What is cognitive-behavioral therapy?
Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a form of talking therapy that works by helping you to change the way you think about certain situations, ultimately changing your behavior and helping you to overcome mental difficulty. It is most commonly used to treat anxiety disorders and depression but can be used as a remedy for a variety of other mental health conditions including chronic illnesses.
How does cognitive behavioral therapy work?
Cognitive-behavioral therapy aims to help people to deal with difficult situations by breaking them down into smaller more manageable components. The ideology behind cognitive behavioral therapy is that your thoughts and feelings are interconnected and by breaking the negative cycle between them you are able to overcome whatever mental disorder you are suffering from. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is often confused with other forms of talking therapy such as counseling, but it is a completely different form of therapy focusing on the here and now and not on events that have happened in the past.
What can cognitive-behavioral therapy help me with?
When you think about it, so many of our problems arise from our thoughts and feelings which means that cognitive-behavioral therapy is an effective way to treat a wide range of conditions including mental health issues such as bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, anorexia, and PTSD as well as sleep problems such as insomnia and lifestyle problems such as alcohol abuse. In some cases, cognitive-behavioral therapy has also been used to those suffering from long-term chronic health conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue syndrome, to better cope with their symptoms.
Will cognitive-behavioral therapy work for me?
Cognitive-behavioral therapy can be a very effective treatment in instances where medication alone has not worked and for some patients, it has helped them to get off medication altogether. That being said, cognitive-behavioral therapy can be a long process and candidates need to commit to be prepared to confront their fears and commit to the process in order to get the most out of their sessions. If you aren’t ready to change yourself then you may not be ready for cognitive-behavioral therapy and you may need to look at other alternative forms of help.
What to expect if you decide to try cognitive-behavioral therapy.
If you decide to try cognitive behavioral therapy for yourself then you will usually see a therapist once a week for a period of between 5 and 20 weeks. Each session with your therapist will last from 30-60 minutes and during the sessions, you will work with y our therapist to break down your problems or anxieties into their component parts. Having analyzed what goes into your problems you can then work with your therapist and practice changes that will help you to manage them in a real-life setting even after your therapy ends. It’s important to realize that the cognitive-behavioral treatment that you receive will differ slightly depending on the therapist you see and the severity of your problems but in general, it will follow the outline above.
