Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

By Akshinta Das

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of behavioral treatment.CBT helps people by solving problems. CBT also helps to reveal the relationship between beliefs, thoughts and feelings and the behaviors they follow. Through the process of CBT, people learn that their perceptions directly affect how they respond to specific situations. In other words, a person’s thought process informs their behaviors and actions.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is not a distinct treatment technique. Instead, it is a general term which refers to a group of therapies. These therapies have certain similarities in therapeutic methodology. The group includes Rational Emotive Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy.

How Cognitive Behavioral Therapy works:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is grounded in the belief that how a person perceive events determines how they will act. It is not the events themselves that determine the person’s actions or feelings. For example, a person with anxiety may believe that “everything will turn out badly today. These negative thoughts may influence their focus. They may then only notice negative things that happen.

Meanwhile, they may block out or avoid thoughts or actions that could disapprove of the negative belief system. When nothing appears to go right in the day, the person may feel even more anxious .The negative belief system may get stronger. The person is at risk of being trapped in a vicious, continuous cycle of anxiety.

Cognitive-behavioral therapists believe we can adjust our thoughts. This is thought to directly influence our emotions and behavior. The adjustment process is called cognitive restructuring.

Aaron T. Beck is the psychiatrist widely considered to be the father of cognitive therapy. He believed that a person's thinking could be formed in childhood. He found that certain cognitive errors could lead to depressogenic or dysfunctional assumptions.

Common cognitive errors and their associated dysfunctional assumptions include:

• Self-inferences: People always pay attention to me, especially when I fail.

• Selective abstraction: Only my failures matter. I am measured by my failures.

• Overgeneralizing: If something is true in one setting, it is true in every setting

• Excessive responsibility: I am responsible for every failure and every bad thing that happens.

• Dichotomous thinking: Viewing the world in extremes, black or whites, with no grey in between.

The cognitive-behavioral process is based on an educational model. People in therapy are helped to unlearn negative reactions to challenging situations. CBT helps break down overwhelming problems into small, manageable parts. Therapists help people set and reach short-term goals. Then the therapist gradually adjusts how the person in treatment thinks, feels, and reacts in tough situations. Changing attributes and behaviors can help people learn to address specific issues in productive ways.

CBT TECHNIQUES

Cognitive behavioral therapy involves more than sitting and talking about what comes to mind. This structured approach keeps the therapist and the person in treatment focused on the goals of each session. This ensures the time spent in therapy is productive. The person in therapy benefits from a collaborative relationship. They can reveal personal issues without fear of judgment. The therapist helps them understand the issues at hand. However, they do not tell the person in therapy what choices to make.

CBT techniques incorporate many different therapeutic tools. These tools help people in therapy evaluate their emotional patterns and states. CBT therapists may employ common techniques such as:

• Journaling

• Challenging beliefs

• Mindfulness

• Relaxation

• Social, physical, and thinking exercises. These may help someone become aware of their emotional and behavioral patterns.