Cognitive Therapy Treatments
Cognitive therapy is a mental health treatment that can help you alter negative thoughts and feelings. It may also enhance relationships and give you the skillset needed to tackle everyday difficulties.
CBT treatments involve the application of a series of behavioral techniques designed to help you recognize, challenge and alter unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. It typically lasts between five and 20 sessions.
At the start of any assessment process, you’ll fill out self-report forms to identify any issues and their severity. This gives your therapist a good idea of what needs to be addressed during sessions and helps them tailor them specifically to meet those needs.
Your therapist and you will then collaborate to identify any troubling situations or conditions contributing to your issue, as well as setting objectives for the work that needs to be done during therapy sessions. These could include things such as a medical condition, grief, anger or signs of mental health disorder.
Once an issue is identified, your therapist may ask you to consider what thoughts and emotions are causing the issues. This process, known as ‘functional analysis’, is essential in helping you comprehend how problematic beliefs can lead to emotional difficulties.
If you are struggling with depression, a therapist can assist in recognizing and challenging negative thoughts that are impacting your mood and behavior. Your therapist may also suggest certain exercises to increase awareness of one’s thoughts and feelings.
Your therapist will assist you in understanding how negative thinking is impacting your mood and relationships, so that more realistic, healthy thoughts and behaviours can take their place. This process, known as cognitive restructuring, may take some time to master but with practice you will be able to alter these patterns of thought.
Throughout the therapy session, your therapist will encourage you to utilize the skills they have taught you. These could include breathing techniques to calm your mind and relaxation techniques to help relax your body.
When it comes to cognitive therapy treatments, there are various options depending on your specific issues and severity. Some are designed specifically to reduce negative thoughts while others target different kinds of feelings and emotions.
Cognitive therapy has proven successful for people suffering from various disorders, such as depression and anxiety. It’s a short-term, evidence-based solution that can be integrated into the care plan even for those not taking psychotropic medication currently.
Psychotherapy based on the idea that negative thoughts, feelings and behaviours are deeply embedded and cannot be changed without addressing core beliefs is known as REBT (rational emotive behavior therapy), first developed by psychiatrist Aaron Beck in the 1960s by Albert Ellis. Since then it has expanded to cover a wide range of mental health disorders making it increasingly popular with both clients and professionals alike.
