Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapeutic treatment that helps individuals understand their thoughts and the feelings that determine their behavior. Therapists use CBT to treat many types of disorders, such as addictions, phobias, anxiety, and depression. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a short-term treatment that focuses on helping patients deal with particular problems. Following the course of the treatment, patients identify and change from their disturbing and destructive thoughts that negatively influence their emotions and behavior. The concept behind cognitive behavioral therapy is that feelings and thoughts play a crucial role in behavior. For instance, if a person constantly thinks about runway accidents, plane crashes, among other air disasters, he or she may do everything they can to avoid flying. The aim of cognitive behavioral therapy is to make patients know that they cannot control each aspect of their environment but only how they interpret it and deal with the things they face. CBT has become a popular form of treatment recently with both treatment professionals and mental health consumers. Because of the short duration, the treatment takes; it is relatively cheaper than other types of treatment. One of the major focuses of CBT is transforming automatic negative thinking that contributes and increases emotional challenges such as anxiety and depression. The negative thoughts manifest without warning, are accepted to be true and result in influencing the negative mood of an individual. This book covers the following topics:What are Automatic ThoughtsWhat are Intrusive ThoughtsDescribing the ProblemChallenging Automatic and intrusive thoughtsIdentifying Assumptions and core valuesIdentifying Negative thought patternsBehavior side of CBTSupport CBTCBT TechniquesDangers of AnxietyHow to Set GoalsCognitive RestructuringSocial Skills...And much moreThrough the process of cognitive-behavioral therapy, patients are encouraged to examine their thoughts and look for evidence that supports or denies the thoughts. When a person does this, they become more realistic and objective at thoughts that add to their feelings of depression and anxiety. When a person becomes actively aware of their negative and unrealistic thoughts, they begin to engage in healthier thoughts that do not dampen their moods.