What Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy? Could It Help You?

There are all kinds of different 'therapies' out there-some more, um, interesting than others. Acupuncture to help you stop smoking. Reiki for neck and back pain. Light therapy to help people who have depression associated with the changing seasons. Some people even go so far as to have demons or spirits 'cast out of them', but you can make your own judgement on that. In short, there seems to be a therapy for most any problem out there. Many of my friends have suggested something called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT. I tried it, and it helped me a great deal. I'm not going to try to give medical advice here, but here is a working definition you can use to decide if it might help you.

CBT is a form of psychotherapy that aims to change a person's thinking patterns in order to help them lessen anxiety and better handle stressful situations in their lives. It's also been used to help people deal with depression and conquer various phobias. Unlike some traditional forms of psychotherapy that dig really deep and can go on for months or years, CBT works relatively quickly. The goal is to teach you to think about things differently so that you can help yourself rather than ending up on your therapist's couch every week.

The basic idea behind CBT is that a person's thoughts play a major role in a person's actions. For instance, someone who thinks a lot about a bad relationship they had may either a) bring these anxieties into each new relationship, or b) avoid relationships entirely. Rather than delving into details that aren't relevant to the particular issue the patient is dealing with, the therapist and the patient work together to identify the problematic thoughts/behaviors and find ways of dealing with them. The educational approach CBT takes teaches you to identify how certain thoughts affect you. Once you have done that, you can reframe the thoughts and deal with them. For example, suppose you try to say hi to your friend in the grocery store, but she just rushes by and doesn't respond. If you suffered from anxiety or depression, you might assume that your friend didn't respond because she's mad at you or doesn't want to be your friend anymore. CBT teaches you to 'catch' that thought and look at it a different way. Instead of assuming your friend is mad at you or that you did something wrong, you can think of other possible reasons for her behavior. Maybe she's in a hurry? Maybe she's thinking about something else? This can help you to see that you are not always at fault and decide not to assume that you are in the future. This is just one example of a faulty thought process that CBT can help you deal with, but you get the idea. Reframing irrational thoughts can help you form more positive thought and behavior patterns.

CBT is usually pretty structured; 14 to 16 weeks is the average length of therapy, although it may be shorter for some people. As the sessions go on, you and your therapist set goals for you to meet and measure your progress accordingly. Instead of the passive approach some other therapies take, CBT requires active work from both the therapist and the patient. Remember, the idea is to teach you how to think going forward so that you can ultimately help yourself.

This is only a cursory description of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, but it can be a highly effective form of therapy when dealing with a specific problem or issue. If you want to know more, check out About.com's and WebMD's psychology section. Of course, only your doctor can tell you what types of therapies are appropriate for you. Even so, it's worth looking into if you think you might benefit from it. You deserve to be happy; let your doctor help you find the way.