Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY (CBT) 

CBT is an evidence-based treatment for many disorders including OCD, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Anxiety Disorders, and Depression. Aaron T. Beck developed CBT in the 1960s. In his work, Beck noticed how the presence of automatic thoughts impacted people and was central to depression. Thus, he added the concept of cognitive therapy to behavioral therapy, a treatment focused on changing behavioral change. Since then, CBT has grown substantially. First, much research has been done to demonstrate the efficacy of CBT. There are now third wave behavioral therapies that include mindfulness, too. This includes Mindfulness-Based CBT, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). And of course, as the way we practice therapy changes in light of technological advances, CBT has gone online too.

There are different types of CBT. For instance, Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is part of CBT for OCD, BDD and Anxiety. Another example is CBT-E, an evidence-based approach to help people with eating disorders. CBT for depression involves Behavioral Activation.

HOW IT WORKS

PSYCHOEDUCATION

CBT first provides education about how disorders begin and how they are maintained. This arms people with the knowledge to tackle the troubles they’re facing. The therapy also focuses on a person’s relationship to their thoughts.

COGNITIVE THERAPY

Instead of taking every thought that goes through one’s mind at face value, Cognitive Therapy teaches individuals to consider their thoughts through a rational lens. The first step in this process involves noting when your thoughts are making use of a faulty thinking pattern called a “distortion.” For example, if you find you’ve jumped to the worst case scenario, you might be catastrophizing. Given that most of life is not a catastrophe, it makes sense to be suspect of such thoughts. After recognizing that one is wearing warped lenses, they learn to consider the merits of their thought and whether or not they should take it at face value.

Ultimately, this process may not shift how a person feels about a situation at all. That being said, restructuring a thought can help guide people’s actions, even if they still feel scared.

BEHAVIORAL THERAPY

In CBT, people also learn how to practice changing their behaviors. This behavior change, in turn, impacts thoughts and feelings. While people cannot control their thoughts or feelings, they can change their behaviors. By taking different actions, people develop more meaningful lives. Whether through ERP, Behavioral Activation, or engaging in regular eating in a course of CBT-E, Behavioral work is foundational to change in a CBT model.