behaviors, which is of course the "behavioral" part of the name. CBT has been thoroughly researched and found to be an effective treatment for all sorts of disorders. Some of these are depression, anxiety, trauma, phobias, addictions, eating disorders. In some cases, the treatment can be effective in as few as 8 sessions, and the effects are long lasting.

 CBT is based on the idea that our thoughts affect our feelings and our behaviors. Something happens to us, we use thought to interpret the event, which by the way, can happen so fast that we don't always notice this happening. Then finally, we react to our thoughts with emotions and behaviors. Here's a quick example. You call your friend and they don't answer. Now, two different people could have two different thoughts about the same situation. Person A might think: "My friend must be busy". Person B might think: "My friend doesn't like me". Person A is going to feel fine and will probably just send a text or something. Person B is going to feel sad, and they might dwell on what they could've done to upset their friend. This is called an irrational belief. The irrational belief happened when Person B thought that their friend didn't like them, without actually having evidence of that. All they know is that their friend didn't answer the phone, and they added more to it in their thoughts.

 During CBT a therapist will try to help their client identify their own irrational beliefs. This can be more challenging than it sounds. Remember what I said earlier, these thoughts can happen so quickly that we don't even notice them. When this happens, they're called automatic thoughts, because they happen automatically, outside of our awareness. Next, the therapist will help the client to challenge their irrational beliefs. This doesn't mean trying to make all of their thoughts be positive and happy. It means making them less negative, and a bit less irrational. Usually when a client is able to do this, they start to feel a bit better. CBT therapists also try to help by directly addressing behaviors. Someone who's anxious or depressed usually has some behaviors that are contributing to their problems. For example, someone with social anxiety might avoid going out with friends, which will in the long run, lead to them having fewer friends. Things like this can often lead to thoughts such as: "I don't have any friends, it must be because I'm so awkward", which will then worsen their social anxiety because of their fear that they're awkward.

A therapist will help by trying to change these behaviors that contribute to the negative thoughts and feelings. One final big question: Why do some people have these irrational negative thoughts, while others don't? Why did Person A think that their friend was busy, while Person B thought that their friend must be upset with them? One explanation is that everyone has different core beliefs. These are the beliefs that we hold at the core of who we are that shape how we see the world. Imagine our beliefs as a lens. Everyone has a slightly different shade. Person A's lens says, "people are kind" and "I am a good person". Person B's says "I am unlovable" and "I am worthless". When Person A and B go out into the world, they experience everything through the lens of their core beliefs. Oftentimes, these beliefs can be negative and self-defeating. CBT can be used to get at these core beliefs and change the ones that aren't beneficial.

 In summary, CBT is a type of psychotherapy that addresses how a person thinks, and what they do in an attempt to change how they feel and function in their life. CBT has been found to be very effective as a treatment for all sorts of disorders. I hope you're leaving with a better understanding of cognitive behavioral therapy.

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