Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT, is a thoroughly researched form of therapy. It has been shown to be helpful for a wide range of mental health issues. In fact, CBT is often thought of as the “gold standard” for evidence-based treatment. It is a practical and logical form of therapy that is goal-oriented and time-limited.
In CBT you will take some time to understand and explore the negative thinking patterns and behavioural responses that serve to maintain the emotional difficulty you are having. With help from your therapist, you will try to re-consider those patterns and replace them with some healthier thinking and behavioural habits.
…thinking well
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is underpinned by the cognitive model of emotions. In a nutshell: your emotions are directly linked with your thoughts. For example: sadness is linked to thoughts of loss, anger is linked to thoughts of unfairness, and anxiety is linked to thoughts of danger. If your thoughts can change… so will your emotions.
The issue is… we automatically tend to believe all the thoughts we have… And we tend to think they are a direct reflection of reality. After all, they feel really valid because our emotions match with them! Yet, we can certainly be misguided in how we think. CBT suggests that we can become quite biased in our outlook about ourselves, the world, and the future. Over time, we can develop certain patterns or habits of thought that work against us. For example, “catastrophising” is a common a thinking habit for people with frequent feelings of anxiety. This refers to a tendency to mentally blow small problems out of proportion into massive disasters.
…behaving well
Negative and biased thoughts are kept alive through our actions… because we choose our actions based on how we’re thinking and feeling. So the actions that we take might accidentally end up reinforcing the initial thoughts and beliefs we had! It becomes a vicious cycle.
Here’s an example. Dave feels anxious about going to social engagements. He thinks “I’m going to be weird and awkward”. So perhaps for some social events, he cancels. Or maybe he does go along to some, but engages in a safety behaviour, like staying in the corner and avoiding eye contact with people. These actions might help him in the moment feel less anxious. But the actions will probably reinforce Dave’s thought, “I’m awkward”. So the result is that Dave is more likely to keep believing that he is awkward, keep feeling anxious about social events, and likely to keep acting this way in the future.
…feeling well
Examining thoughts, and challenging behaviour, can help us to break free from our emotional difficulties. In Dave’s example, it might mean that he tries going to more social events, tries joining in conversations a little more, and with his thoughts- tries giving himself a bit more credit about how his interactions are normal and ok. Making small but consistent changes to thought and action habits will gradually make a big impact. Over time, thinking well and behaving well will inevitably mean that you will feel well.
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More about the cognitive model
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