CBT, say what?

Have you ever been looking into therapy and heard the acronym CBT? Did you just nod your head as though you knew what was being discussed even though you had no idea? Not to worry, this is a common response! CBT stands for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, however that’s a mouthful and we professionals tend to shorten it to “CBT” in an effort to save our breath.

What is so great about CBT?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has been proven to be effective treatment for a variety of problems including anxiety, depression, substance use, familial problems, eating disorders and more.

CBT consists of three different components; thoughts, feelings and actions/behaviors. The idea behind CBT is that all three of these components are directly related to one another, and analyzing our own in order to properly adjust them to live a higher quality of life.

In order to adjust these components we tend to focus more on the thinking portion. We all feel feelings for a reason, you should never try to stop a feeling from occurring. Our response is typically followed by whatever emotion or feeling we are experiencing from a certain situation. Therefore, the most efficient way to adjust things would be to look at the thought(s) we are having. These thoughts tend to be irrational, or unhelpful, ways of thinkings.

Thoughts Thoughts Thoughts

Your first question might be, “how in the world do I change the way I’m thinking?”

1. initially, you want to thinking about your personal distorted thoughts that tend to be creating problems in your life

2. look at the behaviors these thoughts tend to provoke

3. think about these situations and thoughts and ways to reframe them into a more rational way of thinking

4. determine what healthy coping skills are useful to you in your life and begin practicing them regularly

5. learn to problem-solve in difficult situations and begin to build confidence in your own abilities

Change in Behavioral Patterns

Because the cognitive triangle (thoughts, feelings and actions) are directly related, by changing one piece of the triangle (thoughts), you will be naturally changing the way you respond as well. Some strategies that you will learn through CBT may include;

1. pushing yourself out of your comfort zone in order to face your fear rather than avoiding it

2. practicing role play with your therapist in order to practice what you will do/say/think in a difficult situation with others

3. learn to calm yourself, mind and relax your body.

How it works

Now, the above strategies may or may not be utilized through your own personal treatment, however they are the most commonly used. Typically, a CBT-certified professional will work alongside you through CBT to best meet your needs. One of the most common concerns I receive through my practice with CBT is “can you truly change your thoughts?”. It seems like a simple concept, but it does get more complex when you begin working through it. Let’s try an exercise together. Bare with me, it might feel silly, but it does prove a point.

• close your eyes

• picture a lion

  • were you able to do that?

• now, picture a rain drop or rain puddle

  • can you see that drop or puddle?

• now, picture yourself in your favorite place

  • are you able to picture these things and places?

• now, we’re going to switch it up a little bit, I want you to try and feel frustration, try and feel it with your whole being

  • are you able to do this?

  • what did you have to do in order to feel this feeling?

  • the odds are you were not able to feel this feeling right on cue, you had to think about a specific situation/person/place that typically causes you to feel frustration.

This just proves that we can’t really change the way we feel about something, but we can think about specific thoughts. The main point of this exercise is that, eventually, with a lot of practice, you can learn to “retrain the brain” to rework some of your consistent thought processes to address irrational thoughts into a more rational process in order to reach a specific outcome. This doesn’t mean that you will never have another irrational or negative thought, but it does mean they may happen less frequently and you will be equipped with more strategies to handle them when they do arrive.

As always, if you have any topics to request for future blogs, or any comments/concerns regarding this post, feel free to reach out!