Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy. It was originally designed to treat depression, but is now used for a number of mental disorders.
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a talking therapy that can help you manage your problems by changing the way you think and behave.
It's most commonly used to treat anxiety and depression, but can be useful for other mental and physical health problems.
How CBT works
CBT is based on the concept that your thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and actions are interconnected, and that negative thoughts and feelings can trap you in a vicious cycle.
CBT aims to help you deal with overwhelming problems in a more positive way by breaking them down into smaller parts.
You're shown how to change these negative patterns to improve the way you feel.
Unlike some other talking treatments, CBT deals with your current problems, rather than focusing on issues from your past.
It looks for practical ways to improve your state of mind on a daily basis.
Uses for CBT
CBT has been shown to be an effective way of treating a number of different mental health conditions.
In addition to depression or anxiety disorders, CBT can also help people with:
bipolar disorder
borderline personality disorder
eating disorders – such as anorexia and bulimia
obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
panic disorder
phobias
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
psychosis
schizophrenia
sleep problems – such as insomnia
problems related to alcohol misuse
CBT is also sometimes used to treat people with long-term health conditions, such as:
Although CBT cannot cure the physical symptoms of these conditions, it can help people cope better with their symptoms.
It works to solve current problems and change unhelpful thinking and behavior.[1] The name refers to behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, and therapy based upon a combination of basic behavioral and cognitive principles.[1] Most therapists working with patients dealing with anxiety and depression use a blend of cognitive and behavioral therapy. This technique acknowledges that there may be behaviors that cannot be controlled through rational thought, but rather emerge based on prior conditioning from the environment and other external and/or internal stimuli. CBT is "problem-focused" (undertaken for specific problems) and "action-oriented" (therapist tries to assist the client in selecting specific strategies to help address those problems), or directive in its therapeutic approach. It is different from the more traditional, psychoanalytical approach, where therapists look for the unconscious meaning behind the behaviors and then diagnose the patient. Instead, behaviorists believe that disorders, such as depression, have to do with the relationship between a feared stimulus and an avoidance response, resulting in a conditioned fear, much like Ivan Pavlov. Cognitive therapists believed that conscious thoughts could influence a person’s behavior all on its own. Ultimately, the two theories were combined to create what is now known as cognitive behavioral therapy.
CBT is effective for a variety of conditions, including mood, anxiety, personality, eating, addiction, dependence, tic, and psychotic disorders. Many CBT treatment programs have been evaluated for symptom-based diagnoses and been favored over approaches such as psycho-dynamic treatments. However, other researchers have questioned the validity of such claims to superiority over other treatments. your knowledge, widen your expertise, improve your practice skills, Broaden your academic & career horizons.
