All About Cognitive Behavioral Therapy—Part 1
What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an organized, structured type of therapy that's been researched and proven to be very effective for shifting negative emotional states like anxiety and depression. CBT is one of the most evidence-based therapies we have in psychology. Because it is so structured, it can be very easy to study and research. From this research, we know that 60 to 80% of people who have an anxiety problem who complete a course of cognitive behavioral therapy which takes about 16 sessions will experience a significant decrease in their anxiety symptoms. CBT therapy is equivalent to or better than the effectiveness of medication alone in reducing anxiety symptoms. Research shows that cognitive behavioral therapy has longer-lasting improvements than medication alone.
How does Cognitive Behavioral Therapy work?
The basic idea behind CBT is that the way we think and behave influences the way we feel. If we change the way we think or if we change the way we behave, then we can change the way we feel. So then the mechanism for change in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is changing what we are thinking and how we are acting. In order to make these changes, we start in CBT by becoming more aware of our thoughts and being able to identify and label our feeling states. Behavior tends to be pretty easy to identify because we see what we're doing and it's not an internal experience.
Becoming Aware Of and Changing Thoughts
One way a CBT therapist creates change is by helping clients become aware of their thoughts and changing their thoughts about a situation. Our thoughts tend to be interpretations, perceptions, or judgments about a situation.
For example, if you received a text from a friend and all the text said was, “Hey can we talk later?” If you have an anxious thinking pattern, you might think, “Oh no something's wrong! She's upset with me. I've done something and she's mad at me.” And if you have this thought, then you might feel nervous, worried, tense, and your heart might be fast. The exact same situation--your friend texts you “Hey can we talk later?” and you have a different thought--maybe something exciting has happened in her life or maybe she just wants to catch up-- then you would feel calm, relaxed, and maybe even excited to talk to her.
The way we interpret or perceive events determines our experience of that event. The exact same event with two different perceptions and interpretations creates two different responses.
Shifting Our Behavior
Another way we create change in cognitive behavioral therapy is by becoming aware of our behavior and then trying to shift the behavior to be more adaptive.
For example, if you have a strong fear of flying, you might avoid flying in airplanes. The behavior here is avoiding getting on airplanes. When we avoid something, we strengthen the anxiety and fear around the feared outcome. Through avoidance, we actually never unlearn the feared situation. In this example, we never learn differently that flying is actually very safe and the most likely outcome of getting on an airplane is that you will land safely.
So in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, the behavior we would change is the avoidance of flying. We would shift the behavior to trying to take a few flights in order to learn that it's actually safe and the feared outcome of having a plane wreck or dying is actually very unlikely to happen. While taking a few flights, we would strengthen your coping skills for managing your fears of flying and also increase your confidence that EVEN IF you are anxious, you can still fly and be ok.
What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for?
Cognitive behavioral therapy has been proven to be effective for many mental health issues including anxiety, depression, stress responses, grief and loss, and going through major life transitions. Whatever negative emotional state CBT is being used to treat, it always starts with understanding the connection between your thoughts, behaviors, and feelings. We always go back to what we call the cognitive triangle -- that thoughts, behaviors, and feelings are always connected and if you change one of those then you can change the other two.
In the next part of this blog series on CBT, we will talk about using CBT for anxiety treatment and how to reduce symptoms of anxiety.
Start CBT for Anxiety in Los Angeles, CA
Are you struggling with anxiety, depression, or other mental health concerns? The help you need is just a phone call away. At Flourishment Psychology in Los Angeles, I specialize in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, a highly effective approach to treating a wide range of mental health issues. As an experienced CBT therapist, I will work with you to identify negative thought patterns and behaviors and provide you with the tools you need to manage your symptoms and improve your overall well-being. Whether you're dealing with anxiety, depression, or other mental health concerns, I am here to support you every step of the way.
Take control of your mental health and schedule a free consultation.
If it is a good match, schedule your first session of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
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Other Therapy Services in Los Angeles, CA
At Flourishment Psychology, I offer a variety of mental health services for individuals and families. That includes EMDR trauma therapy and therapy for therapists as well as corporate wellness training, and clinical training.
