Cognitive Behavioral Therapy CBT: How, When, and Why It Works

Mindfulness techniques like deep breathing and Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) play a big role in CBT. These techniques allow the person to be present in the moment and calmly soothe the unfocused mind. With the relaxation comes the stronger ability to tune in and alter automatic negative thoughts. While positive psychology has developed intervention techniques derived from other therapeutic approaches, several interventions overlap with techniques of CBT. Attitudes grooved in neural pathways during childhood become automatic thoughts. The thoughts resulting in disruption in daily life are negative thoughts around situations that created them.

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In the 1960s and ’70s several psychologists began to combine behavior therapy with cognitive treatments meant to change clients’ negative patterns of thinking and information processing. Although a number of individuals played important roles in the early advancement of cognitive treatments, Aaron Beck and Albert Ellis are most often credited with the development of these treatments. Ellis referred to his form of treatment as rational emotive therapy and, later, rational emotive behavior therapy, and Beck used the term cognitive therapy. Both treatments were focused on helping clients to shift their beliefs, assumptions, and predictions from being negative, depressive, anxious, and dysfunctional to being more realistic, positive, and adaptive. With effective behavioral and cognitive treatments becoming more established, researchers in the 1970s and ’80s began to develop protocols that included strategies from both forms of treatment. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a short-term form of psychotherapy based on the idea that the way someone thinks and feels affects the way he or she behaves.

Which CBT tools and strategies can help?

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on modifying dysfunctional emotions, behaviors, and thoughts by interrogating and uprooting negative or irrational beliefs. Considered a “solutions-oriented” form of talk therapy, CBT rests on the idea that thoughts and perceptions influence behavior. CBT has dramatically and positively affected the lives of many clients with mental health issues and disorders, becoming one of the most dominant talking therapy treatments. Aaron Beck was a psychiatrist who was working at the University of Pennsylvania in the 1960’s. He had been trained in psychoanalysis but became disillusioned with the approach of using free association and began to experiment with more direct techniques. Working with depressed clients he found that they experienced streams of negative thoughts which he called ‘automatic thoughts’.

• CBT is a preferred modality of therapy among practitioners and insurance companies alike as it can be effective in a brief period of time, generally 5 to 20 sessions, though there is no set time frame.
• You must hold a master’s or doctoral degree in psychology, counseling, or social work, complete supervised hours providing CBT, and submit letters of recommendation.
• Our writers and editors leverage the latest data from primary sources across the site.
• People with certain complex mental health needs may not be able to benefit right away from cognitive behavioral therapy.

Psychological Symptoms

CBT allows patients to interrupt these thoughts with a deeper understanding of the errors or distortions in the perception of these automatic thoughts. This type of therapy helps patients to correct misinterpretations of the thoughts that have caused disruption in their daily lives. If people learn Cognitive Behavioral Therapy fearful or unhelpful ways of thinking, they can start to think in this way automatically. CBT focuses on challenging these automatic thoughts and comparing them with reality. One 2018 study found therapists reported worsening symptoms in 9% of people in therapy. The time it takes to make progress toward these goals is different for everyone.

• Many studies have measured the efficacy of CBT on different mental health conditions, racial groups, age groups, and genders.
• These ideas are the foundations upon which cognitive behavioral understandings and treatments have been built.
• CBT also has roots in Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT), the brainchild of psychologist Albert Ellis.

The practice of CBT grew in the mid-1970s to aid in the treatment of higher functioning patients. This transition did not happen automatically, but rather through the trial and error and the development in areas of behavioral therapy and a better understanding of emotional self-control. Regardless of whether one practices CBT alone or with a therapist, applying the techniques in real-life situations is key to long-term effectiveness and a reduction of symptoms of psychological problems. CBT breaks problems down into smaller pieces to give detailed attention to each part. The techniques aid patients in disrupting negative, automatic thoughts, and replacing them with more helpful ones.

• One way CBT may help address this is by modifying nerve pathways involved in fear responses, or by establishing new connections between key parts of the brain.
• “People avoid things that make them nervous or scared, which reinforces the fear,” says Burbridge.
• Activity scheduling is when you regularly make time for helpful or enjoyable activities during the day.
• Your therapist will work with you to find the ones that work best for you.
• Looking at the relationship between your thoughts, feelings and behaviors helps you view challenging situations more clearly and respond to them in a more effective way.

At Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Los Angeles, our compassionate team of expert psychologists is here to guide you through evidence-based treatments tailored to your needs. Whether you’re struggling with anxiety, depression, relationships, or other challenges, we’re ready to help you regain control and build a healthier, more balanced life. Don’t wait—your path to wellness begins with a simple call or message today. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a type of treatment that is based firmly on research findings. It places emphasis on changing your cognitions (thoughts) or behaviors (actions) in order to effect change in how you feel.