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Have you ever noticed how the way you think can have a huge impact on how you feel and behave? Cognitive Therapy is based exactly on this premise. It states how our thoughts play a central role in shaping our emotions and behaviors. Derived out of this model is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy that helps individuals challenge these thoughts to lead a well-adjusted life.
Now, let us try and understand the theoretical background and framework on which the entire CBT is based.
What is Cognitive Therapy?
Cognitive therapy was developed by Aaron Beck in the early 1960s. It was developed in order to deal with current problems and modify dysfunctional behavior and thinking processes. It has been helpful to for a diverse set of mental problems such as anxiety, phobia, substance abuse, schizophrenia, cognitive fatigue symptoms, eating disorders, psychiatric inclusion, personality disorders, and much more.The Cognitive Model
Cognitive behavioral therapy as a whole relies on the postulates of the cognitive model. The cognitive model hypothesizes that an individual’s emotions, behaviors, and physiology are influenced by the perceptions of the events. It is not the situation in itself that determines the reactions and feelings of the person, rather how they perceive it has an impact on their behavior.- Automatic thoughts
- Core Beliefs
- Cognitive biases and distortions
- Selective abstractions in which an individual just focuses on the negative part of the information rather than the whole information.
- Arbitrary inference is drawing conclusions in the absence of drawing conclusions in the absence of insufficient evidence. This usually comes in the form of mind reading where the people assume that they know what the other person is thinking and failing to consider other likelihoods and negative predictions.
- Catastrophizing, where the future events are always negatively predicted without and in a much larger way than it usually is.
- Dichotomous thinking, the all-or-none thinking is when the person only views something as an individual thing that either something must happen exactly the way he/she wants it, or it is a failure.
- Tunnel vision, when only negative aspects of a situation are taken into consideration.
- Overgeneralization is when an individual basis of a single incidence applies its learning to every other incident no matter how unrelated they are.
- Labelling and mislabelling, in this label are assigned to oneself and others, which might be negative and fixed in nature and not supported by any evidence.
- Magnification or minimization, this type of cognitive distortion occurs only individually, magnifies an imperfection and minimizes the good points. Relation to feelings of inferiority, personalization, when the individual relates everything to themselves even though when there is no basis for such a connection.
Impact of Thought on Reaction Pattern
The cognitive theory further illustrates how our thought has an impact on our emotional behaviour and physiological reactions. The experiences that we form in our childhood leads to formation of core beliefs. Critical incidents in life leads to activation of the negative core beliefs only. And these lead to negative automatic thoughts, after which a person reacts in different ways which might usually be negative in nature. For example, childhood experiences of being told that “You are incompetent”, and “You cannot do anything properly” leads to the individual forming the core belief, “I am incompetent”. In their life, when any critical incident arises, for example, failing a test, the automatic thought is, “This is too hard, I am dumb, I am never going to master this”. To which the reaction is discouragement, heaviness in body, avoiding tasks, and adaption of maladaptive behaviour.Therapeutic Process
In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, the therapeutic relationship between the client and the therapist is goal-oriented and collaborative in nature. The therapist brings in skills and knowledge of psychological processes to help the client determine the goals for therapy and the means of reaching that goal. The client discusses with the therapist his or her thoughts and feelings that they want to change. The responsibility is shared between both and they together explore strategies for change. Thus, the therapist acts as a catalyst with an aim for the client to attribute improvement in their daily living and mental health. It follows a structured approach as the initial few sessions focus on assessment of the problem, development of a rapport and relationship, case conceptualization, and case conceptualization. With more sessions, emphasis is placed on identifying negative and automatic thoughts and beliefs and strategies are discussed for how to work on them. It also uses different methods through which the client can notice their own negative thoughts, notes it down, and bring it to the next session. The dysfunctional thought records help the client record automatic thoughts that occur during and after or outside the therapy sessions. It can also help them identify triggers that lead to such automatic thoughts and create the link between thoughts and moods and emotions. These help the client become more aware by placing their thoughts in context. Once these automatic thoughts have been identified, the therapist and the client work together to understand the cognitive distortions through various techniques such as advantages and disadvantages analysis, intellectual-emotional role play, labelling, decatastrophizing, etc. Once this is done, the client is encouraged to practice these on a daily basis to counter their negative automatic thoughts and challenge core beliefs that are negative in nature. Continuous practice from the client’s end and general awareness leads to significant change in their behavior, thoughts, and emotions over a certain period of time. If you or someone you know is struggling with their emotions, constantly faced by negative thoughts, and wants to talk to an expert who can guide them better, NABHSis here to guide and help. Just reach out to us and we will connect you with experts who have years of training in CBT and understand the cognitive model well. It’s time to change the way you think.FAQs about CBT
CBT or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a psychotherapeutic approach that is most commonly used to improve mental health and overall functioning by changing and modifying negative thought patterns and maladaptive behaviors.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is an effective tool because it teaches an individual to identify negative thoughts, patterns, and behaviors that contribute to emotional distress and then taking actions to change these patterns. It is a collaborative and goal-oriented process and requires the client be involved through homework and practicing new skills between sessions.
Yes, exposure therapy is a kind of cognitive behavioral therapy in which the therapist creates a safe space for a client to be exposed to their fears.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is typically a short-term therapy, unlike psychotherapy or psychodynamic therapy, which can go on for a while. It ranges from 8 to 20 sessions. However, the exact number of sessions might depend based on the severity of the condition and on what is decided between the client and the therapist.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is a collaborative form of therapy where an individual works with their therapist to explore and identify different negative thought patterns and maladaptive behaviour and also learn new coping skills and techniques. These coping skills and techniques are learned during the session and are also given as homework to the client who practices them in between sessions to best understand its effectiveness and impact on their overall mental wellbeing.
As CBT is a form of therapy for mental health, it is often covered under insurance. However, coverage may depend on the individual’s insurance plan. Hence, it is always suggested to check with your insurance provider to see what exactly is covered and what is not.
CBT can often be used in combination with medication for mental health problems. However, consultation must be taken from your psychiatrist and psychologist on the best course of action and the duration for which you must be taking medicines while also continuing your therapy.
Tele-mental health is changing the way people approach therapy and utilize resources available online to improve their mental health. Hence, CBT can also be delivered remotely or online. However, the availability of these options might depend on the individual’s location and therapist’s practice. It often depends on the person’s personal choice as well whether they like to visit the therapist for a session or if they are okay with an online session.
