Effects of Cognitive Behavior Therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a type of psychotherapeutic treatment that helps people learn how to identify and change destructive or disturbing thought patterns that have a negative influence on behavior and emotions.
Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on changing the automatic negative thoughts that can contribute to and worsen emotional difficulties, depression, and anxiety. These spontaneous negative thoughts have a detrimental influence on mood.
Through CBT, these thoughts are identified, challenged, and replaced with more objective, realistic thoughts.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy encompasses a range of techniques and approaches that address thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. These can range from structured psychotherapies to self-help materials. There are a number of specific types of therapeutic approaches that involve CBT, including:
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Cognitive therapy centers on identifying and changing inaccurate or distorted thinking patterns, emotional responses, and behaviors.
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Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) addresses thoughts and behaviors while incorporating strategies such as emotional regulation and mindfulness.
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Multimodal therapy suggests that psychological issues must be treated by addressing seven different but interconnected modalities: behavior, affect, sensation, imagery, cognition, interpersonal factors, and drug/biological considerations.
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Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) involves identifying irrational beliefs, actively challenging these beliefs, and finally learning to recognize and change these thought patterns.
While each type of cognitive behavioral therapy takes a different approach, all work to address the underlying thought patterns that contribute to psychological distress.
Cognitive behavior therapy can be used as a short-term treatment to help individuals learn to focus on present thoughts and beliefs.
CBT is used to treat a wide range of conditions including:
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Addiction
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Anger issues
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Anxiety
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Bipolar disorder
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Depression
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Eating disorders
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Panic attacks
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Personality disorders
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Phobias
In addition to mental health conditions, CBT has been found to help people cope with the following:
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Chronic pain or serious illnesses
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Divorce or break-ups
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Grief or loss
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Insomnia
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Low self-esteem
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Relationship problems
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Stress management
The underlying concept behind CBT is that thoughts and feelings play a fundamental role in behavior. For example, a person who spends a lot of time thinking about plane crashes, runway accidents, and other air disasters may avoid air travel as a result.
The goal of cognitive behavior therapy is to teach people that while they cannot control every aspect of the world around them, they can take control of how they interpret and deal with things in their environment.
CBT is often known for the following key benefits:
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It allows you to engage in healthier thinking patterns by becoming aware of the negative and often unrealistic thoughts that dampen your feelings and moods.
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It is an effective short-term treatment option; for example, improvements can be seen in five to 20 sessions.
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It has been found effective for a wide variety of maladaptive behaviors.
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It is often more affordable than some other types of therapy.
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It has been found to be effective online as well as face-to-face.
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It can be used for those who don't require psychotropic medication.
One of the greatest benefits of cognitive behavioral therapy is that it helps clients develop coping skills that can be useful both now and in the future.
Today, cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the most well-studied forms of treatment and has been shown to be effective in the treatment of a range of mental conditions including anxiety, depression, eating disorders, insomnia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance use disorder.
CBT is one of the most researched types of therapy, in part because treatment is focused on highly specific goals and results can be measured relatively easily.