According to the American Psychiatric Association, “Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a form of psychological treatment that has been demonstrated to be effective for a range of problems including depression, anxiety disorders, alcohol and drug use problems, marital problems, eating disorders, and severe mental illness”. Because the way one thinks can impact his mood and the way he behaves, discovering the thought processes is a key concept in CBT.
Identifying and changing the cognitive distortions people have (errors in their thinking) are the major themes of CBT. In addition, research shows that CBT reduces the symptoms of various mental health disorders, and is highly effective even in the long term. For instance, CBT is highly effective on depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, substance use disorders, schizophrenia, etc.
How exactly does CBT work? As a simple example (not clinical at all), if one day Amy found out that she got a 50 on her chemistry exam, she may be super sad and think that she does not have the abilities to learn Chemistry well; however, CBT would guide her to ask herself what she is thinking when she’s feeling sad, and if what she’s thinking is right. Then Amy will probably realize that maybe it’s not because she does not have the ability to learn chemistry well, but that she hasn’t discovered the ways of studying that best fit her learning style. Notice how identifying the negative thoughts and changing them would make Amy a lot happier, and this is exactly how effective CBT is.
Hope this article helped you learn more about CBT! Thanks for reading!
Sources:
“Resources - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.” Santamailingproject, santamailing2021.wixsite.com/website/resources.
“What Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?” American Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/patients-and-families/cognitive-behavioral.
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