What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy—or CBT—is a highly regarded therapeutic approach that targets a wide range of psychological disorders and issues of emotional wellness.
The “C” in CBT represents the cognitive elements of perception, or the ways in which humans think about themselves, their relationships, and the world around them. The “B” in CBT refers to the specific behaviors that either help or hinder an individual’s progress and development. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy aims to replace unhealthy tendencies with thinking patterns and behaviors that will ultimately lead to emotional and functional well-being.
Considered the “gold standard” of therapy, CBT was developed by Aaron T. Beck in the 1960s when he noticed that his patients’ thoughts often affected the way they felt. And because this form of therapy centers around an individual’s thought process, it was originally dubbed as “cognitive therapy”—aimed at transforming emotionally-loaded thinking patterns that resulted in automatic reactions.
Since then, this approach has been studied and refined to include both cognitive and behavioral elements; because it has proven to be so effective in helping people to improve their pattern of thinking, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is highly regarded among mental health, medical, and scientific professionals.
CBT can be used for almost every psychological disorder or mental health challenge. Today, this form of therapy is used to treat both children and adults alike for a wide variety of concerns. These include anxiety, depression, Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD), insomnia, substance abuse, and eating disorders, among others.
How Does Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Work?
While most therapists will have had at least some exposure to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in their training, many clinicians have advanced and specialized training in CBT. These clinicians are likely to see their clients for weekly, one-hour sessions for about three months, which include take-home assignments throughout the course of treatment.
Treatment typically begins with an intake wherein a client will describe symptoms, presenting problems, and goals for therapy. Once a diagnosis is made, the therapist will provide psychoeducation to the client. Psychoeducation explains the results in more detail and provides insight into why Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is the ideal treatment for their needs.
At each session, a new skill, concept, or exercise is introduced by the therapist in accordance with the client’s presenting issues. The client will learn to apply these tools outside of the therapeutic environment so that they can feel confident to continue skills-building outside of sessions. Because a CBT therapist believes that true healing happens in the context of everyday life, they will expect the client to be fully accountable for take-home exercises and a weekly commitment to therapy.
As the “gold standard” of therapy, a cognitive behavioral approach serves as an umbrella term for a wide range of therapeutic methods. For instance, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy often incorporates elements of mindfulness because identifying sensations and emotions is essential on the path to healing. And when compared with approaches that are non-directive and non-goal-oriented, CBT tends to be more effective in reducing symptoms for a sustained period, rather than simply providing temporary relief from distress.
Specific skills and exercises will be used depending on which challenge is being addressed. However, in general, clients using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can expect to:
Gain confidence in understanding their diagnosis
Dispel myths surrounding their disorder
Develop healthy and effective strategies for handling distress
Foster insight into properly identifying internal and external triggers that cause distress
Gain self-efficacy to combat these challenges whenever they arise
Build a lifelong toolbox of skills and exercises that will help to prevent and reduce distress
Essentially, CBT allows clients to transform negative or distorted thought patterns and behaviors into healthy and productive insights so that they can be more confident, optimistic, and effective in their everyday life.
What Makes Journey’s Approach To Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Unique?
At Journey Mental Health, we view our CBT therapists as both coaches and cheerleaders on the client’s path to healing. We aim to make treatment using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy goal-oriented, successive (with each session building on the next), and geared toward personal progress and evolution. We believe that our clients maintain the inherent strength to change their relationship with their thoughts. Our job is to help them access that strength.
CBT at Journey typically lasts between 12 to 16 weekly sessions (over three or four months), and we offer both an individual and group format for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy sessions. For example, some disorders—like insomnia—can be effectively targeted in either individual or group CBT formats, as those skills tend to be widely applicable among a diverse array of individuals.
Though most of our therapists have ample experience using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, a few of our clinicians specialize in CBT specifically. Our very own Dr. Ashley Howell studied CBT throughout the course of her graduate studies and postdoctoral fellowship, and she was trained by renowned experts through the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center at the Medical University of South Carolina. Since becoming a licensed psychologist in 2018, she has worked with a variety of patients using CBT.
Dr. Howell and our other team members are prepared to use CBT to treat anxiety, insomnia, depression, and post-traumatic stress, among other disorders. We are committed to providing individualized treatment to all of our clients, including those who require individual therapy, child/adolescent therapy, couples counseling, and family therapy.
We are passionate about encouraging personal development and evolution in the lives of the individuals we serve and believe that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is an effective, empowering tool that promotes true healing. With CBT, a life of positive transformation is within reach.
Meaningful Change Is Possible
If you or your child struggle with anxiety, depression, insomnia, or Post-Traumatic Stress disorder (PTSD), CBT can help you to better understand your behaviors and find relief. For more information or to schedule a session with our CBT specialist, contact us or call (423) 521-5678.