What constitutes cognitive behavioral therapy?

What constitutes cognitive behavioral therapy?

Cognitive behavioral therapy is a psychotherapeutic approach that aims to teach a person new skills to solve problems related to dysfunctional emotions, behaviors and cognitions through a goal-oriented, systematic approach. This title is used in many ways to distinguish behavioral therapy, cognitive therapy, and therapy based on both behavioral and cognitive therapies. There is empirical evidence that cognitive behavioral therapy is very effective in treating various disorders, including personality, anxiety, mood, eating, substance abuse, and psychotic disorders. Treatment is often carried out manually, as certain psychological orders are treated with specific technology-driven short, direct and time-limited treatments.

Cognitive behavioral therapy can be used both with individuals and in groups. The techniques are often adapted for self-help sessions as well. It is up to the individual clinician or researcher whether he/she is more cognitively oriented, more behaviorally oriented, or a combination of both, as all three methods are used today. Cognitive behavioral therapy emerged from a combination of behavioral therapy and cognitive therapy. These two therapies have many differences but found similarities by focusing on the “here and now” and relieving symptoms.

Evaluation of cognitive behavioral therapy has led many to believe it is more effective than psychodynamic treatments and other methods. The UK advocates the use of cognitive behavioral therapy over other methods for many mental health problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bulimia nervosa, clinical depression and chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis. The precursors of cognitive behavioral therapy have their roots in various ancient philosophical traditions, particularly Stoicism. The modern roots of CBT can be traced to the development of behavioral therapy in the 1920s, the development of cognitive therapy in the 1960s, and the subsequent fusion of the two therapies. The first behavioral therapy approaches were published in 1924 by Mary Cover Jones, whose work dealt with unlearning fears in children.

The early behavioral approaches worked well for many neurotic disorders, but not so much for depression. Behavioral therapy also lost popularity due to the “cognitive revolution.” This ultimately led to cognitive therapy being founded by Aaron T. Beck in the 1960s. The first form of cognitive behavioral therapy was developed by Arnold A. Lazarus from the late 1950s to the 1970s. In the 1980s and 1990s, cognitive and behavioral therapies were combined through work by David M. Clark in the United Kingdom and David H. Barlow in the United States. Cognitive behavioral therapy includes the following systems: cognitive therapy, rational emotional behavioral therapy and multimodal therapy. One of the biggest challenges is defining exactly what cognitive behavioral therapy is. The individual therapeutic techniques vary within the different approaches to CBT depending on what type of problems are being treated, but the techniques usually focus on the following:

• Führen eines Tagebuchs über wichtige Ereignisse und damit verbundene Gefühle, Gedanken und Verhaltensweisen.
• Hinterfragen und Testen von Erkenntnissen, Bewertungen, Annahmen und Überzeugungen, die möglicherweise unrealistisch und nicht hilfreich sind.
• Allmählich mit Aktivitäten konfrontiert werden, die möglicherweise vermieden wurden.
• Neue Verhaltens- und Reaktionsweisen ausprobieren.

In addition, distraction techniques, mindfulness and relaxation are also commonly used in cognitive behavioral therapy. Mood-stabilizing medications are also often combined with therapies to treat conditions such as bipolar disorder. The UK NHS NICE guidelines recognize the use of cognitive behavioral therapy in the treatment of schizophrenia in combination with medication and therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy usually takes time for patients to effectively integrate it into their lives. It usually requires concentrated effort to replace a dysfunctional cognitive-affective behavioral process or habit with a more rational and adaptive one, even while recognizing when and where their mental processes are going awry. Cognitive behavioral therapy is used in many different situations, including the following conditions:

• Angststörungen (Zwangsstörung, soziale Phobie oder soziale Angst, generalisierte Angststörung)
• Stimmungsstörungen (klinische Depression, Major Depression, psychiatrische Symptome)
• Schlaflosigkeit (einschließlich wirksamer als das Medikament Zopiclon)
• Schwere psychische Störungen (Schizophrenie, bipolare Störung, schwere Depression)
• Kinder und Jugendliche (Symptome einer Major Depression, Angststörungen, Traumata und posttraumatischen Belastungsstörungen)
• Stottern (um ihnen zu helfen, Angst, Vermeidungsverhalten und negative Gedanken über sich selbst zu überwinden)

Cognitive behavioral therapy involves teaching a person new skills to overcome dysfunctional emotions, behaviors, and cognitions through a goal-oriented, systematic approach. There is empirical evidence that cognitive behavioral therapy is effective in treating many disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety, and negative thoughts about self). Given the enormous success that the use of this therapy has shown, it is now one of the most important tools that researchers and therapists have for treating mental disorders.

Inspired by Gail Kirkpatrick