What is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy?
Cognitive behavioural therapy is a practice that focuses on changing the automatic negative thoughts that create, contribute to, and even worsen our emotional difficulties.
It is a form of psychological treatment (administered by a CBT therapist) that has been demonstrated to be effective for a range of problems including but not limited to anxiety, depression, alcohol or drug use problems, as well as eating disorders.
With CBT you’ll not only be able to identify, challenge, and replace negative thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes, but you will also be fully equipped with problem-solving skills that will help you manage difficult situations as they come, and live a healthier and happy life.
How does Cognitive Behavioural Therapy work?
Unlike some forms of therapy, which look to the past to analyse current feelings or state of mind, cognitive behavioural therapy focuses on the present to identify a constructive strategy for tackling the overwhelming issue gradually.
CBT works by identifying and correcting negative perceptions or unproductive thinking in order to enhance the way of thinking and overall general behaviour.
If someone adopts a negative manner of thinking like:
- Personalizing
- Always negative, instead of focusing on the positive
- All-or-nothing thinking (perfect or nothing)
- Overgeneralizing
They’ll automatically begin to think negatively. In CBT, you will collaborate with your therapist to identify these ingrained negative thoughts and find the most effective strategy to deal with them.
When a person begins to view life experiences or situations in a more helpful way, their distress decreases dramatically. The idea behind CBT therapy is to regularly apply what you’ve learned from your CBT therapist. It’s similar to working out every day to strengthen your muscles, but this time the muscle is your brain.
Why is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Important?
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a specific, targeted, and effective method of treating a wide range of mental health problems, and here’s why it’s so important:
- CBT assists people suffering from depression, anxiety, OCD, and a variety of other mental conditions, in coping with their symptoms and improving their quality of life.
- CBT is helpful in cases where medication alone isn’t working, cases such as therapy for addiction, where an intervention may be required.
- CBT gives people hope. It serves as a bright light at the end of the very long tunnel.
- CBT helps to replace negative feelings, thoughts, and actions, with positive and uplifting ones.
- With the help of a cbt trained psychotherapist, you’ll be able to gradually overcome your fears and take a step forward.
- CBT is a type of treatment that teaches people useful and practical strategies that they can use in their daily lives, even after the treatment is over.
Who Does Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Benefit?
Cognitive behavioral therapy is widely recognized around the world as one of the most effective and widely used therapeutic approaches. CBT is aimed to benefit those who have disorders such as:
- Anxiety
CBT is one of the best methods for overcoming anxiety because it helps in changing one’s mindset to stop anxiety-inducing thoughts from arising.
- Depression
CBT can be used to teach you how to treat depression yourself at home. For example, someone who’s depressed might find it difficult to socialize with friends and family. CBT can help replace depression-inducing thoughts with rational ones.
- Drug or alcohol addictions
CBT can be used to treat alcohol or drug addiction by gradually reducing the burden of the addiction through the use of various techniques. It serves as a drug addiction therapy that ensures rapid alcohol and drug addiction recovery.
- Porn addiction
CBT works by helping the porn addict identify and change patterns of thinking that ignite the use of porn. Physical and online addiction therapy can be used for a successful porn addiction recovery.
- Schizophrenia
Hallucinations, disordered thinking, and hearing different voices are all symptoms of schizophrenia. CBT can break the negative pattern and positively impact people’s lives by helping people cope with these experiences.
How will I know if Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is for me?
Most times when experiencing disorders like stress, anxiety, or depression we often search online for help. Trying to decide if CBT is the best treatment for you might be challenging at times.
In general, CBT is an excellent treatment option for anxiety, depression, PTSD, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and other disorders. However, the relationship you have with your therapist is what determines your success in CBT.
So let me ask you, “do you have a good connection with your CBT therapist?” Once you have a positive rapport with your therapist, you will experience an improvement in your quality of life
How long does Cognitive Behavioural Therapy last?
If you choose cognitive behavioural therapy, you will most likely meet with your therapist once a week. It is a time-limited treatment that lasts for five to twenty sessions. A session can last up to an hour; depending on the severity of the problem, you and your therapist can decide how many sessions you need and how long each one should last.
