Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT): A Brief Overview

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is a form of talk therapy (psychological treatment) that has been proven effective for addiction recovery in UK. It is used to treat various stressful life situations and severe mental illnesses. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) helps manage these problems by changing a person’s thoughts and behaviours. An Oxford University research study also finds that people dealing with depression are benefitted from CBT. In other words, CBT significantly improves functioning and quality of life.

This article, therefore, offers a brief overview of cognitive behavioural therapy, or CBT.

How CBT Works and Why It Is Done?

CBT is based on multiple core principles. For example, the depth of CBT believes that a person’s thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, and actions are interconnected and that negative setbacks in the thought process can trap them in a negative cycle. Therefore, CBT focuses on developing a positive perspective to deal with overwhelming problems. It breaks down the problem into smaller parts and requires a patient to address it step-by-step. People learn to change negative behaviours into positive ones to make them feel better. Also, unlike other rehab therapies, CBT deals with your current problems rather than digging into your past. It employs practical ways to improve the state of mind.

CBT is performed to address specific emotional challenges, such as:

• Treat a mental illness when medications aren’t available
• Manage symptoms of mental illness
• Cope with a medical illness
• Manage chronic physical symptoms
• Learn coping skills to deal with stressful life situations
• Prevent a relapse
• Overcome emotional trauma
• Resolve relationship conflicts
• Learn better ways to communicate

Also, mental illnesses that improve with the help of CBT include:

• Substance use disorders
• Bipolar disorders
• Anxiety disorders
• Depression
• Phobias
• PTSD
• Sexual disorders
• Eating disorders
• Sleep disorders
• Schizophrenia
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Also, in most cases, cognitive behavioural therapy is most effective when it is combined with antidepressants and other medications.

Popular CBT Techniques

Cognitive behavioural therapy, or CBT, involves a wide range of techniques. When you attend a CBT session, your therapist will help you find the right one. Also, typical treatment often involves the following:

• Learning new problem-solving skills
• Learning how to face the challenges of everyday life
• Recognising how inaccurate thinking can cause problems
• Gaining confidence
• Understanding self-worth
• Using role play and calming techniques

These techniques aim to replace unhelpful and self-defeating thoughts with more encouraging ones. The most popular techniques of CBT are:

SMART Goals: SMART goals are precise, calculable, attainable, realistic, and time-limited.

Guided Discovery and Questioning: Your therapist will help you question the assumptions you have about yourself and challenge those assumptions by considering different viewpoints.

Journaling: You might be asked to write down your negative feelings and thoughts and replace them with positive ones.

Cognitive Restructuring: It helps look at cognitive distortions, such as jumping to conclusions, black-and-white thinking, and catastrophising.

Self-Talk: Your therapist will help you replace negative self-talk with compassionate and constructive self-talk.

Pros/Advantages of CBT

• CBT is equally effective as medications to treat mental health disorders.
• Compared to other talk therapies, CBT doesn’t take much time.
• CBT focuses on psychological feelings, thoughts, situations, physical feelings, and actions.
• CBT help people learn functional real-world skills.
• Due to the highly structured nature of CBT, it is provided in different formats, such as group rehab therapies, self-help books, and online.

Cons/Disadvantages of CBT

• During CBT, patients are required to commit themselves to the process. In short, they need to be responsible for their actions.
• It may not be suitable for individuals with complex mental health issues and specific learning difficulties.
• It involves confronting your emotions and anxieties.
• Attending regular CBT sessions and practising the skills can take a lot of time.
• Cognitive behavioural therapy does not address broader family problems that may significantly impact someone’s health and well-being.

Things to Keep in Mind When Going for CBT

CBT isn’t a cure

Cognitive behavioural therapy can help improve the negative experiences in your life but cannot eliminate them. Prolonged mental health issues improve over time and could persist even after treatment ends. CBT help you develop the necessary skills to deal with life challenges on your own.

It can be challenging.

Talking to someone about your struggles can be overwhelming; therefore, CBT can emotionally challenge you. While you will get better over time, the process can be gruesome because you need to talk about stressful or painful life situations. Hence, it is perfectly fine if you burst into tears in the middle of the conversation.

Results Take Time

CBT can last for weeks or months, depending on the recovery rate of each individual. In the first few sessions, you may feel weak, emotionally challenged, irritable, or have anxiety issues because of all the talking you do with the therapist. However, results take time. Give it some time if you don’t feel better after a few sessions. Keep doing your homework and practising the skills outside of the sessions. In short, go easy on yourself, and you’ll definitely find the solution!

Conclusion

Among several rehab therapies available for treating addiction or mental health issues, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) encourages you to look to the positive future by altering negative feelings and thoughts into positive ones. Cognitive behavioural therapy encourages addiction recovery in UK by following a range of techniques mentioned in this article. Highly effective for people in recovery, CBT makes problems more compliant, even if there are situations that don’t need therapeutic solutions. To know more about CBT or enrol yourself on the course, reach out to the nearest rehab centre!