A Very Brief Overview of CBT Therapy
CBT is a research-based therapy used to treat a wide range of issues in a person’s life, from depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to eating disorders, addictions, borderline personality disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). CBT focuses on increasing awareness of a person’s unhelpful thoughts, beliefs and attitudes that drive negative emotional reactions and behaviors. The goal is to give clients strategies to change thinking patterns and thus behaviors so they can cope with difficult situations.
Our cognitive behavioral therapists in Orem, Utah are highly skilled in this treatment. The client and CBT therapist work together to understand the client’s problems and develop positive strategies for tackling them.
Our cognitive behavioral therapists in Orem, Utah are highly skilled in this treatment. The client and CBT therapist work together to understand the client’s problems and develop positive strategies for tackling them.
If you choose to try CBT therapy at Aspen Valley Wellness, here’s what you can expect:
- A problem and action-focused form of therapy
- A fairly short treatment duration: 5 - 10 months is common
- A single 50-minute session each week
- Homework assignments between sessions
During therapy, people learn to challenge and change unhelpful thinking styles, which leads to improved emotional regulation and the development of personal coping strategies that help resolve problems. CBT introduces clients to a set of principles that they can apply whenever needed, and that will last them a lifetime.
More About Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
CBT has been scientifically proven to produce positive changes in clients’ quality of life. It is based on these core principles:
- Psychological problems are partly based on faulty or unhelpful ways of thinking.
- Psychological problems are partly based on learned patterns of unhelpful behaviors.
- People can learn better ways of coping with their psychological problems.
CBT involves changing thinking patterns. Strategies may include:
- Recognizing that a person’s distorted thinking is creating problems and re-evaluating them in a more realistic light
- Gaining a better understanding of the behaviors and motivations of others
- Using problem-solving skills to cope with difficult situations
- Learning to be more confident in one’s own abilities
Strategies to change behavior patterns may include:
- Confronting fears instead of avoiding them
- Using role-play to prepare for potentially tricky interactions with others
- Learning to calm the mind and relax the body
Working together, the CBT therapist and client create a treatment strategy tailored to the client, which will likely include some but not all of the strategies listed above. The homework exercises between sessions are designed to help clients develop coping skills that will change their thinking, emotions and behavior. In this way, clients learn to be their own therapists.
Unlike some talk therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on the present, not the past. The objective is to move forward by developing better ways of coping with life. Are you ready to tackle your current problems and undertake the journey toward a better future?
