Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a proven treatment that helps people recognize negative thought patterns and destructive behaviors, and overcome the challenging state of mental affairs through structured mechanisms. CBT or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps people overcome stress, depression, anxiety, and other issues by identifying the root thoughts that influence and drive such emotions. In CBT, such thoughts are recognized, treated, righted, and replaced with a more realistic process of believing and thinking.
It is not that CBT is used to treat people with stress, depression, or any other mental health condition. Cognitive behavioral therapy is also used to help people manage stressful experiences that they endure all through their life.
The blog describes in detail the types of cognitive behavioral therapy, popular CBT techniques, their benefits, and their effectiveness.
CBT therapy is a form of psychotherapy that treats negative thought patterns. In psychology, there is something called ‘overgeneralizing’, where people draw a negative conclusion from an event and tend to apply the same to every other situation they endure. They try to generalize negative conclusions derived from an occurrence to everything that happens in their life. There is also something called ‘catastrophizing’, where people try to exaggerate and extrapolate the scope and scale of a disastrous event or a negative conclusion. The best example of this is the student’s fear of failing exams. They immediately start exaggerating their fear to imagine how disastrous their life would turn out to be if they fail exams. There is another category of people who either think they are about to achieve a massive success or they start imagining extreme failures- It’s either all or nothing, there is no in-between to them. This form of distorted thinking is called ‘Polarized thinking’.
People with such distorted thinking patterns endure stress, anxiety, and depression and complicate their life. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps identify and replace such thought patterns with realistic thought patterns.
Cognitive Therapy helps identify distortive thought patterns and influence the behavior of the person. CBT for anxiety works to challenge and replace such negative thoughts with positive, constructive thought patterns. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy works to help the individual understand the intricacies of the disorder, and build responses to triggers. CBT therapy intervenes in the three important aspects that influence mental health –
- Thoughts,
- Feelings,
- Situations,
- Actions, and
- Behaviors.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is beneficial not just for the person who is enduring stress and depression, but also to family and friends.
- The therapy is very affordable and can also be taken in groups. So, if you are looking for cheaper options to treat stress, depression, and other behavioral disorders, CBT therapy is an optimal solution.
- CBT therapy requires lesser time than other therapies and treatment options. They take anywhere between 5 and 20 weeks, and each session lasts for about 30 to 60 minutes.
- The chances of relapse are lower when compared to other therapies. People who are exposed to CBT therapy are proven to yield long-term results. CBT therapies yield better results when compared to consuming antidepressants or other therapies.
- The capabilities and skills acquired during the CBT therapy sessions can be applied to day-to-day activities. They become capable of handling situations and keeping them under control. Thus, the scope and scale of CBT therapies extend beyond.
- CBT therapy helps people stay calm and composed when stressful situations arise. This helps them reduce distortive thought patterns and negative behaviors.
- Negative mental conditions lower one’s self-confidence and esteem. This develops from a vicious cycle of negative thoughts and behaviors. CBT intrudes to reverse this pattern and build more confidence in their own abilities.
- CBT therapy is highly flexible. You can take it in person or opt for an online session. You also have the flexibility of receiving CBT therapy as an individual or in groups.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is very structured, and the therapist would discuss specific problems and offer solutions in the form of milestones and goals for them to achieve.
There are various types of Cognitive Behavioral Therapies. Important among them include the following.
Exposure therapies are optimal for people experiencing phobias and other disorders like panic, post-traumatic stress, and Obsessive – Compulsive Disorder (OCD). In exposure therapy, the therapist induces anxiety in your mind for a specific time period. The therapist also creates an environment where individuals feel safe and unjudged to reveal their feared activities or situations.
As the name suggests, multimodal therapy involves using several psychotherapies at a stretch. Instead of identifying and sorting out specific symptoms and issues, MMT or multimodal therapy involves treating a wide range of mental health conditions. This is highly cost-effective and the response time is also lower.
This was initially used to treat Borderline Personality Disorders (BPD). It helps people develop mindfulness and tolerance to distraction and stress by educating them on the advantages and disadvantages of tolerating stress. This way people can prepare themselves to handle situations that involve intense emotions and behaviors. It is also a form of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.
Cognitive Therapy involves recognizing, challenging, and changing distorted thought processes, behaviors, and responses. Through cognitive structuring, people can develop abilities to examine negative thought patterns and deal with problematic situations.
Through this, therapists help people understand that emotions and behaviors are developed in response to certain situations and that they should not be allowed to exert a negative influence on their life in the longer run. This is particularly used to treat anxiety, depression, psychosis, eating disorders, stress, and so on.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapies can be used to treat several mental health conditions. Some of them include the following.
- Depression
- Anxiety disorders
- Bipolar disorders
- Phobias
- Anger management
- OCD – Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder
- Schizophrenia
- Sleep disorders like insomnia
- Social anxiety
- Post-traumatic stress
- Eating disorders.
If you or your loved ones are experiencing the aforementioned symptoms, you may look for one at Abhasa, the best rehabilitation center in India. We offer in-person therapies and online consultations to treat several mental health conditions including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, phobias, panic disorders, depression, and so on. Our therapists hold rich experience in handling complications of several kinds, and they shall help you identify the root cause of your problems, and work out solutions to reversing the complications. If you are looking for a CBT therapy near me, then we at Abhasa promise you customized solutions based on the intensity and type of your problem.