“Whenever you experience negative thinking, it’s your mind lying to you.”
The word therapy gets thrown around a lot, but it’s important to remember that not every type of therapy is the same.
You have marriage therapy, which is a form of counseling, and then you have something like psychoanalysis.
One type of therapy that is important to learn about is CBT, also known as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
CBT is so important because it is a shorter term type of therapy that can help patients work through their problems and learn to change their behaviors.
It could be that they express outward bouts of anger, or that they find themselves coping with problems through self-destructive behaviors, whatever the problems are, CBT seeks to help a person move in the director of solving these issues.
This form of therapy can be taken advantage of by just about anyone.
From teenagers to adults, there aren’t many groups that can’t find solutions for their issues.
Of course, therapy is not a magic cure for problems, but a way of recognizing faults and actively encouraging people to seek help from within themselves, with a little help.
Here is what you should know about CBT and how it can help your mental health.
6 Things You Should Know About CBT:
1. What is CBT?
CBT, or cognitive behavioral therapy, as described is a form of therapy that focuses on present issues.
It is not a type of therapy that involves talking about one’s feelings as that is more of a traditional psychotherapy approach.
This is a type of therapy developed in the 1960s with a focus on the connections between emotions, thoughts, and actions.
This approach has led to a more focused form of therapy that is useful in people with autism, children, adults, and a wide range of demographics that are struggling with the problems that are as a result of the combinations of those emotions, thoughts, and actions.
Utilizing CBT, there is hope for fixing these ingrained problems.
2. How Does CBT Work?
CBT, like many types of therapy, involves meeting a specialist who deals with this type of psychology and uses one on one sessions to work out plans.
There are also instances of group sessions as well for helping deal with CBT related problems.
The purpose of CBT is to help unlearn harmful behavior and rework the ways that negative thoughts cause a cycle of negative actions and vice versa.
Unlearning these behaviors is done through goal orienting and planning.
Creating a set of achievements to focus on, like thinking before reacting to bad news or the like.
It’s about more than just unlearning this behavior, but also helping rethink ways to manage behaviors and thought to replace those negative thoughts and actions.
Through a concentrated effort on understanding how one’s emotions interact with your ability or inability to process patterns of behavior, CBT seeks to essentially rewire your brain.
Here is a list of what CBT can help a patient learn or develop:
Identify problems clearer,
Overcome anxiety of pessimistic thoughts,
Appraise situations from different perspectives,
Establish and maintain goals,
Develop better awareness of thoughts,
Recognize differences in rational and irrational thoughts,
Become aware of emotions and how they affect others,
Focus on situations in the present, as well as understand their relation to past feelings,
3. What are Problems that CBT Can Help With?
As mentioned, CBT has a strong focus on helping resolve the core problems that come as a result of a person’s inability to control emotions and thus, control their actions and behavior.
Finding ways to fix these problems have many benefits to an individual’s mental health.
The primary benefit of cognitive therapy is that it can reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and panic disorders.
These are incredibly harmful mental conditions that can eventually stem into physical issues.
Undiagnosed or untreated stress can take a toll on your physical appearance and health.
Stress is a major cause of heart related diseases, so it’s important that individuals who struggle to maintain their emotions and actions learn to develop the skills to overcome their issues to regulate both mental and physical health.
It is important for them to understand how CBT is used to create a more healthy way of thinking that allows them to accept themselves more.
4. Is CBT Safe?
Like many other popular forms of therapy and counseling, CBT is 100% safe.
There are no medical tests or invasive tests that need to be performed, and the act of committing to CBT simply requires a commitment of time and effort.
It is performed with the care of a qualified individual, most often a counselor or therapist with a background in different forms of therapy, so they are able to help with emotional episodes that may stem from discoveries in the process of employing this form of therapy.
5. How Long Does CBT Last?
CBT is often considered a short term form of therapy.
It often takes as little as 10 to 20 sessions for an individual to have developed a plan and built goals with their specialist.
This can either be advantageous to some, who require the support but may not have the financial means or time to afford long term therapy, or disadvantageous to those that feel they require extended guidance.
It may be that patients can extend their sessions at the approval of their therapist, but usually, solutions can be found in that average time frame.
6. Who Practices CBT?
Many therapists can become CBT certified by taking specialized courses and workshops.
The important thing to note is that not everyone who is “CBT qualified” is fully qualified to the degree that you may want. Some therapists will implement parts of CBT into their sessions but do not fully practice it.
It’s good to ask questions and ask for qualifications or find dedicated CBT specialists if this is the support you are looking for.
CBT, while not new, has become much more active in the psychology and therapy field.
It is being employed amongst plenty of different patients, ranging in goals and issues, and it may be something to look into if you are hoping to find goal-oriented solutions to your problems.
