Let’s Talk About CBT

By Morgan Ayers, CMHC

If you’ve been involved in the therapeutic world at all, you may have heard the term CBT thrown around a time or two. So what exactly is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and how can it help me?

Considered the current gold standard of psychotherapy, CBT is an evidenced-based treatment that is founded on the idea that our thoughts (cognitions) and feelings control our behaviors. Hence the name!

If you’re experiencing anxiety or depression, your therapist might choose to employ cognitive behavioral techniques such as reframing negative thoughts about yourself and false beliefs about the world. For example, if you tend to use phrases like “I’m no good at…” you might be asked to practice saying, “I’m learning how to do…” instead. Your therapist may even assign this to you as homework to do between sessions. 

Try these common rephrases on for size:

“I’m no good in school.” 

—> “School is sometimes difficult for me, but I’ve learned a lot thus far!”

“Nothing ever goes right for me.”

—> “Everyone has ups and downs, and this slip-up won’t hold me back!”

“I’m worthless because I got passed up for the promotion.”

—> “I know that I have value and will  keep working hard!”

When you change the way you think, you can change the behaviors that follow. How does the first restructured phrase change the way the person might show up to school the next day? Although simplified, the idea is that the thoughts in your head guide the way you act. Ideally, the simple change of phrase alters the person’s internal beliefs about themselves and they keep showing up even when things are challenging.

CBT is more than just changing the thoughts you think. In fact, you might be asking, “ Why CBT?” Founded by psychologist Aaron Beck in the 1960s, CBT is considered a more modern approach to psychotherapy and therefore has the attention of researchers. 

An article in Frontiers argues that CBT is the gold-standard for therapy, claiming that although it’s not perfect, it’s arguably the most effective treatment for many common mental health concerns. The article goes on to say that CBT is consistently used by clinicians worldwide because its “theoretical models/mechanisms of change have been the most researched and are in line with the current mainstream paradigms of human mind and behavior.” In other words, CBT dominates the international guidelines for psychosocial treatments.

Another study in Clinical Psychology Review suggests that “CBT should be considered a first-line psychosocial treatment of choice, at least for patients with anxiety and depressive disorders,” because of its consistency in reducing symptoms and improving functioning and overall wellbeing.

Simply put, the approach is effective because it focuses on the internal beliefs we have about ourselves. The words we choose inform these beliefs. And the more positive we can be with our words, the easier it is to maintain positivity within ourselves.

At the end of the day, a good therapist will listen to you and work with you to come up with a treatment plan that may incorporate a hybrid of therapeutic approaches. Depending on your individual needs, your therapist may try CBT’s cognitive restructuring, ACT’s struggle switch, DBT’s box breathing or SBT’s miracle question. Yes, the mental health world loves acronyms!

For more information about which therapy options may be right for you, connect with us for a free consult.